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Volume 16, Number 2, Winter 2015

Embrace the Spirit

Newsjournal of the Religious and Moral Education CouncilThe Alberta Teachers’ Association

Religious and Moral Education Council Executive 2014/15

PresidentCarl FakeleyBus [email protected]

Past PresidentSharon MalecBus [email protected]

Vice-PresidentMarc SanscartierBus [email protected]

SecretaryNick SimoniBus [email protected]

TreasurerLeeAnn [email protected]

Conference Director 2014Ronald BaierBus 780-632-2266ronb@cable_lynx.net

Newsjournal EditorDorothy BurnsBus [email protected]

WebmasterDan McLaughlinBus [email protected]

Visit our website at http://rmec.teachers.ab.ca

PEC LiaisonElaine Willette-LarsenBus [email protected]

ATA Staff AdvisorCynthia Malner-CharestBus 403-265-2672 [email protected]

Embrace the Spirit, Winter 2015 — 1

Winter 2015

Embrace the Spirit is the newsjournal of the Religious and Moral Education Council (RMEC) of The Alberta Teachers’ Association, 11010 142 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T5N 2R1. Copyright © 2015 by The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA). Unless otherwise indicated in the text, reproduction of material in Embrace the Spirit is authorized for classroom and professional development use, provided that each copy contain full acknowledgement of the source and that no charge be made beyond the cost of reprinting. Any other reproduction in whole or in part without prior written consent of the ATA is prohibited. Editorial and production services: Document Production staff, ATA. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the RMEC or the ATA. Address manuscripts and correspondence concerning this publication to Dorothy Burns, 1 McRae Street, Box 1318, Okotoks, AB T1S 1B3. ISSN 1481-4412

Individual copies of this newsjournal can be ordered at the following prices: 1 to 4 copies, $7.50 each; 5 to 10 copies, $5.00 each; over 10 copies, $3.50 each. Please add 5 per cent shipping and handling and 5 per cent GST. Please contact Distribution at Barnett House to place your order. In Edmonton, dial 780-447-9432; toll free in Alberta, dial 1-800-232-7208, ext 432.

This newsjournal is available on microfilm from Micromedia Limited, Acquisitions/CEI, 20 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON M5C 2N8.

Personal information regarding any person named in this document is for the sole purpose of professional consultation between members of The Alberta Teachers’ Association.

Embrace the Spirit Contents

2 A Note from the Editor Dorothy Burns

3 From the President Carl Fakeley

4 Editorial Board 2014/15

Kaleidoscope5 Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools

Feature Article9 2014 RMEC Award Winners

Fides et Ratio12 Trousered Apes or Persons? Rediscovering the Soul and

Our Rational Nature Tomás Rochford

Student Corner17 Papal Infallibility and Its Role in the Church Today Riley Sangster

Book Review20 Adventures of the God Detectives,

by Nancy Reeves and Linnea Good Janice Stefancik

2 — Embrace the Spirit, Winter 2015

A Note from the Editor

As I was preparing this issue of Embrace the Spirit, the words “o’er all the weary world” came to

mind. I’m not sure if that is because I am weary myself or if it is because I can see so many things that wear the world down and cause weariness. Thanks to good old Google, I was able to track down the lyrics for the Christmas carol “It Came upon the Midnight Clear.”

Most of us know only the first verse and maybe the second, but I was struck by the third verse:

Yet with the woes of sin and strifeThe world has suffered long;Beneath the angel-strain have rolledTwo thousand years of wrong;And man, at war with man, hears notThe love-song which they bring;O hush the noise, ye men of strife,And hear the angels sing.Of course, man here means humankind. Women do their share of creating strife.These lyrics make Father Stefano Penna’s words, at the Religious and Moral Educa-

tion Council (RMEC) annual conference in October, sink even deeper into my soul: “No quiet, we only have an idea of God; no quiet, only ego.” I feel the need to hush the noise this Advent to hear the love song in preparation for the great feast of Christmas.

This issue contains many examples of how people have heard the love song. All of our award winners definitely have heard it, and they help other people hear it, too. Kaleidoscope features my own school division, and I am humbled by the excellent people I work with and all the amazing things they do to help overcome the strife and suffering in the world. All of this is multiplied a hundredfold in all the other school jurisdictions in our province, some of which have been featured in past issues. Your school division can also be featured. It would be great to hear how others hear the angels sing.

Take time to hear the angels sing, and stay warm and safe until spring.

Dorothy Burns


From the President

Our scheduled keynote speaker, Ray Guarendi, was unable to be with us, but RMEC had a world-class

annual conference nevertheless. Thank you very much to Bishop Fred Henry and Father Stefano Penna for stepping in at the last minute.

Although our council is open to all, our main focus is providing professional development opportunities for teachers in Catholic schools. Catholic schools and public schools, although they follow the same academic curricu-lum, are distinctly different. Public schools endeavour to help students become engaged citizens who will be lead-ers in the community and the world. Catholic schools also

do this, but there is more to the mission of a Catholic school. This message came across loud and clear from both of our speakers. Evangelization is the difference. Catholic schools must endeavour to lead students into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. As Father Penna, paraphrasing Pope Paul VI,1 said, “People listen more readily to witnesses than to teachers, and if they listen to teachers it is because they are witnesses.” Catholic school teachers must then be people of faith who, like the men of faith who brought the paralytic to Jesus (Luke 5:17–26), will bring students to experience Christ in a real and profound way. It is my hope as president of RMEC that we can play a part in this most important mission.

Note1. Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi [Apostolic Exhortation of His Holiness Pope Paul VI], sec 41,

www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19751208_evangelii-nuntiandi_en.html (accessed January 5, 2015).

Carl Fakeley

Back row (l to r): LeeAnn Arsenault (treasurer), Nick Simoni (secretary), Dan McLaughlin (webmaster), Carl Fakeley (president)Front row (l to r): Ron Baier (conference director), Dorothy Burns (newsjournal editor), Cynthia Malner-Charest (ATA staff advisor), Sharon Malec (past president), Marc Sanscartier (vice-president)

2014/15 RMEC Executive


Editorial Board 2014/15

Mission Statement The Religious and Moral Education Council exists to inspire and foster learning communities

by providing professional development for teachers to help them nurture the moral, ethical and spiritual lives of students.

Vision StatementThe Religious and Moral Education Council will, in search of peace and the common good, be a

principal resource for Alberta teachers.

Values We are committed to serving teachers of all traditions and cultures, through the values of faith,

dignity, respect and collaboration.

Religious andMoral Education Councilof the Alberta Teachers’ Association

Dorothy Burns, Editor, Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools, Okotoks

Timothy P Cusack, St Jerome Elementary School, Edmonton

Lea Foy, Lakeland Catholic Schools, Bonnyville

Brenda Hamilton, St Angela Elementary School, Edmonton

Sharon Malec, retired, Lethbridge

Sandy Talarico, Newman Theological College and Edmonton Catholic Schools


Kaleidoscope

Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools

C hrist the Redeemer Catholic Schools (CTR Catholic) oper-

ates in seven communities in Alberta, providing authentic Catholic education to students in 15 traditional schools, four out-reach schools and a distance education school.

CTR Catholic was created as a result of the Government of Al-berta’s restructuring of school districts across the province in 1994 and 1995. CTR Catholic was formed in 1995 by amalgamating the Okotoks, Drumheller and Assump-tion school districts. Today CTR Catholic operates in Oyen, Brooks, Drumheller, Strathmore, High River, Okotoks and Canmore.

CTR Catholic supports more than 500 teachers with faith-based learning opportunities, profes-sional development and guidance. Our teachers’ continual commit-ment to learning, sharing, and providing safe and caring opportu-nities for every student is para-mount. Our motto is Leave Not One Heart Behind.

We are delighted to share with you some of the great things that are happening in our schools. Each of our school communities is unique, yet we are all united on the essentials. Steve Angrisano’s song “Many and One” is a beauti-ful expression of the ethos of our school division, and we have adopted it as our song for this school year. We hope that the stories below will give you the flavour of CTR Catholic. More information about our schools is available on our website (www .redeemer.ab.ca).

School ActivitiesAssumption School, Oyen

CTR Catholic’s September board meeting was held in Oyen. School trustees and senior administration were welcomed by the K–6 stu-dents at Assumption School with chalk drawings on the sidewalk. For the supper table, students created special placemats express-ing what brings them joy, as part

of the district’s three-year faith plan—Joyful Journey. The board was overwhelmed by and grateful for all the special effort the school put into preparing for their arrival. They toured the halls and ex-pressed their commitment to Assumption School.

Tricia Rolheiser, Principal

St Joseph’s Collegiate, Brooks

On October 9, Brad Henning, the author of Don’t Take Love Lying Down (Createspace, 2014), spoke to our Grades 9–12 students. Using scientific facts and anecdotal examples, he explained how God made men and women so differ-ently. Understanding these differ-ences helps us become better communicators and function in a more empathetic way in relation-ships. Next, he talked about dating and how to guard our hearts, minds and bodies for our future spouses. Last, he explained how sex and love get mixed up in our society and why it is wise to leave sex out of the mix until marriage.

Brad Henning


When students were asked what they thought of Henning’s talk, one male Grade 12 student shared, “He was funny, honest and kept us on the edge of our seats. What he had to say surprised me and gave me a lot to think about regarding my future choices and perspec-tives. He was well worth the time—definitely!”

Kim Heinrichs, Teacher/Faith Leader

St Anthony’s School, Drumheller

The junior and senior high students at St Anthony’s School make dresses for children in Africa and the Philippines out of gently used pillowcases. Some senior high students use donated fabric to make adult-size dresses. Last year we sent dresses to Africa with a former teacher who was doing a mission in the summer. Through the Filipino community in Drum-heller, we sent clothes when they were doing a clothing drive after the typhoon in November 2013. Through this project, our students are learning basic sewing skills and enjoying adding the embel-lishments. We are really fortunate to have a community that helps us out with supplies to keep our work for this cause going.

Chris Bzdel, Vice-Principal

Holy Cross Collegiate, Strathmore

The Dead Philosophers’ Society is a class offered weekly at lunch hour for all interested students in Grades 9–12. We read, analyze and discuss some of the great ideas and great books of civilization. Over the past four years we have delved into the thought of Plato (The Republic) and Aristotle (Ethics) and the poetry of Dante (The Divine Comedy); studied some logic

(D Q McInerny’s Being Logical); and reflected on human nature with the guidance of Dostoyevsky, Dickens and Austen. This year we are reading Plato’s last dialogues of Socrates (Euthyphro, Crito and Phaedo) and Saint Augustine’s Confessions. For me, reading these classics—and struggling with the essential questions of human existence, the universe and God—is a small part of the New Evange-lization. My hope is that this experience allows students to engage with the true, the good and the beautiful, so that they may better know and love him who is truth, beauty and goodness.

Tomás Rochford, Religion Department Head

St John Paul II Collegiate, Okotoks

Me to We, founded by Craig Kielburger of Free the Children, is changing the selfie generation from the “me” perspective to thinking about the global perspec-tive of “we.” We Day was estab-lished in 2007 and is now held in cities across Canada. Many Catho-lic schools participate in the Al-berta event.

Excitement about the event was kicked up a notch for us when St John Paul II Collegiate was asked to host the We Create Change Tour. The tour stopped at 90 schools, from Newfoundland to British Columbia, to create aware-ness and solicit donations to build schools in Free the Children communities around the world. June 4, 2014, was an amazing day at the school. The air was electric when staff and students rolled out the red carpet for Free the Chil-dren alumnus Spencer West, blogger Hannah Alper and the band Neverest.

Spencer West is known among young people for his accomplish-ments and his odds-defying exploits. He was born with a rare condition, and when he was five, doctors had to amputate his legs below the waist, leaving just the torso. His parents were told that day that he would never be a functioning member of society. However, Spencer proved every-one wrong. He did not walk; he ran. He did not just function; he awed everyone. Spencer’s first big project was to climb Mount Kili-manjaro to raise more than a million dollars for clean water projects. Next, he walked from Edmonton to Calgary, and then hit the road and travelled across the country. Spencer has left his positive message with countless students.

Hannah Alper started blogging at age 9. Now 13, she is an inspir-ing activist. Her active blog, Call Me Hannah (www.callmehannah .ca), is about creating change in her world and protecting the environment.

The members of the band Never-est came along to show students their commitment to change and to showcase their music.Spencer West and Dorothy Burns


Free the Children also set up a pop-up shop, and students pur-chased jewellery made by Maasai women in Kenya.

We presented Spencer with a cheque for more than $3,500, which was collected throughout the school year, along with other fundraising efforts for local and global organizations. Last year, young people involved with Free the Children created enough change to build 220 schools around the world. Free the Children is an amazing organization.

Our staff and students have worked hard over the past 10 years to support Free the Children. This memorable event will remain with students for many years. We are blessed to have had the opportu-nity and blessed to have such amazing role models for being the change we wish to see in the world.

Stacey MacNeil, Teacher/Religion Department Head

District ActivitiesTony Meléndez

Okotoks during the last week of September. Tony was born without arms and plays guitar with his feet. Many of our students found the words of Tony’s older brother especially touching. He shared how, as a teenager, he was told by Tony not to risk injury by trying to beat up the boys who were teasing Tony. Tony said that it didn’t make him feel better to see his brother get hurt trying to protect him, and that he would be fine on his own. The gym was silent during this part of the talk.

Mark Pacione, Vice-Principal, St John Paul II Collegiate

St Justin Martyr Scholarship Essay Contest

Last year was the inaugural year of the St Justin Martyr Scholarship Essay Contest for Grade 12 stu-dents, which is cosponsored by CTR Catholic and the Religious Education Secretariat of the Catho-lic Diocese of Calgary. The contest requires students to write a brief research paper on a topic of Catho-lic doctrinal or moral teaching. Students can choose to write on one of two topics provided. They are expected to write in a philo-sophical or theological style com-mensurate with their education level. The purpose of the contest is to give students in CTR Catholic schools the opportunity to research and write about the teachings of the Church. It is hoped that it will spur students’ interest in the study of philosophy and theology, and perhaps even lead them to reli-gious vocations.

Joyful JourneyThis school year we launched

our three-year faith plan, Joyful Journey. The focus of the faith plan is the New Evangelization, which invites us as Catholics to be

joyfully renewed in our faith. In the era of Pope Francis, joy is the word of the day. In his encyclical, Evangelii Gaudium,1 the pope uses the word joy 109 times: How I long to find the right

words to stir up enthusiasm for a new chapter of evangelization full of fervour, joy, generosity, courage, boundless love and attraction! Yet I realize that no words of encouragement will be enough unless the fire of the Holy Spirit burns in our hearts. (sec 261)

Year 1: On Your Mark is to be a year of readiness. What keeps us from having a relationship with Jesus? As a district, we will focus on the Gospel of Mark, and all schools have committed to reflect-ing on the Sunday readings. To launch our theme, we have held a series of “joy retreats” and reflec-tion days with various groups: school district trustees and admin-istrators, local priests (and Bishop Frederick Henry), school adminis-tration teams, teacher faith leaders and students. Something new for us was a combined teacher and student retreat with Steve Angri-sano. Teacher faith leaders from all schools spent a day with Steve at the Southern Alberta Bible Camp. In the evening and on the follow-ing day, we added selected stu-dents from Grades 9–12 to the mix. It was an incredible experience, as the following participant com-ments reflect:• “The facility was beautiful and I

was able to connect with God and new people who shared my faith.”

• “Steve’s voice is moving and the lyrics touched my heart and soul.”

• “The games helped us relax and connect with others at a friend-ship level.”

Musician Tony Meléndez visited our schools in Canmore, Drum-heller, Strathmore, High River and


• “This retreat has caused me to love God even more!”

• “It was so uplifting to see all the teenagers singing, participating and honestly enthusiastic about their faith.”

• “Steve and the other teen leaders have inspired me to do more in church.”

• “Inspirational, interactive and moving in terms of my faith.”

• “The campfire was something I had never experienced. Fun and uplifting. Thank you.”

• “The testimonies affected me at a deep level.”

• “Now I want to help people get closer to God and I see how I can do it!”

• “Beyond amazing!”• “I was trusted as a leader and

now I know that I have it in me to lead.”

• “It was great to share stories about how we are brought to faith. Sometimes just giving someone a prayer book or inviting them to a retreat may change their lives forever.”

• “Music touches my soul in a way that words cannot.”

• “Steve Angrisano is in love with God and with teenagers. He was funny, talented and willing to use his gifts for the glory of God. I want to be like him.”

• “The song ‘Many and One’ was my favourite and I think we ‘lived’ this song on the retreat! Amazing!”

Note1. Francis, Evangelii Gaudium

[Apostolic Exhortation of the Holy Father Francis], http://w2.vatican .va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html (accessed February 4, 2015).

Steve Angrisano


Feature Article

Award of Merit

T he Award of Merit recognizes exemplary classroom teaching,

leadership or service in the field of religious studies and moral education.

Jason Byer, Austin O’Brien Catholic High School

Jason Byer has the role of school chaplain and classroom teacher at Austin O’Brien Catholic High School, in Edmonton. Hired as a replacement for a maternity leave, Jason instinctively assumed his roles and responsibilities, and the transition was seamless. He was able to quickly build relationships with staff and students, thereby building their trust in his deci-sions. His organizational skills have enabled major school events to be executed without a hitch, including a Christmas hamper drive, school masses and celebra-tions, a grad retreat, and a district-wide event called Stand Up For Day. His skilful guitar playing has enhanced faith sharing for everyone.

At this year’s Grade 10 retreat, when we received news of the death of our district chaplain, Father Michael Mireau, Jason handled the situation as a true servant leader, providing opportunity for prayer and making himself available to those needing support at that very difficult time. His office is always

2014 RMEC Award Winners

open to any student or staff mem-ber who needs words of encour-agement or just someone to listen without judgment.Adapted from letters supporting the nomination by Austin O’Brien staff David Warawa (principal), Ignacio Haro (assistant principal) and Teresa Kiryluk (Grade 12 coordinator).

Sandra Young, St Thomas More Junior High School

Sandra Young lives by the motto Forever Young. Her passion for religious education and social justice has never waned. A teacher at St Thomas More Junior High School, in Edmonton, Sandra is in the twilight of her career yet exudes the energy and excitement of a neophyte teacher. She is an exemplary teacher who ensures that students adopt a proper attitude of reverence during daily prayer. She commits her time to organizing many social justice events, including a youth confer-ence on the injustices of genocide and fundraising for clean water, food, Christmas gifts and school construction.

Every year Sandra works tirelessly to organize a school event called Taste of STM. This is a cultural event in which students prepare food and perform dances reflecting their cultural heritage. The funds raised go to the Canadian Hunger

Foundation. Sandra’s current initiatives include raising $10,000 for Sign of Hope, which supports Catholic Social Services, and taking a small group of students in March 2015 to the first interna-tional We Day, in London.

Sandra is a credit to our profes-sion and an outstanding example of what it means to be a Catholic school teacher.Adapted from letters supporting the nomination by John Fiacco (former principal, St Thomas More), Jackie Ament (teacher, St Thomas More) and Marc Sanscartier (vice-president, RMEC).

Shannon Dolan, Ste Marie Catholic School

Shannon Dolan, a teacher at Ste Marie Catholic School, in Spirit River, is a very spiritual and caring young lady. She shows her strong faith in everything she does, including teaching, her everyday life and her involvement in the choir at St Joseph’s Parish. She serves as a fantastic example for her students by living her faith daily. Shannon has attended many conferences, workshops and speakers to enrich her beliefs. She is a person who can truly get young people excited about God.Adapted from a letter supporting the nomination by Debbie Alfred (secre-tary, Ste Marie Catholic School).


Dawn Kirvan Award of Merit for Collaboration

Instituted in memory of Dawn Kirvan, religious education coordi-nator for Greater St Albert Catholic Schools, the Dawn Kirvan Award of Merit for Collaboration can be given only to a group. This reflects Dawn’s belief that it is people working together in community that ultimately changes the world.

Foothills School DivisionThis year’s recipient of the Dawn

Kirvan Award of Merit for Col-laboration is the Foothills School Division (FSD), which was nomi-nated by Christ the Redeemer (CTR) Catholic Schools. The following supporting letters demonstrate why the school district is worthy of this award.

In June 2013, High River was hit with what has been described as Canada’s worst ever natural disaster: heavy rains and flooding. FSD lost its board office, and several of its schools suffered extensive damage. CTR Catholic Schools lost its two schools in High River. Close to 800 students were left without a home, and CTR had only two short months to find alternative accommodations.

In early July, then minister of education Jeff Johnson toured High River with me, FSD superin-tendent Denise Rose and FSD board chair Diana Froc. As we contemplated the devastation, the minister brainstormed solutions to CTR’s space problem. However, it was Denise and Diana who almost immediately took the lead. They offered something I would never have even considered asking for: space in various FSD public schools in High River. Then, they made an even more compelling offer. They suggested that they turn over an entire wing of Senator

Riley School to the students of Notre Dame Collegiate.

Despite being devastated them-selves, FSD staff had their eyes on the ultimate good for the students of High River and for the commu-nity. Senator Riley was set to be administered by a new principal and vice-principal. Imagine taking over a brand new school and immediately having to give up an entire wing! The two administra-tors were gracious, giving and selfless as they cooperated with our administrators and made every accommodation necessary. When the new school year arrived, the additional portables that were to be placed on Senator Riley’s site were not yet complete. What did the Senator Riley administration do? They gave up their entire gym to accommodate close to 200 displaced students. I would have expected the phys ed teacher, at the very least, to be upset. I learned later that he was the first one to support this decision. He said that the weather was great and they could make do with holding phys ed outside for a while.

I have many anecdotes like these. In fact, there are too many to share here. In addition, Spitzee Elementary School and École Joe Clark School offered support to Holy Spirit Academy, our K–6 school.

Scott Morrison, Superintendent of CTR Catholic Schools

When Holy Spirit Academy suffered damage from the floods, the moral support we received from the staffs of Spitzee Elemen-tary School and École Joe Clark School was tremendous and appreciated. One member of Spitzee sent the word out to teachers around the province, asking for help in restocking our

teachers’ lost classroom materials. During the summer months, loads of supplies, books, teacher guides and other resources arrived at Spitzee. An open house was then arranged for our teachers to go “shopping” to replace their lost items. This was a huge undertak-ing and had such a positive impact on our teachers.

Joe Clark staff also went out of their way to make us feel sup-ported and encouraged. During the week before Thanksgiving, they invited all our students and teachers to a luncheon and an afternoon of fun activities. Ar-rangements were made for our staff to enjoy a leisurely lunch in the staff room, while supervision was provided for our students. After lunch our students joined the students of Joe Clark for art and craft activities, music classes, physical education classes, and some fun time on the playground equipment. Teachers and students were uplifted by the kindness and thoughtfulness shown to us by the Joe Clark staff.

Dorothy White, Principal, Holy Spirit Academy

Our deepest thanks go out to the various people and departments at the Foothills School Division and Senator Riley School. From the first day of discussion regarding this collaboration, the facilities depart-ments from both school districts worked tirelessly to anticipate any problems and work proactively to deal with them. When unantici-pated issues popped up, they were met with a positive spirit and a great deal of wisdom and skill. From a school administration perspective, we all worried about potential concerns with placing our high school students into a middle school environment. Matters such as student parking


spaces and bus access—as well as sharing specialized spaces, coordi-nating gym time for team practices and borrowing equipment—were worked out efficiently and effec-tively, as we all shared the same concern for our students’ well-being. We always encountered a welcoming smile, and every request was positively received with a desire to sort things out. I can’t say enough about the Senator Riley staff. Our teachers collabo-rated, shared ideas and developed a rapport that continues today. We are currently planning a get- together to reconnect and continue to build on our common desire to provide the best education pos-sible to the students of High River.

Paul Dunphy, Principal, Notre Dame Collegiate

As Scott Morrison said, “We Catholics often like to think we know something special about moral and ethical behaviour. This was another example in my life that illustrated how there is a profound sense of goodness and decency in all educators. In the aftermath of the flood of 2013, FSD illustrated this as well as any example I can think of.”

Dr Peter Craigie AwardThe Dr Peter Craigie Award

recognizes service that has contrib-uted to the professional growth of RMEC members. It is presented to

an individual, a group or an organization. This year there are two recipients.

Cynthia Malner-Charest, ATA Staff Advisor for RMEC

Since becoming our ATA staff advisor, Cynthia Malner-Charest has been our advocate and guide extraordinaire. She was instrumen-tal in helping us acquire the funds to strategically plan for the renewal of our council. Her knowledge of the supports available for specialist councils has been invaluable. The many contacts she has made and conversations she has had with people at Barnett House on our behalf have been such a help for our executive, who are often strapped for time because of professional and personal commitments be-yond our roles on the council. Her positive, “get ’er done” attitude has been a great encouragement to the executive and has helped us move forward optimistically and re-ener-gized. This award is well deserved for all Cynthia has done to make our council stronger and of more benefit to the teachers we serve. This is a poignant moment, as Cynthia had Dr Peter Craigie as one of her professors at the Uni-versity of Calgary.

Cheryl O’Brien, Administrative Officer, ATA

Cheryl O’Brien is not only the consummate professional (the

depth and breadth of her knowl-edge are second to none) but also a servant leader who has a genuine and sincere heart and is always looking out for the best interest of those she serves. Our conference is the major opportunity to increase our membership, and as our conferences grow in scope and magnitude, so does our member-ship. By those in the conference world, Cheryl is revered as omni-scient, and she is often relied upon to be the beacon of light providing direction. She always knows where to direct us or how to solve the problem herself. She has been instrumental in assisting with membership applications, making the process easy and seamless. Whatever the request or resulting task, she approaches it with sincer-ity as her focus is always on what is best for others. Cheryl’s support of our council has been unwaver-ing, and her expertise and efforts have contributed to the success and growth RMEC has experienced.Adapted from the comments of Ron Baier (RMEC conference director).

Information about RMEC awards, nomination forms and nomination deadlines is available on our website (www.rmecata.com). The deadline for nominations for the 2015 awards is May 31, 2015.


Trousered Apes or Persons? Rediscovering the Soul and Our Rational NatureTomás Rochford

Fides et Ratio

Tomás Rochford, the district department head of high school religion for Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools, teaches at Holy Cross Collegiate, in Strathmore. He lives with his family on an acreage outside Strathmore and is pursuing an online MA in theology from Christendom College.

I n my past Fides et Ratio columns, I have considered how the full

and proper articulation of the faith is currently hampered by a mis-taken understanding of what reason is, and whether we can really know anything other than empirical-mathematical “facts.” In discussing the arguments for God’s existence in the Winter 2013 issue of Embrace the Spirit, I stated that the ability of reason to explore the fullness of being (what might be called metaphysical breadth) will neces-sarily involve questions and an-swers about God (Rochford 2013).

However, we must not be de-ceived that this sort of inquiry is the norm in contemporary society. In fact, we currently suffer under the weight of what Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI called a voluntary

“self-limitation of reason,”1 wherein the scope of reason is limited to investigating only what can be quantified and observed by the senses. This regnant scientism banishes other areas of intellectual exploration—such as ethics, metaphysics and theology—to the domain of opinion, emotion or pseudoscience. Repeating once again the cri de coeur with which I began this series of articles, I assert that this false understanding of reason makes Christian evangeli-zation difficult, if not impossible.

The distressing truth about the disordered thinking of our stu-dents on critical philosophical “givens” struck me profoundly in a recent senior high religion class addressing theological anthropol-ogy—an investigation of the nature of the human person. To stimulate student reflection about their nature and rights, I read them the following excerpt from The Unintended Reformation: How a Religious Revolution Secularized Society, by Brad Gregory (2012, 18–19): I am concerned about the blithe

and incoherent denial of the

category of truth in the domains of human morality, values, and meaning among many academ-ics. . . . In the words of the Nobel Prize–winning physicist Steven Weinberg (2001), for example, a harsh critic of postmodern attacks on science, “moral or aesthetic statements are simply not of the sort which it is appro-priate to call true or false” (p. 120), since we are “inventing values for ourselves as we go along” (p. 47). . . . If we invent our values and morality, then there are no bases beyond preference on which to condemn torture or the selling of teenage girls into sexual slavery. We simply happen to live in a culture in which most people happen not to like such things. . . . The natural sciences can offer no help if, as many evolutionary biologists claim, Homo sapiens is simply a remarkably adaptive hominid, no different in kind from other mammalian species with which it shares so much genetic material. Science neither observes any persons nor discov-ers any rights—for the simple


reason that there are none to be found given the metaphysical postulates and empiricist as-sumptions of science.Although this passage explores

several related issues, especially the irrationality of ethics under the reign of scientism, students fo-cused on Gregory’s statement about personhood and rights. I challenged them to defend the proposition that they are persons who have certain fundamental rights. It would be an understate-ment to say that I was shocked by their responses. These students, soon to graduate, almost univer-sally agreed that they were not persons and that they did not have any fundamental rights. Because of the flawed epistemology of sci-entism that they have imbibed from the culture (and, unfortu-nately, from various curricula), the students thought that their person-hood and natural rights were nonfactual, convenient fictions, because such things could not be discovered by empirical science.

To be fair, a minority of students did claim that they were persons with intrinsic rights, and they defended this assertion with one of three arguments: (1) they subjec-tively felt that they were persons, (2) provincial and federal statutes (for example, the Canadian Char-ter of Rights and Freedoms) include such claims, or (3) Genesis 1 and 2 contain relevant theologi-cal truths about their created nature.

Notwithstanding those who appealed to Sacred Scripture, the conceptual confusion that would lead 17- and 18-year-olds to deny their personhood, or to found it upon subjective emotivism and legal positivism (judicial fiat), is very grave. Such confusion speaks to a terrific need for greater philo-sophical sensitivity in our students,

not only because the New Evange-lization requires good soil (sound reason) to nurture the seeds of the gospel (revelation), but also be-cause the social and political common good demands it.

We, as teachers, can encourage our students to acquire clarity regarding their concept of person-hood by helping them answer the essential question, “Who am I?” At first glance this question seems to require little thought. We are all, obviously, human persons. Yet, as the above excerpt from Gregory’s (2012) book demonstrates, what seems self-evident may, in fact, be wrong according to contemporary society’s accepted standards for distinguishing truth from falsity.

However, in the Church, we are blessed with a far more competent guide than the dicta of the modern world. The Church teaches us some very specific things about what we are. We are made to the image and likeness of God (with an intellect and with will). We will suffer physical death at the end of our lives but will live on spiritually in heaven, hell or purgatory until the Second Coming of Christ. At the Parousia, we will once again have bodily existence, although in a glorified form.

Considering these basic truths of Christian anthropology, one might be excused for thinking that there is little hope of their being accepted by the contemporary mind, steeped as it is in the scientific world view and skeptical about the possibility of “supernatural” causes. After all, the teachings of the faith are in contraposition to the biological and psychological discourse of the day, which assumes the truth of reductive materialism. However, in the discussion of personhood, the Christian intellectual tradition can serve to bridge the gap be-tween the scientific world and

revealed truth through a preamble of the faith (that is, philosophical argument providing a rational foundation for truths of faith). Since the Christian concept of the spiritual, immortal soul is essential to one’s human nature and person-hood, our students’ knowledge of the rational proofs of the soul’s existence is necessary to their correctly answering the question, “What am I?”

To speak properly about the soul from a philosophical perspective that will enable our students to grasp the truth of their very being and the truths of the Christian faith, it is first necessary to rid ourselves of a number of miscon-ceptions about the soul that have developed over the past few centuries. The very use of the term soul risks turning off a contempo-rary audience. The term has come to represent something very different from its meaning in the perennial philosophy (substantial form) of Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas and in Christian theology. Popularly, the soul is understood to be a ghostly copy of the self that in some way inhabits the body while the person lives but flies to another body or other world when the person dies. This misconception is often found in children’s cartoons and films. At a more adult level, the term soul tends to be understood in one of the following ways: (1) as a strange throwback to the prescientific “dark ages,” when people believed that there was some sort of spirit that animated the physical body (the ghost in the machine) or (2) as a symbolic word, much like heart, that denotes the affective, emo-tional and nonrational elements of our makeup.

For today’s adult, it is usually assumed that the soul is not a topic for rational or scientific thought. At


one level, these difficulties are essentially semantic and, therefore, might be overcome by the use of different terminology. Instead of soul, one might use synonyms, such as mind or consciousness, that have more of a 21st-century ring to them. I will, however, continue to use the term soul here, not only because it is the traditional name for the substantial form of the human person but also because I believe that it continues to be a better and more complete term for the metaphysical reality whose faculties of intellect and will ground our rational nature.2

At a deeper level, the rejection of talk about the soul results from the unreflective metaphysics of reduc-tive materialism that many in the scientific world and contemporary society assume to be true. This world view, as discussed in my previous columns, considers everything in the universe and human experience to be merely the interactions of matter and energy according to physical laws. For the human person, this means that thought, love and choice can be explained only in terms of bio-physical and biochemical activity in the brain, nervous system and endocrine system.3 Sadly, too many popular science articles about “the latest in neuroscience” or “what love really is” place the commonplace nature of these assumptions beyond doubt, even to the point of denying the reality of personal identity and the dis-tinction between living and nonliv-ing things.4 Relating this situation to the task of evangelization, one can easily see how such an under-standing of human agency, which in practice denies the freedom and speculative intellect of the person, will be detrimental to reception of the Christian faith. If we are but slightly evolved animals, or

trousered apes, the great dignity of our special creation by God and his salvific activity seem like fairy tales or myths that have no mean-ing in our scientific age.

So, what are we to do, as reli-gious educators, when we encoun-ter young people and adults whose assumptions about science and human personhood reflect those described above, rather than the tenets of Christian anthropology? Our challenge is to show how the existence of the soul—and, there-fore, the ground of our person-hood, freedom and basic rights—can be proved rationally. Both the phenomenological ap-proach of Pope Saint John Paul II (argument based on subjective human experience) and the ana-lytical, scholastic approach of Saint Thomas Aquinas (argument based on the objective nature of human cognition) can help teachers achieve this goal.

Following the phenomenological method, or Thomistic personalism, of Pope Saint John Paul II, we can begin by reflecting on the subjective or experiential facts of human existence, including the following:• Our experience of permanence in

personal identity (the self) throughout our lifespan

• Our uniquely reflexive con-sciousness that is able to not only think about the external world but also reflect on our own thoughts and feelings

• Our experience of not being restricted by instinct but, rather, being able to freely choose to act or love, and to accept responsi-bility for those choices

• The voice of conscience telling us to avoid evil and accusing us when we have transgressed

• Our desire for meaning and purpose that transcend the mundane5

• Our desire for perfect justice and moral excellence

• Our delight in beauty• Our desire for knowledge, not

only of practical things but also of that which is universalThis short list captures only part

of the rich depths of our subjectiv-ity as human persons. Yet it cer-tainly should offer pause to those who would seek to demean the human person by reducing his or her being to synapses and secre-tions. Such facts about our human-ity demand explanation. How is it that we are capable of such experi-ences? Since matter alone cannot account for our subjectivity, is there perhaps something more to us as human beings—something spiritual or nonmaterial? Christi-anity and more-enlightened metaphysics have always recog-nized that the reality undergirding these subjective experiences is the soul, which through its two facul-ties of intellect and will enables human beings to know, love, reason and act freely in a way that animals cannot.

While the personalist perspective provides a sound subjective argument for the soul, the proof for the soul’s existence may also be discovered in a more objective philosophical tradition—scholastic and analytical Thomism. The following argument is drawn from that tradition.6 By considering the nature of human cognition, we can see that some kind of nonmaterial reality is required in order to explain our ability to know as we do. Human knowledge is of two basic kinds: sense knowledge of particular things and conceptual knowledge of universal things. As we are rational animals with a body, senses and a brain, we share with other animals the ability to know things through our senses. Because the senses receive perceptions of


singular physical things, our sense knowledge is about the particular physical objects we experience. Along with this sense knowl-edge—and also shared by ani-mals—are the faculties of sense memory and imagination. How-ever, such does not describe the limit of human knowledge, as we are able to know not only particu-lar things but also universal concepts that we abstract from the individual objects of sense experi-ence. For example, human beings all over the world understand the concepts of house and clothing yet freely make use of all sorts of different designs and materials to make particular types (instances) of these universal concepts. Unlike animals of specific species, who build only a certain kind of nest or den, human beings are not re-stricted by our instincts from creating as we desire. This type of conceptual thinking also underlies our ability to create thousands of different languages. Unlike with animals, our forms of communica-tion are not species-dependent. Rather, we invent all manner of verbal, written or physical signs to communicate our universal concepts. All this being said, we would have a problem if reductive materialism were accepted as the true explanation of human cogni-tion. No physical entity can grasp or contain what is essentially a nonmaterial universal thing (the concept or idea). Therefore, some part of us must be immaterial so that these nonmaterial realities can be comprehended. This part is our intellect, one of the two faculties of our spiritual, or imma-terial, soul.7 (This argument is but one example of how the soul’s existence can be proved objec-tively. There are many others that concern both our intellect and our will.8)

Having summarized some demonstrations of the existence of our immaterial soul, I must, before concluding, mention another fundamental element of this preamble of faith—the immortality of the soul. The reductive material-ist denies the existence of life after death, considering human beings to be mere physical creatures doomed to die, like all other plants and animals. However, the exis-tence of a nonmaterial element in the human makeup not only shows the flaw in the materialist’s conception but also supports the fact that personal immortality is both metaphysically possible and actually necessary. The reason for this proposition is that death or decay can happen only to those substances that are made up of parts. However, by its very nature, the soul is spiritual or nonmaterial and, therefore, has no physical parts that can separate and disinte-grate. Because of this, the soul has traditionally been considered naturally immortal, even by nonreligious thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle.

If our students learn the meta-physical truth that the soul cannot die, due to its immaterial nature, they will have the rational grounds (good soil) for openness to the gospel message in which our ultimate supernatural end (beatific vision) is so central. In other words, demonstrating the truth of this second preamble of faith helps make the Christian faith a live option for those we teach. To accomplish this, teachers and catechists must return to the wellspring of Christian philoso-phy and theology, disciplines that engage the full breadth of reason. To escape from the intellectual cage that is scientism and reduc-tive materialism, we must take time to study the philosophy of

nature, philosophical psychology and philosophical/theological anthropology. Engaging in such study, and introducing the basic truths discovered by these disci-plines, will serve the New Evange-lization, for if students know who and what they truly are, they will be less likely to accept the coun-terfeits of happiness that are so often proffered today (such as wealth, power, popularity and pleasure) and, instead, find mean-ing and fulfillment in search of the transcendent goods of truth, beauty, goodness and love—goods that lead us to our loving God.

Notes1. Benedict XVI, “Faith, Reason

and the University: Memories and Reflections,” Regensburg lecture, September 12, 2006, www.vatican.va /holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/ 2006/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060912_university-regensburg_en.html (accessed January 30, 2015).

2. This judgment is not to be understood as a peculiarity of the author, nor merely as fondness for archaic terms, but, rather, as a recognition that the traditional term better expresses the breadth of the reality that it names. For very recent philosophical defences of the term soul, see Madden (2013) and Feser (2006).

3. A recent book by the atheist philosopher Thomas Nagel (2012), entitled Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False, has caused quite a stir because of its rejection of this view of reality and the human person as rationally untenable.

4. See the article by Ferris Jabr (2014), associate editor of Scientific American, entitled “Why Nothing Is Truly Alive.”


5. This is a point I have found effective with reflective students when discussing the differences between human beings and other animals. Animals of even the highest orders are satisfied with their lot—life, nutrition, competition and cooperation, reproduction, basic play, and so on. However, no students have ever stated that such a life would be fulfilling enough for them.

6. For lengthier discussion of this and similar arguments, see Freddoso (2012) and Feser (2012).

7. This does not mean that we must fall into a mistaken dualism like that of Descartes, which holds that the mind/soul is completely separate from the body and merely inhabits it. In reality, the human person is a composite of body and soul. This means that, in terms of cognition, the brain is necessary for human perception and thinking, yet as a proper metaphysics shows, it is not sufficient in and of itself for conceptual thought.

8. For further reading on this topic, see Sheehan (2009), Alexander (2012) and Feser (2008).

ReferencesAlexander, A. 2012. College Apologetics:

Proof of the Truth of the Catholic Faith. Charlotte, NC: TAN Books. (Orig pub 1954.)

Feser, E. 2006. Philosophy of Mind: A Beginner’s Guide. Oxford: Oneworld.

. 2008. The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism. South Bend, Ind: St Augustine’s Press.

. 2012. “What Is a Soul?” Untitled blog, March 30. http://edwardfeser .blogspot.ca/2012/03/what-is-soul .html (accessed January 30, 2015).

Freddoso, A J. 2012. “Oh My Soul, There’s Animals and Animals: Some Thomistic Reflections on Contemporary Philosophy of Mind.” Paper presented at the Second Annual Philosophy Workshop at Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY, June 22. Also available at www3.nd.edu/ ~afreddos/papers/Oh%20My%20Soul.pdf (accessed January 30, 2015).

Gregory, B S. 2012. The Unintended Reformation: How a Religious Revolution Secularized Society. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

Jabr, F. 2014. “Why Nothing Is Truly Alive.” New York Times, March 12. Also available at www.nytimes.com/ 2014/03/13/opinion/why-nothing-is-truly-alive.html (accessed January 30, 2015).

Madden, J D. 2013. Mind, Matter, and Nature: A Thomistic Proposal for the Philosophy of Mind. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press.

Nagel, T. 2012. Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False. New York: Oxford University Press.

Rochford, T. 2013. “That Our ‘Nones’ May Believe: Arguing Against Atheism and for God’s Existence.” Embrace the Spirit 15, no 2 (Winter 2013): 14–17.

Sheehan, M. 2009. Apologetics and Catholic Doctrine. London: Baronius.

Weinberg, S. 2001. Facing Up: Science and Its Cultural Adversaries. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. Quoted in Gregory 2012, 18.


Student Corner

directly on blessed Peter” this protective gift in teaching for those in the papal office.3 As a result, the fullness of his divine revelation is preserved untainted, giving all future generations the ability to become God’s “adopted children and heirs of his eternal happi-ness.”4 Therefore, the truth of papal infallibility must play an important role in the Church today. For if one is to come to share in the life of Christ, it is imperative that he or she “be nourished with the sustenance of heavenly doctrine” in its complete perfection and truth.5

In 1870, papal infallibility was officially defined as Church doc-trine at the First Vatican Council (Stanford 2009). This dogma was not simply instated by Church leaders in the 19th century to consolidate the Vatican’s authority and increase the power of indi-viduals within it. Rather, papal infallibility has existed since the Catholic Church began, as it comes directly from Christ himself. The apostles were commissioned to go forth and “make disciples of the nations,” teaching everything that Christ commanded (Matt 28:19–20). Since Peter was made head of the

Papal Infallibility and Its Role in the Church TodayRiley Sangster

Riley Sangster, a 2014 graduate from Holy Cross Collegiate, in Strathmore, is the winner of the St Justin Martyr Scholarship Essay Contest. The contest is a collaboration between Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools and the Religious Education Secretariat of the Catholic Diocese of Calgary.

S ince Adam and Eve first dis-obeyed God, man has been

wounded in his nature by original sin. Humans are born lacking “the original grace of holiness and justice,” leading them to concupis-cence.1 Man’s inclination toward sin, and his often prideful nature, makes the Catholic dogma of papal infallibility appear impos-sible and arrogant to many outside of the Church. However, in under-standing this doctrine, infallibility is commonly confused with impec-cability.2 Under no circumstance does this dogma state that the pope himself is free of sin. Ever since Christ built his Church upon the rock of Peter (Matt 16:18), there have been “practical, tactical, strate-gical, and pastoral mistakes” among popes (Kreeft and Tacelli 2009, 432). Still, no Roman pontiff has ever formally taught erroneously. Christ “conferred immediately and

Church by Christ, God has pro-tected each successive pope from heresy. Thus, to contradict this doctrine would be to deny a gift given to us by God. One would be declared anathema—essentially, excommunicated—in disregarding the “divine right of the apostolic primacy.”6 While each pope has received “the keys to the kingdom of heaven” from our Lord (Matt 16:19), they are still human and have not been free of sin. Infallibil-ity comes into effect only when a successor of Peter proclaims doctrine regarding faith or morals from his papal office. The Roman pontiff must be speaking ex cathe-dra—that is, directly intending for the doctrine he declares to bind all of the Church (Pace 1909). Papal infallibility is not a claim that the pope is a superior being incapable of doing wrong. Nor does it mean that he is able to be inspired to preach new information.7 Rather, it allows for the Church to avoid poisoning the “deposit of faith transmitted by the apostles,” which was given fully and per-fectly to mankind from Christ.8 This gift of preservation also resides in the body of bishops when they form councils to define


a point of faith in union with the pope.9 While the pope must tend to the flock of the universal Church, bishops must “tend and govern individually the particular flocks” they have been assigned.10 Hence, it is important that they, too, enjoy the Holy Spirit’s assis-tance in leading man toward his ultimate end in heaven. Truly, despite the “impurity, inconsis-tency and infidelity of her behav-ior,” the Church has miraculously been able to avoid falling into erroneous doctrine and “creedal mistakes” among her leaders (Kreeft and Tacelli 2009, 433). Such preservation clearly indicates God’s providence for his Church: man is too imperfect for any other explanation.

Ultimately, the pope’s “full and supreme power of jurisdiction” over the Church is intended to help lead man toward God’s goodness and truth.11 Church doctrine is assaulted with “a hatred that increases day by day.”12 In modern society, what is actually immoral is often pro-moted and praised. Those who refuse to accept new corrupted “ideas” and “values” are thought to be intolerant and unsympa-thetic. Popularity of opinions and a desire for the path of least resis-tance in life have separated many from “the fullness of truth and happiness” that is found in God alone.13 Contraception, homosexu-ality, euthanasia, fornication and abortion are all common aspects of today’s culture that the Church is criticized for rejecting. Inevitably, in the absence of proper religious and ethical education, one’s spiri-tual nature may begin to devour the poison that it is presented. Numerous ideas in popular culture are inherently detrimental to individual well-being and the functioning of society. Since the

legalization of abortion in 1973, 55 million abortions have occurred in America alone (Wetzstein 2013). Yet many continue to believe that the ability to kill their unborn children is a personal right and devotedly defend it. Such issues illustrate how papal infallibility is crucial: it must “explain the re-vealed truths and consequences of human life,” so as to lead mankind down the proper path of salva-tion.14 Through this miraculous and divine preservation, the Catholic Church is able to “avoid the fates of other earthly institu-tions” that have fallen into errone-ous teachings (Kreeft and Tacelli 2009, 433). The Roman pontiff and body of bishops are able to provide “certainty in affirming truths” and do not require any other form of judgment or appeal in formal doctrine.15 In a society where morality is sometimes twisted in education and the media, the protection of Church dogma allows one to discover the full, untainted truth of Christ.

Through the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the Roman pontiff and the bishops in communion with him have faithfully protected the deposit of faith for generations. This guidance has given the magisterium the ability “to pen-etrate more deeply and to live more fully from the gift of divine revelation.”16 In protecting the truth of Christ from corruption, papal infallibility has also allowed the Church to more completely and accurately define elements of faith that are not explicitly sup-ported by Scripture but are still implied in it. In 1854, the doctrine of immaculate conception was confirmed under Pius IX.17 The assumption of Mary into heaven, both body and soul, also became official doctrine in 1950.18 Com-pletely holy and glorified, the

Blessed Virgin Mary demonstrates to the Church what she is to strive after on earth and will become in the “homeland of heaven.”19 Thus, in accurately defining Church doctrine, papal infallibility deep-ens the understanding man has of God and his path to salvation. God’s constant providence for the magisterium through the Holy Spirit allows for man to come to know him more fully. Clearly, this demonstrates the infinite love God has for humanity and his desire to be united with all his children in heaven.

In conclusion, papal infallibility is a protective gift given directly from Christ to his Church. When the Roman pontiff, or the college of bishops in union with the pope, proclaims a doctrine regarding faith or morals, error can never occur. Each Roman pontiff is blessed with “full, supreme, immediate, and universal power” over all the Church.20 Yet this is not stating that the pope himself is free of sin. Rather, it means that through the gift of the Holy Spirit’s guidance and protection, succes-sive Church leaders have been able to immaculately preserve the full extent of Christ’s lordship 2,000 years after his death, resurrection and ascension. In a world where one is faced with immorality and heresy constantly, God’s grace is necessary. On his own, man cannot come to fully know God, nor can he infallibly define Church doc-trine. Man can be easily led astray and the unity of the Church bro-ken. The Church needs to be able to accurately teach and interpret the Bible and tradition. Without this ability, one will be misled, as in other institutions, about the most crucial thing in their lives: “the identity of our true God, our relationship with Him and our road to Heaven” (Kreeft and

Madonna Faith and Wellness Day.

Embrace the Spirit, Winter 2015 — 19Madonna Faith and Wellness Day.

Tacelli 2009, 432). Ultimately, perfection in doctrine provides future generations with the ability to find peace and eternal joy with their ever-loving Creator in heaven: for, as Saint Augustine wrote, man’s “heart is restless until it rests in [God].”21

Notes1. Compendium of the Catechism of the

Catholic Church, #75–77, www .vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html (accessed February 2, 2015).

2. “Papal Infallibility,” www .catholicfaithandreason.org/papal-infallibility.html (accessed April 18, 2014).

3. Vatican Council I, Session 4, Chapter 1, www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/V1.htm (accessed April 13, 2014).

4. Compendium, #1.5. Vatican Council I, Session 4,

Chapter 4.

6. Vatican Council I, Session 4, Chapter 3.

7. “Papal Infallibility.”8. Vatican Council I, Session 4,

Chapter 4.9. John Paul II, “The Successor of

Peter Teaches Infallibly,” General Audience, March 17, 1993, www .vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/alpha/data/aud19930317en .html (accessed April 16, 2014; no longer available).



12. Vatican Council I, Session 4.13. Compendium, #2.14. John Paul II, “The Successor of

Peter Teaches Infallibly.”15. John Paul II, “The Successor of

Peter Teaches Infallibly.”16. Compendium, #15.17. John Paul II, “The Successor of

Peter Teaches Infallibly.”18. John Paul II, “The Successor of

Peter Teaches Infallibly.”

19. Compendium, #199.20. Compendium, #182.21. Quoted in Compendium, chap 1.

ReferencesKreeft, P J, and R K Tacelli. 2009.

Handbook of Catholic Apologetics: Reasoned Answers to Questions of Faith. San Francisco: Ignatius.

Pace, E. 1909. “Ex Cathedra.” In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Appleton. Also available at www .newadvent.org/cathen/05677a.htm (accessed February 2, 2015).

Stanford, P. 2009. “Infallibility of the Pope.” BBC Religions. www.bbc .co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/pope/infallibility.shtml (accessed April 28, 2014).

Wetzstein, C. 2013. “Roe Foes Add Up 55 Million Legalized Abortions.” The Washington Times, January 23. Also available at www.washingtontimes .com/news/2013/jan/23/roe-foes-add-up-55-million-legalized-abortions/ (accessed April 18, 2014).


Book Review

Adventures of the God Detectives

by Nancy Reeves and Linnea GoodWood Lake Books, 2006

Reviewed by Janice Stefancik

Janice Stefancik is the elementary religious education consultant for Edmonton Catholic Schools.

Adventures of the God Detectives, by Canadian authors Nancy

Reeves and Linnea Good, is an excellent book for students to explore the various ways God speaks to us and invites us into relationship.

This mini-novel (94 pages) could be used for a book study, a guided reading group or a read-aloud with the whole class.

The book is intended for a Grade 3 audience, as it deals with the topic of how God invites us into relationship. Although this topic coincides with the Grade 3 religion program In the Spirit We Belong,1 the book can also be used in other grades to address the question, Where do we find God?

Adventures of the God Detectives is an easy, interesting read for young students. At the back of the book are guiding questions for discussion.

The e-book is available for less than $4, and it is well worth the money.

For more information, go to www.woodlakebooks.com/search/results/inventory/All-Products/Christian-Education-Children-Youth/Adventures-of-The- God-Detectives/.

Note1. In the Spirit We Belong is part

of the Born of the Spirit curriculum, produced by the National Office of Religious Education of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The RMEC newsjournal Embrace the Spirit is published to• promote professional development of educators in the areas of

religious and moral education and• provide a forum for contributors to share ideas related to religious

and moral education.Submissions are requested that will provide material for personal

reflection, theoretical consideration and practical application. Where appropriate, graphics and photographs are welcome.

The following areas will be addressed in the newsjournal:• Classroom and school projects• Upcoming events• Book reviews• Reflections• Feature articles and interviews• Humour in religion• Liturgies

Manuscripts should be submitted electronically, in Microsoft Word format. The manuscript should include a title page that states the author’s name, professional position, address and phone number(s). Submissions should be typed and double-spaced and may be any length to a maximum of 5,000 words. References must appear in full in a list at the end of the article.

Send contributions or enquiries to the editor: Dorothy Burns, 1 McRae Street, Box 1318, Okotoks, AB T1S 1B3; phone 403-938-6051 (res) or 403-938-4265 (bus); fax 403-938-4575; e-mail [email protected].

The editorial board, which reserves the right to edit for clarity and space, reviews all submissions.

Guidelines

ISSN 1481-4412

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