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Open Hearts Ministry
At the Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry
Invites you
to a regional conference of Catholic communities
To learn, pray, reflect and respond to the Church’s call to minister to all God’s People.
Welcoming Gay Catholics to the Church:
Challenges and Opportunities
Keynote Address: Rev.Walter Cuenin, Catholic Chaplain at Brandeis University
Rev. Walter Cuenin was ordained a priest in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in 1970. He received his doctorate in sacred theology from the Gregorian University in Rome in 1977. He has served in parishes in North Andover, Lexington, Marlborough, and most recently, as pastor of Our Lady Help of Christians in Newton. He is currently the Catholic chaplain at Brandeis University.
Rev. Cuenin has always been active in interfaith relations. He is the Catholic panelist on “Talking Religion” a weekly interfaith radio program on WRKO. He shares the program with a Muslim, Jewish and Protestant colleague. For many years he was the chair of the Newton Clergy Association. He serves on the Executive Board and the Advisory Board of the Center for the Study of Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations at Merrimack College, and he is a member of the Interreligious Council on Public Life at Hebrew College. He is also a trustee of the Massachusetts Bible Society.
Rev. Cuenin has taught theology at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and at Boston College. He is also well known as an inspirational speaker throughout the Archdiocese of Boston. He was one of the founders of the Boston Priests’ Forum.
In this talk Rev. Cuenin will outline the many ways that the church calls for the full inclusion of gay persons in the life of the church. He will share from his experience as a pastor of a large Boston parish the ways in which gay Catholics can be supported and how the parish deals with the many gay couples who are raising children in the faith. He will also share how he helps young people deal with issues of sexual identity especially from his work as the Catholic chaplain at Brandeis University. In this session there will be an opportunity for questions and discussion. Rev. Cuenin will highlight the many ways in which the church is dealing with this sensitive issue and the challenges that remain.
Parish Presentations: Panel and Follow-up Discussion
Friend’s of St. Francis , Providence, RI
Always Our Children, Springfield, MA
Fortunate Families, Rochester, NY
Open Hearts Ministry, Hartford, CT
LUNCH
Afternoon Workshop Choices:
- Spiritual and Psychological Needs of Gay and Lesbian Catholics:
What They Need to Remain and Flourish
- Supporting Parents and Siblings of Gay and Lesbian Children
- Scripture and Homosexuality
Next Steps: Where and How to Start.
Forming Networks of Support
CLOSING LITURGY at 4pm
WHEN: Saturday, April 10th 9:00am – 5:00pm
Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry, 285 Church St., Hartford, CT 06103
Free will offering. Suggested donation: $20.
RSVP by March 29: 860-756-4034
Click here to RSVP by e-mail.
Click here to RSVP by mail.
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