The Challenge of the
Modern World
Our experience as
teachers has taught us a lot over the years especially when it comes to an
effective delivery when it comes to sharing the Church's teachings with the
modern world. From the bombardment of information from various media
sources to the opposition of an overwhelming number of industries who seek to
oppose to mission of the Catholic Church with each of these entities having in
most cases, more resources and manpower.
Aside from that, we have
a culture that promotes the idea of science and reason over religious belief,
which they at times see as something worthy of suspicion since it supposedly
contains a number of outdated superstitions. Sadly, such an idea is being
sold to a mass of people who seem to accept it without question, which is why
we wish to correct some falsities that are being sold to the rest of the world.
In doing so we wish to show how the Church was always a big supporter of the
connection between faith and science and how that continues to this day.
Unfortunately, we are
also faced with a number of Catholics who are also unaware of many of the
Church's official teachings. It is certainly important for us to see why this
is so while taking every opportunity to further educate the flock on the
theological and historical truths that remain through the centuries.
Thankfully, in many cases we have also seen the impact it has had on such
people during many of our past presentations as well as the yay people have
reacted to our blogs and podcasts, which in many cases, confirmed the truths
that they had carried in their hearts. Of course, such experiences could only
occur through the grace of God.
Who We Are
We are Humana
Corpus Dignitate (HCD for short) and are a 501(c)(3) non-profit Catholic
ministry (https://www.hcdtalks.com/). We have been active in the Southwestern part
of the United States since the fall of 2019, which includes appearances at
schools and parishes in the Diocese of Tucson as well as the Archdiocese
of Los Angeles. We also host our own podcast called Anchored in
Faith where we invite people in the world of Catholic ministry to
share their stories (https://www.hcdtalks.com/podcast), have appeared on numerous radio shows and
podcasts, given talks at events such as the Living Pro-Life Conference as
well as events put on by Smart Catholics while continuing to
network what we have to offer to other communities around the country.
We have also been
blessed to have our ministry approved by Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger from
the Diocese of Tucson as well as Bishop Marc V. Trudeau, who
is the auxiliary Bishop from the San Pedro region of the Archdiocese of
Los Angeles. Our current spiritual advisers are Fr. Martin Martinez, who is
the pastor at San Martin de Porres parish in Sahuarita, AZ and
Fr. Jeffrey Smialek, who is the campus minister at Joliet Catholic
Academy in Joliet, IL.
The origin of our
ministry began when the two of us began to see how our fields of expertise
could in fact benefit the other when it comes to sharing the teachings of the
Church. In creating this partnership we are able to offer a sound theological
presentation that makes use of medical data in order to give substance to the
Church's teaching on topics such as the biblical vision of humanity, life
issues and various other topics that deal with the well being of the human
person. In doing this we are showing how religion and science do in fact work
together when it comes to unfolding the truth of who the human person is as
well as God's purpose for our lives.
Our Approach
First and foremost, we
recognize that everyone is a child of God. If anyone is in error, we need to
know what has led them into such errors while finding ways to dialogue with
them in order to find a way to at least plant the right seeds on fertile soil
that will allow the truth to grow within them. For those who are closer to
having an understanding of the truth, it may be a matter of simply steering
them in the right direction. In either case, we do our best to act as Christ
who both came to the people and listened to their stories.
Our Lord, like the
prophets of the Old Testament knew of the influence and in many cases, the
temptations that the people of God faced when it came to the influence of the
culture around them. This also means that he knows of the regret many people
felt by turning away from God as well as the anger they may have felt after
being misled into sin. We too have fallen short with our own lives so we are
not afraid to share such experiences in order to show that we are in need of the
same Savior that we share with others.
Our Lord also addressed
many of the hard topics from His time period and we too have answered that
call. This is also where our use of medical data and at times, the history of
how popular thought evolved in order to show how the culture has carefully come
for the hearts of the masses. Yes, we should listen to the feelings and
experiences of everyone involved, but in our efforts to get along with
everyone we at times fail to remember a very uncomfortable truth that still is,
and that is the existence of sin. The effects or sin continue to hurt ourselves
as well as our loved ones and we can help correct those errors by learning and
embracing the truths of how God made our bodies. Jesus Himself said that He did
not come to condemn but in doing that He also did not condone sinful behavior
(See John 8:1-11). We make use of this approach when discussing life issues,
the Catholic view of marriage, sexual ethics as well as many of the current
cultural issues and trends.
In order to avoid as
much of the confusion that surrounds these topics, our presentations always
make use of Church approved translations of the bible, the Catechism of
the Catholic Church, official Church documents, Papal Encyclicals as well
as periodicals published by respected teachers of the faith. It has already
been a very eye-opening experience for us to see the reaction of most people
who were previously unaware of the Church's position on many of these issues
before we incorporate facts from the medical world to further enforce the
Church's position on such issues.
The same method can be
used when it comes to discussing other Catholic teachings such as our beliefs
in purgatory, devotion to Mary & the Saints, the Sacraments, the male
priesthood, etc. While science at times cam assist us in unfolding these
teachings we also know that history is a great resource to offer a deeper
understanding of such teachings. Many times we are misled by secular versions
of such events, thus convincing both Catholics and the rest of the world of
false beliefs concerning the theological teachings of the Church along with
some popular historical beliefs. Again, careful research into all of the facts
helps us have a clearer understanding of what really happened as well as why the
Church holds to her position on such issues.
What To Expect from HCD
Blogs
We would like to take
this opportunity to welcome everyone from the Diocese of Tucson to
our blog. We would also like to thank everyone at The New Outlook for
inviting us to contribute to their weekly periodical in order to share what our
ministry has to offer.
We are excited to share
much of what we have to offer and look forward to your feedback. While we
accept the challenge of what will be required of us to take on many of the hard
topics we also want to celebrate and share the richness of our faith. While we
will certainly address many of the pressing issues in the world today we will
also discuss many of the other beautiful Catholic beliefs and traditions that
we all hold dear to our hearts. At times we will also share our reflections on
anything from the weekly Gospel readings to the stories of many of our faith
heroes...and much more!
We also look forward to
seeing some of you in person at future events that will take place in the
Diocese of Tucson, at your local parishes & schools as well as online
events. We are available for in person and virtual talks with it being easiest
to reach us through our website: https://www.hcdtalks.com/ or at hcdtalks@gmail.com
God bless you all!
