Catholic Life Ethics
Summer School: Thursday 13th –Sunday 16th August 2015
Catholic Life Ethics is a wide and rapidly expanding field of study. Almost every week the mainstream media reports the discovery of new techniques, discoveries and advances in the medical field and these often raise very serious ethical and moral concerns. As Catholics, are we permitted to benefit from all these new and seemingly wonderful medical/scientific discoveries? What is ‘morality’ and why does the Catholic Church have such seemingly strict rules concerning the most intimate areas of our lives? Do we in fact have mastery over our own bodies, our own lives or not? If not, why is this so? These advances in the medical and bioethical fields are surely highly beneficial to the human race. How then can we best use and put into practice for the good of all human beings new scientific advances, while at the same time ensuring the good of the human person?
Our Catholic Life Ethics residential Summer School aims to give you important insights into some of the critical questions of our times and to familiarise you with the sound principles of Catholic moral theology. Thus well-informed and with a clear grasp of fundamental moral principles, you will be able to play a more active part in the vital ongoing debates present in our society today.
Catholic moral teaching, from its sources in Holy Scripture, the Tradition of the Church and Magisterial teaching offers profound and rich resources for approaching these challenging areas of ethical debate. This moral teaching of the Church calls upon both divinely revealed truth about the nature and destiny of the human person, and what can be known by our human reason, that is available to believers and non-believers alike, in order to throw light upon these questions so vital for a healthy social and political approach to issues of human life and death.
The Summer School course runs from the evening of Thursday 13th August until lunch time on Sunday 16th August 2015. It consists of 10-12 lectures over the three days, with times for questions, discussions and debates. Set in the beautiful countryside of Devon, at Buckfast Abbey together with opportunities to share in the prayer life of the Benedictine monks, this would seem to be the ideal time and place to study and learn more concerning our Catholic faith and what the Church teaches on these most important and controversial topics.
The main topics will be:
1) Personhood and Life’s Beginnings. Areas for discussion will include: IVF, NaProtechnology and Surrogacy, Contraceptive Issues, Abortion and its effects on Women, families and Society.
2) Personhood and the benefits and dangers of scientific bio-engineering. Areas for discussion will include: Eugenics and Genetic engineering; other forms of human engineering.
3) Personhood and the End of Life. Areas for discussion will include: The dignity of the person at the end of life; the debate over rights to terminate life.
Cost: £325 including full board and lodging at Buckfast Abbey, or £60 per day (including refreshments and lunch). There is also a non-refundable £20 registration fee payable upon your application.
There is a reduction for those who wish to participate in two Summer Schools. The cost for two Summer Schools is £575. This price does not include the £20 registration fee for each of the Summer Schools.
Cancellation Rights:
You have a 14 day cooling off period which starts from the date of application.
The speakers at this event are well known, very experienced and knowledgeable in this field. Father Dr. Frank Marsden (Cantab), Professor Valerie Fleming and Dr Anthony McCarthy.
The summer school begins at 5.30pm on the first day and finishes at lunch time on the last day. The weekend is designed to include lectures and seminars in the context of experiencing the rhythm of daily prayer of the resident Benedictine monastic community.
Download an application form here.