Catholic Perspectives on Marriage, Family, and Human Sexuality (DT9340Y)

Postgraduate, 24.0 points

Content

This unit will focus on Christian discipleship through the vocation of marriage, family, and the single life. Building on prior studies in fundamental moral theology, particularly on the Church’s anthropological and theological understandings of the human person, the unit will focus on their implications for marriage and human relationships in the Catholic Church’s official teachings and theological traditions. Of particular importance is the study of the Church’s pastoral responses on matters relating to marriage, family, and sexual behaviour. The issues to be studied in this unit include the challenges of living the marital sacrament in a fast-changing contemporary environment; the place of children in marriage; the use of new reproductive technologies; pastoral care for the divorced and remarried; the LGBTIQA+ community and their place in the faith community; other topics could include the relationship of marriage to celibacy and the single life; pornography and cybersex.

Unit code: DT9340Y

Unit status: Approved (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Moral Theology

Delivery Mode: Blended

Proposing College: Yarra Theological Union

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Learning outcomes

1.

Identify and account for the anthropological and theological principles that underpin the Catholic Church’s understanding of human sexuality, marriage, family, and human relationships

2.

Articulately evaluate the Catholic Church’s teachings on marriage, family, the single life, and issues relating to the LGBTIQA+ community
3.

Critically assess the Church's teachings on issues related to the use of New Reproductive Technologies, and be able to articulate sound pastoral responses to the moral questions they raise
4.

Critically evaluate contemporary debates and experiences on issues relating to identity (including sexual identity) and relationships that raise new moral questions which challenge traditional understandings of human sexuality, marriage, and interpersonal relationships.
5.

Analyse complex issues relating to the married, the divorced/remarried, and the LGBITQA+ community in the Church
6.

Demonstrate a capacity to research a specific topic in a critically rigorous, sustained and self-directed manner.

Unit sequence

24 credit points in fundamental moral theology or ethics

Pedagogy

synchronous and asynchronous lectures, and synchronous tutorials, discussions and debates.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Pope John-Paul II, Familiaris Consortio 1981
  • Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia 2016
  • Congregation for Catholic Education, Male and Female He Created Them: Towards A Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education 2019.
  • Copeland, M. Shawn. Enfleshing Freedom: Body, Race, and Being. 2nd Edition. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2023.
  • New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference Aroha and Diversity in Catholic Schools (October 2022)
  • King, Jason, and Julie Hanlon Rubio, Eds. Sex, Love and Families: Catholic Perspectives. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2020.
  • Knauss, Stephanie. More Than a Provocation: Sexuality, Media and Theology. Bristol, CT: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht LLC, 2014.
  • Martin, James. Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion and Sensitivity. Revised Edition., New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2018
  • Mercedes, Anna. Interrupting a Gendered Violence Church. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2022.
  • Salzman, Todd and Michael Lawler. The Sexual Person: Toward a Renewed Catholic Anthropology. Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2008.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)

Variant 1

Tutorial Paper/Seminar Paper - Tutorial Paper 2800 40.0
Essay - Major Essay 4200 60.0

Variant 2

Essay - Research Essay Proposal 700 10.0
Essay - Research essay 6300 90.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 27 Jun, 2023

Unit record last updated: 2023-06-27 13:48:54 +1000