Deacon helps to uncork questions about Catholicism

Theology Uncorked teaches Catholic adults about their faith, fortifies their love of Christ and provides people with opportunities for fellowship in a Christian atmosphere. Deacon Upton, who will be ordained to the priesthood next June, said the program is open for adults of all ages.

"The biggest need today in the Catholic Church is for adult education in the faith in general issues like living life as a Catholic, and to grow a deeper faith," said Deacon Upton, prior to the Friday evening program on June 26 at St. Margaret Church.

Deacon Upton is serving as a summer assistant at St. Margaret Church and will return to Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. in the fall.

It was the fifth Theology Uncorked session, and marked the one-year anniversary of the program. Deacon Upton said the events have drawn at least 250 people in the past year, and the June 26 presentation by Father David Lewis Stokes, entitled "The Idea of a Catholic University," drew about 100 people.

The priest serves as part-time assistant pastor of St. Sebastian Church, Providence, and is an associate professor of theology at Providence College.

Father Stokes' talk attracted senior citizens and young adults alike. "People are dying to learn more about their faith, and the response of this program proves that," said Deacon Upton.

Older adults mentioned they were interested to hear Father Stokes' views on the relevance of Catholic universities in the United States, while many younger adults in their 20s and 30s who attended the event said they hoped to find fellowship with fellow Catholics, and emphasized the Church today needs to increase evangelization.

Kate Sweeney, a parishioner of St. Sebastian Church, said an advertisement in her parish bulletin about Father Stokes' appearance drew her to the program. "I want to see how theology is important to me, and see how it is presented at this forum," said Sweeney, 75.

Marcelino Lopes, a parishioner of St. Francis Xavier Church in East Providence, said he hoped to meet younger Catholics and see how their faith relates to their lives. "I want to learn more about the faith, and it's difficult to find other faithful Catholics to hang out with," said Lopes, 35.

Lopes said he became a Catholic 10 years ago, following a period in which he seldom practiced any religion. "I find that fellowship is missing among Catholics. Many people go to Mass and that's it. It's difficult to find Scripture study," said Lopes.

Father Stokes spoke about how secularization in U.S. universities began in the 1880s and how Catholic universities are "playing catch-up today."

He noted that at the turn of the 20th century, Catholics were not in the mainstream of U.S. society, and that the emphasis of Catholic universities was to provide an education with a foundation in the faith. He said a problem many Americans have today is they try to be anonymous and many Catholics try "to hide their faith."

"When Catholics changed their enclaves to suburbia there was too much of a wanting to be accepted by society," said Father Stokes.

"American secularity is so incoherent that many American Catholics don't realize it," he added.

During his talk, Father Stokes emphasized "we can't assume people have a Catholic mind," and mentioned the demise of the parochial school system in the wake of various elementary school closings in the Diocese of Providence.

"Many people joked about the nuns in the past, but they produced people with Catholic intellect," said Father Stokes. He closed by saying the mission of Catholic universities should be to "maintain the faith without being unapologetic."

Father Stokes received loud applause when he said he would not have invited President Barack Obama to speak at Notre Dame because of the president's support of Roe v. Wade and other issues not following the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.

"I have a real desire for people to grow their faith toward Jesus. Theology Uncorked will give people the forum to ask the same questions other Catholics are asking," said Deacon Upton, adding that he was honored to have his former professor at Providence College speak at the forum.

Father Stokes’ talk captured the interest of two local graduate students.

Anne McEnroe, 24, and Joe McDonald, 22, are both enrolled in the doctoral program in classics at Brown University and are parishioners of St. Joseph Church.

"I moved to Providence in August and I'm interested in the relationship between faith and education," said McEnroe, a native of Kansas, and a volunteer teacher in the parish religious education program.

"My faith is a big part of my life, and my family has a strong faith," said McDonald, who is from Minnesota. “The ultimate reason I'm here is because the Catholic Church teaches the truth. A friend of mine told me if you stay close to the Church, then you're never far from home.”