Romana

With the title The Priest in a Post-Modern. Relativistic, and Secularized Culture: Pastoral Perspectives, the tenth edition of the Renewal Course for Priests was held in São Paulo from July 17 to 20. Over 120 priests from 50 dioceses throughout Brazil took part. In the inaugural conference, Cardinal Archbishop Odilo Pedro Sherer of São Paulo insisted on the importance of the topic. Following this, Msgr. Vicente Ancona Lopez, Opus Dei’s regional vicar for Brazil, encouraged those attending to take advantage of those days to grow intellectually and spiritually.

The main course of lectures was given by Msgr. Luis Romera, professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. He spoke about the relationship between post-modernity, reason and faith, the secularization that has taken place in recent centuries, and the challenges that today’s society presents to Christianity. Rev. Rafael Stanziona de Moraes, in turn, spoke about relativism, its causes and consequences, and the concepts of laicism and secularism. This was followed by a series of practical sessions in small groups, which provided an opportunity for a broader exchange of ideas. The course ended with a round table discussion on atheism, agnosticism, and indifferentism.