Whither the Catholic Church? A Brief History of Its Journey since Vatican II

About the Programme

This workshop will attempt to show how the 'spirit of Aggiornamento (or Renewal)' unleashed by Vatican II and the ensuing progressive developments in the Catholic Church has not been without problems.

Participants will develop an understanding of:

1. The breakaway movements of traditionalists and ultra-conservative factions in the church who feared the erosion of Catholic dogmas.
2. The rise of progressive theologians and scriptural scholarship which explored a more demystified and deconstructed Christological version of Jesus, including the radical ‘hermeneutics of rapture or discontinuity’.  
3. The concern of popes like John Paul II and Benedict XVI, fearing the rise of secularism and loss of Europe’s Christian identity, leading them to try to rein in these ‘progressive energies’.

Participants will appreciate the directions the different popes have taken and be re-assured that despite the seemingly gravitation towards a more conservative theological agenda and a return to pre-Vatican II, there are tremendous signs of hope and the church remains open to the idea of universal salvation.

Participants will be encouraged by the changes and a return to the original spirit of Vatican II and the ‘Francis Effect’ which is sweeping the Catholic world like never before. More significantly, participants will appreciate why today is a good time to ‘be and remain Catholic’.

About the Facilitator

     
Gerard Koe trained at Loyola University of Chicago, with an MA in Pastoral Counselling. He had also graduated Summa cum laude in Psychology from Illinois. Gerard has been counselling for more than 15 years, with the last 10 years in the area of family, drug and alcohol work at Catholic Care, Mary of the Cross Centre/Cyrene Centre in Melbourne.

Gerard’s real passion is the integration of spirituality into the healing/therapeutic process where he tries to understand and present the Catholic faith that is both relevant and compelling to modern man and women. As a lay Catholic and a child of Vatican II, Gerard has followed keenly the changes and developments that have transpired since 1965, acutely aware of the complexities and challenges confronting the church. In this workshop Gerard will attempt to share with participants the confusing landscape that has characterised the Catholic Church over the last 60 years and offer hope grounded in the new directions forged by the enigmatic Pope Francis. 

When
18 Saturday Oct 2014
Reg : 8.30 am
W/shop: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm

Where
CCM, Ecumenical Center
26 Jln University, P.J
(opposite University Hospital)

Registration fee
RM 60.00 (inc. coffee/tea break/lunch)

How to pay
Payment is by cash or cheque made payable to Chow Mei Mei, which can be banked into CIMB Bank A/C No: 12650001973525. Kindly send registration form and payment details to Bernie at chowbernie@yahoo.com.

Please bring own writing materials

Enquiry
Clare Law (019-2274473)
Angeline (03-7955 0845)