EVERY TEACHER NEEDS TO BE HERE...
Special Topics in TOB: Gender & Sexual Identity Virtual Conference June 5-8, 2023
SPECIAL TOPICS IN TOB
Gender & Sexual Identity Virtual Conference
How does a trusted Catholic adult or educator respond to a young person regarding sexual & gender questions with truth & charity?
What does it mean to accompany someone lovingly towards God’s plan? Your genuine helpfulness begins with understanding the language & the shape of the issue: confronting a false ideology vs. a merciful discussion with a person. Join us as we traverse this delicate terrain to gain knowledge & clarity with a Catholic lens on a critical cultural issue. Your guides in this important journey will provide you with a comprehensive view from the following perspectives…
- PSYCHOLOGICAL
- ANTHROPOLOGICAL
- MORAL THEOLOGICAL
- LEGAL/CULTURAL
- PASTORAL
- MEDICAL
Instructor(s)
Professor of Theology Franciscan University of Steubenville
Dr. William Newton
Dr. Newton is a Professor of Theology and Director of Graduate Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville.
William Newton worked for ten years in scientific research before turning to the study of theology. From 2005 to 2012 he was assistant professor of Theology at the International Theological Institute in Trumau, near Vienna, Austria. From 2013 to 2017 he was chair of faculty at Franciscan University’s Gaming semester abroad program before moving to the Ohio campus in 2017. He has published in numerous journals including: Anthropotes, Josephinum Journal of Theology, The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, The Linacre Quarterly, European Journal for the Study of St. Thomas Aquinas, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Crisis Magazine, and The Catechetical Review. He is originally from England. He and his wife Claire have five children.
Director of Ruah Woods Psychological Services
Dr. Andrew Sodergren
Dr. Sodergren holds Masters and Doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from Divine Mercy University’s Institute for the Psychological Sciences (IPS), the only graduate school in existence devoted to integrating the best of psychological science with a Catholic view of the human person. His doctoral dissertation, completed in 2009, was entitled “Attachment and Morality: A Catholic Perspective.” Dr. Sodergren established Ruah Woods Psychological Services in 2011. His previous clinical work was with the Alpha Omega Clinic in Bethesda, MD and with Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska.
Dr. Sodergren is trained in child, adult, marital/family, and group therapies as well as psychological testing, including vocational assessment for candidates to the priesthood or religious life. He is certified in Relationship Enhancement® couples therapy and has received advanced training in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy. He is an active member of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association and is a frequent speaker for professional and lay audiences on topics involving the integration of psychology and the Catholic faith. For 13 years, he co-taught a course on psychology and neuroscience as an Adjunct Professor at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, DC. In 2022, Dr. Sodergren contributed a chapter on the “Psychology of the Sexual Difference” to the book Sexual Identity: The Harmony of Philosophy, Science, and Revelation published by the St. Paul Center. He previously contributed a chapter on forgiveness in marriage to the book Torn Asunder: Children, the Myth of the Good Divorce, and the Recovery of Origins. In 2023, Dr. Sodergren received the Mother of Good Counsel Clinical Excellence Award from the Catholic Psychotherapy Association.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Dr. Paul Hruz
Paul W. Hruz, M.D. Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Hruz is an academic pediatric endocrinologist (hormone specialist) and tenured physician scientist with faculty appointments in both Pediatrics and Cellular Biology and Physiology. Dr. Hruz has over 25 years of clinical experience in caring for children with endocrine disorders including disorders of sexual development. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts, scientific reviews and book chapters.
Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Mary Rice Hasson
Mary Rice Hasson, J.D., is the Kate O’Beirne Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., where she co-founded and directs the Person and Identity Project, an initiative that equips parents and faith-based institutions with resources to promote the truth about the human person and counter gender ideology. An attorney and policy expert, Mary has been a keynote speaker for the Holy See during the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, addressing education, women and work, caregiving, and gender ideology, and serves as a consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family, Life and Youth.
She speaks frequently at national conferences, universities, and in dioceses across the country, and has testified before the U.S. Senate, in state legislatures, and the Australian parliament on parents’ rights and transgender issues.
The co-author of several books on education, Mary’s writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, National Review, First Things, the National Catholic Register and Our Sunday Visitor, among others.
A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Notre Dame Law School, Mary is married to Seamus Hasson, and they are parents of seven grown children and grandparents of four.
Professor of Moral Theology
Dr. Joan Kingsland
Joan Kingsland, SThD, has been a member of the Society of Apostolic Life, the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi since 1993. She earned licentiate and doctoral degrees in moral theology at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family in Rome, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree from Thomas Aquinas College, and a Master of Arts degree from the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto. She taught moral theology and Catechetics at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati from 2016-2018, moral theology at Mater Ecclesiae College in Rhode Island from 2006-2015, and Catholic Faith Formation, grades 5-10 at the Highlands School in Dallas, Texas from 2002-2006.
During the academic year she resides in Rome and teaches the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church at Regina Apostolorum Seminary, and is contracted by Ruah Woods as a Theological Consultant on curriculum, courses, educator training and many other projects. In the summer returns to Cincinnati to work in person at Ruah Woods and help in providing training for teachers K-12 to teach Theology of the Body to their students.
Executive Director, Ruah Woods Institute
Courtney Brown
Courtney Brown received his MA in Theology at Holy Cross College & his BA at Franciscan University. Courtney has spent twenty years in the field of education teaching & leading. He served as both a Catholic elementary school principal as well as a Catholic high school principal. Courtney is currently working on his Doctorate in Interdisciplinary Leadership from Creighton University. With Ruah Woods, he has taught Theology of the Body to junior high & high school students, but presently helps with educator training & TOB Campus course development among his many responsibilities within a non-profit ministry. He has a passion for educating the whole human person and sees discipline (teaching) as a formative process in virtue. Outside of work, Mr. Brown is likely to be fishing, running, and hiking with his wife and eight children.