Office of Cultural and Pastoral Formation
The Office of Cultural and Pastoral Formation is an initiative of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. In light of the anthropology of love – an understanding of the human person as the image of God, created for fruitful communion – the Office is dedicated to the engagement of cultural and pastoral issues especially as they affect the most vulnerable.
Areas of Focus
Called to Love
At the heart of the Center's work as described in the Statement of Purpose is the promotion of what Pope Paul VI called the "civilization of love," through a deep reflection on and communication of the "anthropology of love" ("theology of the body") developed in the pontificates of John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis.
Recovering Origins
Recently much has been written about the effects of divorce on children by children of divorce themselves, who now, as adults, are putting to the test the conventional opinion that children are better served by a “good divorce” than a bad marriage.
Healing and the Nature of Medicine
Our initiative with Catholic physicians from the Mayo Clinic seeks to bring an adequate anthropology to bear on contemporary medicine.