While many of the Church's doctrines have been either openly attacked or more subtly undermined in recent decades, sometimes even at the hands of those charged with expounding them, perhaps none have fallen into greater eclipse than those pertaining to the origins of man: the special creation by God of our first parents, their immortality and original felicity, and the descent of the whole human race from a single pair. I am glad therefore that the Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation has decided to organize a conference on the creation of Adam and Eve as the basis for Holy Matrimony.
In my own presentation I shall be setting forth what St Thomas Aquinas, the common doctor of the Church, said about the original perfection of our first parents. Basing himself as always on the truths conveyed by sacred scripture and tradition, and integrating into these his own carefully elaborated account of human nature, St Thomas gives us a sober yet inspiring picture of the sublime dignity with which God in His love endowed His first two rational creatures. By studying Aquinas's writings on this subject, we can be strengthened in our faith in an era when an unintelligent “naturalism”, by dint of sheer repetition, has worn down the spirit of many believers and made them fearful of embracing the doctrines about the origins of man that have been believed “always, everywhere and by everyone”, on the basis of God's words to us in Holy Scripture.
Fr. Thomas Crean, O.P. STD
His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke invites all to attend the September 26 symposium in Rome on the Creation of Adam and Eve as the Foundation of the Church's Doctrine on Holy Marriage. For information on the symposium and how to attend, really or virtually, please go to www.romansymposium.com
