A glance at the topics to be presented at next year's World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, including premarital sex, homosexuality, infertility and celibacy, might give the impression that it's all about sexuality and the Catholic Church's teaching on it.
But Mary Beth Yount, a theology professor at Neumann University and director of content and programming for the World Meeting of Families, believes it is much more than that.
"It's not all about sex," she said. "We're pulling in the larger context, not just human sexuality and not just family relationships. This is for all people in all walks of life: married, dating, single by choice, celibate."
Organizers of the September 22-25, 2015, meeting that is expected to draw some 12,000 individuals and families from around the world have posted the preliminary congress agenda on the website www.worldmeeting2015.org, displaying the daily schedule of official congress events held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
The congress will examine "how best to be in human relationship with God and each other," Yount said. "What are the ways we can live fruitful lives?"
Sexuality, she said, "doesn't just mean people having sex. That is a fundamental expression that includes married people, but it also means engaging the world in other ways. It's a self-giving love: married people, people single by choice, and celibacy."
Full Story: Agenda for family meeting stays positive, doesn't shy away from issues
Source:Catholic News Service