The Church, The Healing Community
In 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the Vatican Dicastery for Integral Human Development called upon the Church to live out its call as a healing community. Today, when one in five Americans lives with mental illness, and one in three report serious loneliness, what does it mean for the Church to be a healing community? Sponsored by the Fiat Program on Faith and Mental Health, this panel considers how the Church can better accompany persons and families living with the experience of mental illness. Drawing from the wisdom of theology, neuroscience, and the practice of pastoral care, our panelists discuss how priests, lay ministers, and all people can strengthen a culture of belonging that both reflects and participates in our sacramental communion within the Body of Christ. Moderated by Beth Hlabse ’11, M.S., LMHCA, program director of the Fiat Program on Faith and Mental Health at the McGrath Institute for Church Life.
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Presented by McGrath Institute for Church Life
Wednesday, February 21, 2024 12:00 pm
In 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the Vatican Dicastery for Integral Human Development called upon the Church to live out its call as a healing community. Today, when one in five Americans lives with mental illness, and one in three report serious loneliness, what does it mean for the Church to be a healing community?
Sponsored by the Fiat Program on Faith and Mental Health, this panel considers how the Church can better accompany persons and families living with the experience of mental illness. Drawing from the wisdom of theology, neuroscience, and the practice of pastoral care, our panelists discuss how priests, lay ministers, and all people can strengthen a culture of belonging that both reflects and participates in our sacramental communion within the Body of Christ. Moderated by Beth Hlabse ’11, M.S., LMHCA, program director of the Fiat Program on Faith and Mental Health at the McGrath Institute for Church Life.
Speakers:
Sofia Carozza, M.Phil. ’19, postdoctroformer Marshall Scholar at the University of Cambridge; Louis Damani Jones, M.S.W., behavioral health therapist with SSM Health; Leonard J. DeLorenzo, Ph.D., director of undergraduate studies at the McGrath Institute for Church Life.
For more information visit the McGrath Institute for Church Life.
View EventMeet the Speaker: Sofia Carozza, M.Phil. '19
Sofia Carozza, M.Phil. ’19 is a Marshall Scholar at the University of Cambridge, where she is pursuing a PhD at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit. In her research, Carozza utilizes computational modeling and network science to study the impact of early adversity on child development. She completed undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame, where she graduated as the valedictorian of the class of 2019, and has an M.Phil. in basic and translational neuroscience from the University of
Cambridge.
Meet the Speaker: Louis Damani Jones M.S.W.
Louis Damani Jones, M.S.W., is a behavioral health therapist with SSM Health in the St. Louis area. He is also a research assistant with the CatholicPsych Institute. His clinical experience involves community-based settings, inpatient psychiatric settings, and psychological consults for emergency departments. He holds a Master of Social Work with a concentration in clinical mental health from Washington University in St. Louis. He has previous experience in Catholic non-profit consulting, community development, and social services. He serves on the board of directors for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Vagabond Missions, and the Before Gethsemane Initiative.
Meet the Faculty: Leonard J. DeLorenzo'03, '08 M.A., '14 Ph.D.
Leonard J. DeLorenzo, ’03, ’08 M.A., ’14 Ph.D., professor of the practice, is the director of undergraduate studies at the McGrath Institute for Church Life where he also serves as academic director for Notre Dame Vision, director of the Sullivan Family Saints Initiative, director of the Inklings Project, and creator and host of Church Life Today. He holds a concurrent teaching appointment in the Department of Theology.
He is the author of ten books, including Work of Love: A Theological Reconstruction of the Communion of Saints (UND Press, 2017), What Matters Most: Empowering Young Catholics for Life’s Big Decisions (Ave Maria, 2018), Turn to the Lord: Forming Disciples for Lifelong Conversion (Liturgical Press, 2021), and Our Faithful Departed: Where They Are and Why It Matters (Ave Maria, 2022). He is also editor of three books including Dante, Mercy, and the Beauty of the Human Person (Wipf & Stock, 2017) and Chronicles of Transformation: A Spiritual Journey with C. S. Lewis (Ignatius, 2022).
Leonard earned his doctorate in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame, where he also earned his M.A. in systematic theology and B.A. in theology and philosophy. A member of the McGrath Institute for Church Life since 2003, he has served on the leadership teams for Notre Dame Vision, Notre Dame Catechist Academy, Notre Dame Character Project, Echo, and the Church Life Internship, which he founded in 2016. In addition to writing books, articles, and essays, he speaks regularly in academic and pastoral settings on the saints, biblical catechesis, vocation and discernment, and the theological imagination, among other topics. His newsletter––“Life, Sweetness, Hope”––is shared weekly with hundreds of subscribers.
Originally from Nutley, New Jersey but raised in Southern California, Leonard now lives with his wife, Lisa (BA ’04, MDiv ’08 from Notre Dame), and their six children in South Bend, Indiana, where they are active in their parish and school communities.