Opening Mass, CNA Student Interviews

The Catholic News Agency interviewed several Institute students on the occasion of the 2014-15 Opening Mass, celebrated by Bishop Paul S. Loverde of the Diocese of Arlington:

In a countercultural turn, students confront the question of marriage

Natalie Plumb

The debate about the nature of marriage is rapidly unfolding.  On the state level, this debate continues to garner attention from our religious and political leaders, same-sex marriage advocates, parents, professors and students.

On Sept. 10, in Washington, D.C. – a city that will continue to be the center of a political debate on the issue – a group of students began graduate degree programs that offer a specific concentration on the study of marriage and the family, in a hope to offer informed voices to the debate.  In a countercultural turn, these students will be rigorously engaging in studies that support and promote the Catholic understanding of marriage – a union between one man and one woman for their good and the good of their children.

Nearly 80 students, professors, seminarians, priests, vocalists and laypersons gathered to celebrate the Opening Mass for the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America, presided by Bishop Paul S. Loverde of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington.  The Institute “provide[s] a comprehensive understanding of marriage and family faithful to Catholic magisterial tradition.”  Students examine marriage in its authentic form by studying theology, biotechnology, psychology, sociology and by engaging contemporary challenges to Christian ethics.

At just 26 years of age, Caitlin Williams is a second-year Ph.D. student at the John Paul II Institute, who says she is driven by the challenge young Catholics face in witnessing to authentic marriage. [Read more]