As The Year Of Saint Joseph Nears End, Experts Study The Crisis Of Fatherhood
International Catholic Jurists Forum Hosts International Discussion of the Relevance of Saint Joseph for Our Times
NAPLES, FL / ACCESSWIRE / December 9, 2021 / Catholic experts gathered to study the challenges of fatherhood in the Catholic Church and society and to explore the model of St. Joseph as a response, in light of Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium.
The International Catholic Jurists Forum (ICJF), headquartered at Ave Maria School of Law, in Naples, Florida, held the online seminar, on December 3, 2021, in light of the Year of St. Joseph declared by Pope Francis in Apostolic Letter Patris Corde on the 150th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. The year concluded on 8 December 2021, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, which celebrates the moment of conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, conceived without sin.
Recognizing the breakdown of fatherhood in various areas of the culture, experts from North America discussed the nature and meaning of fatherhood in the Church and society from multiple perspectives. The Catholic panel also explored the role of St. Joseph in God’s plan of Salvation, in the Holy Family, the earthly Trinity, and the Church and society, as a model of Christian manhood.
Panelists and topics included:
- Fr. Paul Sullins, Ph.D., Research Professor of Sociology at the Catholic University of America said: “Unlike mothers, fathers lack a strong bodily connection to their children, so most human societies have developed some form of marriage, that is, a social arrangement that binds fathers to children by means of law and custom. In this context, a father is successively drawn out of self-centeredness into living for another, sacrificing for another, living for a world beyond his death, and finally, living for eternity. Empirical research confirms that the absence of a father, in particular, impedes child flourishing.” “The Case for Mom and Dad” (Linacre Quarterly, 2021).
- Sean Lynn, President of God Squad Canada, husband and father of eight children, with 30 years as a police officer of the City of Calgary, discussed his work with fatherless youth at risk (falling into gang life), and the vision of his non-profit organization. He said: “Through the guidance of St Joseph, God Squad Canada forms and strengthens men, inspiring them to embrace God’s vocation in their lives through annual mens’ conferences, motorcycle evangelization tours, barbeque outreach and faith filled conversations through the “Dram with Friends” podcast and other activities.”
- Elizabeth Kirk, research associate and lecturer at the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, gave an overview of American family law, with a focus on the legal rights of fathers. She concluded: “The social science data continues to affirm the importance of fathers to the well-being of children, while demographic data reveals the experience of fatherhood is in decline. Contemporary family law scholarship, with its emphasis on an expansive notion of gender and intent-based determinations of parentage, poses special challenges for understanding and protecting fatherhood.”
- Jane F. Adolphe, Esq., Professor of international law and human rights at Ave Maria School of Law, Founder & Executor Director of ICJF, and former legal expert in Vatican City State for the Secretariat of State, Section for Relations with States, discussed the notion of fatherhood with reflections on the life and death of her own father, her work for the Holy See on the rights/duties of children, and the problem of unholy fatherhood addressed in a book she co-edited “Clerical Sexual Misconduct: An Interdisciplinary Analysis” (Cluny: 2020). The notion of fatherhood deepened in significance, when the Holy Father issued the McCarrick Report on the death of her father, the feast day of St. Leo the Great.
- Msgr. Arthur B. Calkins, STD, a former official of the Holy See’s Ecclesia Dei Commission, discussed the role of St. Joseph in God’s plan of salvation as centered on the “order of the hypostatic union” –a term used by the Jesuit Francisco Suárez (1548-1617) to refer to the order of the Incarnation. St. Joseph and the Blessed Mother were truly married, and Jesus was the fruit of their marriage. Although Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus, he was a true father to him in that he provided the model of fatherhood and manhood that helped form the human nature of Jesus in terms of acquired knowledge. Because of the exalted role of St. Joseph as “Guardian of the Redeemer,” he received special graces that elevate him to a rank of human sanctity second only to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
- Fr. Neil J. Roy, STL, Ph.D., of the Diocese of Peterborough, Canada, quondam lecturer at the Catholic University of America and the University of Notre Dame, and lecturer at International Catholic University, drew upon the painting of the Holy Family by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682) to explain that the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph was the ‘earthly’ or ‘second’ Trinity, reflecting on earth the eternal or heavenly Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He discussed the Holy Family as the Church in embryo and the model of the domestic Church. He further indicated that, since the Middle Ages, the Church has emerged from each major challenge (Lay Investiture crisis of the 11th-century, Great Western Schism, 16th-century Reformation, Italian Risorgimento) with a clearer, more ample Josephology. He pointed to devotion to St Joseph and the Holy Family as the inspiration for the founding in 1642 of the Island and City of Montréal, Canada, especially its Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, and, later, St. Joseph’s Oratory, the largest shrine of St Joseph in the world.
- Robert Fastiggi, Ph.D., Professor of dogmatic theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, MI discussed St. Joseph as a model of Christian manhood. He said: “St. Joseph is described as a “just man” in Matthew 1:19, and Carmelite friar, Jerónimo Gracián de la Madre de Dios (1545-1582), considered these two words, “man” and “just” as indications of Joseph’s virtues of fortitude, confidence in God, magnanimity, perseverance, fidelity, charity, and justice.” Drawing upon Papal magisterium, Fastiggi said: “Joseph’s great dignity is grounded in his marriage to the Blessed Virgin Mary and his role as ‘the guardian of the Son of God.’ Joseph made a true gift of himself in serving Mary and Jesus according to God’s plan. He is a model of faithful fatherhood, a true father who manifests courage and mature love.”