Denver Catholic

7 DENVER CATHOLIC | APRIL 11-17, 2015 T he Vatican has a special depart- ment dedicated to issues related to the family, and one of its repre- sentatives will be in Denver this month to speak on where family falls on Pope Francis' agenda. John Grabowski, Ph.D., along with his wife Claire, is a member of The Pontifi - cal Council for the Family, a group that assists the pope as universal pastor of the Church by focusing on issues related to defense of human life, contraception, sex education, marriage preparation, and the rights, theology and spirituality of the family. The Grabowskis are one of only two couples from the United States, and 30 worldwide, on the 200-member council. Grabowski, who is an associate professor and director of moral theology and ethics at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., will speak at the Arch- bishop's Lecture Series April 21. In his talk "Pope Francis' call to mis- sion and the role of the family," he aims to challenge and "hopefully debunk" two common misconceptions of the pope's teaching in regard to family put forward by pundits and media outlets, both secu- lar and Catholic. The fi rst, he said, is that Pope Francis' teaching is somehow discontinuous with that of his predecessors; and secondly that he's "really not very interested in family." "Family is forefront on his pastoral agenda," Grabowski, a 51-year-old father of fi ve, told the Denver Catholic from his o ce in Washington, D.C. "The pur- pose of the synods (on family) and the upcoming World Meeting of Families (in Philadelphia in September) is to engage families—not just as objects, but as sub- jects, of the new evangelization." What's di¤ erent about this concept, he said, is that Pope Francis is combining strands of the teachings of Vatican II, St. John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. "We need to see families as active par- ticipants in the new evangelization," he said, not simply as spectators. That message is lost on some people because they listen to the pope "with a fi lter," Grabowski said, only hearing parts of what he's saying. Pope Francis' dedication to families has been "remarkably evident" in his public acts over the fi rst two years of this papacy, he continued, including calling two synods on family (October 2014 and Octo- ber 2015), committing to attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia Sept. 22-25, devoting his weekly general audi- ence message to the topic, and speaking at events such as the Humanum conference on the "Complementarity of Man and Woman" last November. "He's calling on the family to be inten- tional missionary disciples," Grabowski said. Grabowski has participated in three plenary sessions of the pontifi cal council in Rome since his appointment by Ben- edict XVI in 2009, including the most recent in October 2013 where members enjoyed an unexpected private audience with Pope Francis who delivered a mes- sage on family, drawn from the catechesis he has prepared for the World Meeting of Families. Grabowski, a widely published author in the areas of moral theology, marriage, sexuality and bioethics, holds a bachelor's degree in theology from the University of Steubenville in Ohio and a doctorate from Marquette University in Wisconsin. He has served at the Catholic University of America for 22 years. From 2005-2009 he was a theological advisor to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcom- mittee on Marriage and Family. His talk will be the fourth, and fi nal, in the 2014-2015 series related to family at the same time the universal Church is focusing on the family. The lecture will be 7 p.m. in Bonfi ls Halls on the campus of the St. John Paul II Center for the New Evangelization at 1300 S. Steele St. in Denver. We are part of Centura Health, the region's largest health care network. Centura Health does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, na onal origin, disability, age, sex, religion, creed, ancestry, sexual orienta on, and marital status in admission, treatment, or par cipa on in its programs, services and ac vi es, or in employment. For further informa on about this policy contact Centura Health's Office of the General Counsel at (303)804-8166. A spiritually driven, warm and welcoming environment offering a variety of living op ons: • Independent Living • Assisted Living • Memory Care Secured Unit • Adult Day Programs • On-site Physician Clinic • Respite Care • Daily Mass Call today to schedule a tour 303-964-3804 What I like most about The Gardens at St. Elizabeth is there are a lot of ac vi es and opportuni es to volunteer. At The Gardens at St. Elizabeth you do not have to be lonely. There are lots of people to talk to. If you do not feel like talking to a person, you can always go to the chapel and talk to God, he listens! —Pearl Notartomaso The Gardens at St. Elizabeth is good because of the chapel, it is clean, there are nice places to walk, and good friends. —Stella "Margaret" Berry MAKE NEW FRIENDS IN 2015! New Resident Move In Special Call today to learn how you can get 2 months base rent-free! Time-limits on special may apply. 2835 W. 32nd Ave., Denver centuraseniors.org/thegardens What I like most about The Gardens at St. Elizabeth is there are a lot of ac vi es and opportuni es to The Gardens at St. Elizabeth is good because of the chapel, it is clean, there are nice places to walk, and good friends. —Stella "Margaret" Berry Lecture: Don't listen to Pope Francis 'with a fi lter' or you'll miss the message BY JULIE FILBY 303-715-3123 | julie.fi lby@archden.org www.twitter.com/DenCathJulie i LECTURE "Pope Francis' call to mission and the role of the family" 7 p.m. April 21, St. John Paul II Center 303-715-3230 John Grabowski, and his wife, Claire, are greeted by Pope Francis at the Vatican October 2013. PHOTO PROVIDED state at

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