Paper Presentation

Dr. Jose Parappully, Director of Sumedha Centre, presented an invited paper “Healing from the Effects of Sexual Abuse: Ways Formators and Spiritual Directors Can Help” at the International Symposium on “Affective Maturity in Celibate Living: Challenges in Formation.”

The Symposium was held at the Paurastya Vidyapeetham, Vadvathoor, Kottayam, Kerala on 21^st and 22^nd February.

It was jointly organized by the Dehanalaya Counselling Centre, Alapuzha, Kerala and the Paurastya Vidyapeetham.

Some 140 religious and priests, most of them involved in priestly or religious formation participated. Among them were also some Major Superiors.

The Symposium was inaugurated by His Beatitude Mar George Cardinal Alencherry, head of the Syro-Malabar Church.

The Keynote address was given by Mar Joseph Perumthottam, the Syro-Malabar Archbishop of Chenganasserry.

Dr. Parappully in his paper presented facts and figures regarding the prevalence of sexual abuse in India, the effects of abuse and simple ways that non clinically trained formators and spiritual directors an help survivors to heal from the effects of abuse.

There were eight other invited speakers. The two reputed international speakers were Dr. Hanz Zollner SJ, President of Institute of Psychology and Vice Rector at the Gregorian University, Rome. He spoke on “Aspects of Formation to Celibate Chastity and Safeguarding” based on the new Ratio Fundamentalis promulgated by the Vatican.

The other was Msgr. Stephen Rossetti, former President of St. Luke’s Institute at Silversprings, Maryland, USA and currently at the at the Gregorian University, Rome. Rossetti spoke on “Screening and Formation to Sexuality and Safeguarding.

The papers presented were well appreciated and found very useful by the participants. They wished more time had been devoted to the speakers and for discussion, even if that meant fewer papers were presented.