STEUBENVILLE, OHIO—To celebrate the silver jubilee of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Catechetical Institute at Franciscan University of Steubenville will sponsor the Speaking the Truth in Love Conference, October 13–15 at Franciscan University. The national conference will explore how priests, parents, and religious educators can more fully utilize the Catechism as a powerful tool to transmit the faith and assist in the renewal of Catholic culture.

Dr. Petroc Willey, director of the Catechetical Institute at Franciscan University, who previously worked for 25 years in Catholic higher education at Oxford and Birmingham, England, has devoted much of his life’s work to promulgating the Catechism, which was first published in 1992. “We have yet to fully use the Catechism to communicate the good news in a way that can reach people who are broken, without hope, and have factors in their lives that prevent them from understanding how Christ is redemptively present to them,” said Willey. “The Catechism is not a dictionary, nor simply a list of things we believe. Rather, it is a powerful tool for the transmission of the faith that can help in the renewal of Christian catechesis and culture.”

Conference speakers include Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, D.C.; Archbishop Leonard Blair, chair, Committee for Evangelization and Catechesis, USCCB; Dr. John Cavadini, director of the Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame; Dr. Scott Hahn, who holds the Father Michael Scanlan Chair of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization at Franciscan University; Dr. Tracey Rowland, John Paul II Research Chair of Theology, University of Notre Dame, Sydney, Australia; and Dr. Petroc Willey.

Topics to be addressed include “The Significance of the Catechism for the American Church and Its work of Evangelization,” and “How the Catechism Helps Us Understand the Relationship of Doctrine, Theology, and Pastoral Care.”

The conference takes place three months after the unprecedented gathering of U.S. Church leaders in Orlando, Florida, for the Joy of the Gospel Convocation that aims to put into action Pope Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium and form a Church of missionary disciples who spread the Gospel in their communities.

Willey, a consultor for the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization in Rome, said, “We are grateful for the assistance of the USCCB’s Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis in making this conference possible. I invite all clergy, parents, religious educators, and all those responsible for the work of catechesis and evangelization to join us for the Speaking the Truth in Love Conference and discover how the Catechism can bring the good news to our culture.”

To enable as many people as possible to attend, the conference price is $70 until August 15; $90 afterward. The fee includes all sessions, a social hour, two lunches, and a Saturday banquet dinner.

To register or for more information, visit the Catechetical Institute event page, email [email protected] or call 740-283-6754.