CL 612 DE Canon Law for Deacons: Canon Law plays an important part in every element of the deacon’s ministry. As deacons, in addition to being guided by the precepts of canon law, you will be seen as a de facto subject-matter expert by many with whom you come into contact. Canon law, the oldest continuously functioning legal system in the western world is the internal legal system of the Catholic Church. It affects, to one degree or another, virtually every aspect of Catholic life, sometimes much more intimately than many people realize; other times, though, much less directly than one might have otherwise thought.
This course has been developed specifically for deacons, based on numerous requests from officers and members of the National Association of Diaconate Directors. This course of instruction is based on the 1983 Code of Canon Law, which guides the western or Roman, church. The code consists of over 1700 canons or rules, divided into seven topics, or "books. While the official language is Latin, be not afraid! – This course will be conducted in English.
MO 844 DE Topics in Moral Theology: This course includes the study of the interaction of the theological traditions of East and West, both today and throughout history, with emphasis on a particular theme or set of questions in Christian ethics. This course introduces the deacon to the foundational principles of Christian ethics from Eastern and Western considerations of basic themes: 1) the relationship between moral theology and Christian ethics; 2) God as source of the moral life; 3) the nature of the human person; 4) the problem of evil and the experience of sin; 5) conscience and moral decision-making.
This course provides the deacon with an opportunity to engage interactively with other deacons from various dioceses in critical reflection on selected moral topics as treated by the Eastern and Western Christian traditions: sexuality and marriage, bioethics from conception to death, and other life issues (globalization and poverty, war and peace, environmental ethics).
SP 611 DE The Spirituality of the Deacon
With particular emphasis on the formation and ministry of permanent deacons in the United States, this course correlates the sources, principles and practices of sound spirituality with the fundamental truths of Catholic faith, with the reality of human nature as redeemed and graced, and with practical aspects of spirituality in diaconal ministry. It highlights development of sound spirituality in the context of the Church and emphasizes the need for, and spiritual benefits of, ongoing integration of spiritual reading, personal prayer, private devotion, liturgical worship, and pastoral practice throughout a deacon’s ministry to the faithful.
PA 631 DE: Principles of Catechesis
As person of faith and a deacon, you continually catechize all of those around you. This course assists both new and experienced deacons to raise this catechesis to the conscious, thoughtful level. Our focus for this twelve-week course will be the realization that the authentic and on-going growth in knowledge and faith for all of those entrusted to the catechetical care of the Church is paramount. This course looks at how to both form and inform God’s faithful in the Catholic faith – engaging both the head and the heart. We explore the balance struck toward this goal over the history of Christianity. The readings, forums, and deliverables are particularly designed to allow deacons to find that balance for themselves and for their ministry. Course outcomes include:
1. Familiarizing and enabling deacons to understand and use the long and rich history of catechesis in the Church to ensure effective catechetical ministry in a modern setting.
2. Differentiating various means and tools of catechesis.
3. Discussing the most recent ecclesiastical pronouncements and resources of the Church regarding catechesis.
4. Explaining catechesis and the catechism of the Catholic Church more effectively to the faithful, using the images and religiosity of widely disparate faith traditions while remaining faithful and supporting the magisterium. The facilitator for this session will be Father Patrick Manning, Dean of the School of Theology at Walsh University.
PA 868 DE: Pastoral Counseling for the Deacon
This course presents basic counseling theory, processes and skill development, focused on assessment, listening, and goal setting. This course briefly outlines various emotional/mental disorders which may assist the non-professional counselor to make appropriate assessment and professional referral. This course is specifically designed for those deacons in pastoral settings who have come from other disciplines, and aims to introduce students to a variety of tools, strategies, and methodologies. Special emphasis will be placed upon helping the deacon recognize some common issues and problems which they are likely to encounter. Personal counseling styles will be addressed as a means of enabling each participant to understand his or her own strengths and weaknesses in a pastoral care setting. This course will permit the deacon to identify the critical differences between pastoral care and professional counseling, particularly as it relates to the nature and limits of the pastoral counseling task. This course will also assist the deacon in understanding the elements of the counseling process and gain experience of elementary counseling interventions through practice and role-play, and to help learners to understand their own personal style of relating and its influence on the counseling process. This course will also introduce deacons to a wide range of helpful resources relating to pastoral care and counseling.
PA 990 DE: Introduction to Grief Counseling
This course is designed to allow the participant to explore the many facets of a person who is grieving the loss of someone close to them. Completion of this course will allow the participant to identify with those who bereave and allow the participant to experience a methodology of counseling that will be healing and helpful to the bereaved. The deacon will explore the attitude that we have toward death; define what grief and bereavement mean; identify factors that influence different reactions to grief; examine different bereavement scenarios; identify memorial and funeral services used to heal the bereaved and bring closure; consider cultural differences among various religions; explore the healing process through counseling; learn how to develop a good grief group; and list professional organizations and helpful resources for the bereaved and those who help them. He also will be assigned the role of acting as a counselor to another participant who will play the role of a bereaved person, thereby allowing the participants to gain practical insight into the theoretical basis of the course. Participants will be required to give a weekly report on the progress of their assigned counselee, and each counselee will give a weekly report on the work of their assigned counselor. This class will be facilitated by Deacon Bob McCormick, a retired educator and deacon of long service as a hospital chaplain of the Diocese of Rochester, NY.
Distance Learning Program for the Diaconate
The Pontifical College Josephinum
7625 North High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43235
1-877-9DEACON (toll free)
1-877-933-2266
deacons@pcj.edu
