Young Catholics contemplate “fair love” at annual Summer School
Young Catholics came together to contemplate what St John Paul II called “fair love”, at the annual Made for Each Other Summer School in Hobart on 22 January.
Speakers from around Australia and overseas presented on various topics related to love, marriage, and sexuality.
Dr Nigel Zimmerman, adjunct lecturer with the Institute for Ethics & Society at the University of Notre Dame Australia, spoke on “The Gift of the Body”, saying that the Christian life is “spousal” because our ultimate calling is to communion with God, who is our “first spouse”.
Addressing the topic of “Pornography, Hyperreality and Reclaiming Eros”, Theologian Dr Matthew Tan (pictured above) said pornography was a way of seeking “happiness in the possible, not the actual” and an attempt to escape the pain or monotony of reality. In contrast, he said, Christianity offered the actual as the “site of salvation” through Christ, as the Word become flesh.
Masculinity and femininity were discussed through the lens of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic work, The Lord of the Rings.
Post-graduate student in theology, and Communications Coordinator for the Hobart Archdiocese, Catherine Sheehan, spoke on St John Paul II’s concept of the “feminine genius” in relation to The Lord of the Rings, saying that Tolkien’s female characters point towards the Blessed Virgin Mary, as the “archetype of the feminine”.
While seminarian Vinco Muriyadan, addressed the “masculine genius” in Tolkien’s characters, referring to the battle between the “ego-drama and the theo-drama”, as the male characters are called to give up self-seeking in order to imitate the love of Christ.
Moving on to the practicalities of relationships, Elizabeth Busby from the Theology of the Body Institute in the US, spoke via Zoom on dating and preparing for marriage, urging those discerning marriage to “know the terrain of your beloved’s heart”, and married couple, Daniel and Madeline de la Motte, spoke about the joys and challenges of courtship and married life.
The many benefits of natural family planning were also discussed by client-educator with CatholicCare Tasmania, Juliana Smith, who spoke of how the natural approach to fertility can help couples live their calling to “love as God loves”.
The urgent need to repair the rift between faith and life in our culture was explored by doctoral candidate and private secretary to Archbishop Julian, Alex Sidhu, who spoke on “Rebuilding a culture of Love and Life in the 21st century”.
Archbishop Julian closed the conference with his address on “Living a Christ-centred life” in which he spoke of Christ as the foundation of human life and flourishing. Archbishop Julian said it was important for Christians to have a supportive community around them in the midst of a culture antagonistic to the faith.
Event organiser, Ben Smith, Director of the Office of Life, Marriage and Family said the Summer School was “well received” by participants and provided “a good balance between times of prayer, presentations and social time”.
“I think the Summer School was a fresh take on the vision of the Church on relationships, marriage and family,” Mr Smith said.
“It was a deep-dive into rich content that was both challenging and inspiring. Using The Lord of the Rings as the lens provided a unique way of exploring teaching in this area.”