July 11-16, 2027
Black Rock Retreat Center in Quarryville, PA
Taught by Fr. Joseph Koopman
July 11-16, 2027
Black Rock Retreat Center in Quarryville, PA
Taught by Fr. Joseph Koopman
The class will study the Catholic Church’s teaching on sexual ethics in light of St. John Paul II’s theology of the body. Beginning with a very brief overview of the foundations of Catholic Morality, drawn from the Catechism and John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor, (discussing issues such as freedom, virtue, conscience, and moral action), the course will turn to the Church’s vision of sexuality, rooted in the proper theological understanding of the human person. Consideration will be given to the importance of the body within Christian anthropology, along with an examination of the virtue of chastity, the vocation of marriage, and John Paul’s understanding of the ‘nuptial meaning of the body.’ We will study the Church’s teaching on contraception, procreative technologies, sterilization, abortion, homosexuality, fornication and cohabitation, masturbation, pornography and more.
Your registration covers every detail of the experience, allowing you to step away from daily obligations and fully focus on learning and spiritual renewal.
Rev. Joseph Koopman, M.Div., M.A., S.T.D., graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1996, after which he entered St. Mary Seminary in Cleveland, Ohio. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Cleveland in 2001, and served as a newly ordained priest at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Parma. From 2005 to 2009, Fr. Koopman attended the Accademia Alfonsiana in Rome, Italy, where he received a license and doctorate in theology. Since 2009, he has been a professor of moral theology at St. Mary Seminary, along with serving as an advisor in moral theology and ethics for the Diocese of Cleveland and the Ohio Catholic Conference of Bishops.
Your spot is not secured until payment is received. Payment deadline is July 2, 2027.
Pay on or before April 12, 2027 for early bird pricing ($100 off). Use code "EARLYJULY27" at checkout.
*If you do not receive the email with information about the course (different from the receipt) on the day you register, please reach out to Hannah Shafer at [email protected].
**Please register with an email address that is unique to you, and please make sure to use that email address for any future registrations with us. This will help us to maintain accuracy of your course completion information.
This information is provided to help you research your travel options to and from the course.
Please book your flights to arrive at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) .
Please schedule your departure flights out of Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) .
There is only one shuttle from the airport on Sunday, July 11th and only one shuttle back to the airport on Friday, July 16th.
If you are unable to secure flights according to the above parameters, you will be responsible for getting yourself to the retreat center (either via Uber, Lyft, renting a car, or by some other means).
More information is provided in the email which you will receive upon registering, but the above should be sufficient for the purposes of looking at flight options.