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 Why would a young priest – with a very full schedule at his parish – decide to become a presenter for Family Honor?
Rev. Christopher Singer doesn’t hesitate in his answer. “Family Honor addresses critical issues at their root. Virtually everybody recognizes there is a serious problem in our society with marriage and family life. Family Honor is a way for us to do something positive and proactive to make a difference. Many like to complain, but few people are willing to get involved do anything. With Family Honor, there are tremendous opportunities for ordinary people to get involved and make a contribution to their community, to the Church, and to the world, really. I have a lot of interest in family catechesis, and Family Honor programs fit masterfully into that style and pedagogy.”
Father Singer, 32, a native of Oil City, Pennsylvania, graduated from Gannon University in Erie, PA with a degree in Physics and from the Gregorian University in Rome with an S.T.B. in Theology. Since 2003, he has been a priest in the Diocese of Erie, at St. George Catholic Church. Currently, however, he is a full time student at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. working on a Licentiate in Canon Law. In spite of a busy schedule, though, he still manages to serve as a presenter and vice-president of the local board for the Family Honor affiliate team in Erie, Pennsylvania.
So, how did he first hear about Family Honor?
“A few years ago, the Director of NFP for the Diocese of Erie mentioned to me that she heard of Family Honor’s national conference in Atlanta, and asked me and a few others if we were interested in going – just to check it out, to get more information about chastity education and theology of the body, since parents from our parish were interested in starting a chastity education program. A small group of us went and we were very impressed. There was a spirit of excitement and enthusiasm at the conference, and we liked what we were seeing and hearing about Family Honor.”
Together with a core group of parents, he found out that the next step to bringing Family Honor to their diocese was to recruit some individuals to take the Family Honor course, The Principles of Teaching Family-Centered Chastity Education. So, Father and 4 others from the diocese took the course. After completing it, that original group ultimately recruited an additional 20 men and women to take the course. As a result, they now have two large teams of presenters, one in Erie, PA and one in St. Mary’s PA. The group is called the Family Honor Northwest, Pennsylvania affiliate and they present parent-child chastity programs in their local area.
Father Singer was impressed by the course. “It was helpful for each of us, both personally, and also in relating to our families and in our ministries.” He went on to say that their local group would like to see two additional teams formed, so that their entire diocese would be covered, geographically, with teams in place to present Family Honor programs in every parish there.
One of the other things that helped to spark Father Singer’s interest in Family Honor’s work and his desire to take the Family Honor college-level training course was his growing interest in the theology of the body, which is covered as a major topic area in the course.
“Previously, I had the chance to study one year of theology at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Rome, and this was probably the most practical year of theology I have ever had. Not only did it help me to better understand the vocation of marriage, it helped me more deeply grasp the beauty of my own commitment to celibate chastity, and how that is also a gift of fruitful love.”
Would he encourage other priests and seminarians to take the Family Honor online course [now called The Truth and Meaning of Sexuality, Love and Family: Cultural Implications], and possibly even think about becoming presenters for Family Honor?
“Absolutely, I would encourage them. The Cultural Implications course gives perspective on what happened in the culture over many years with regard to family life, morality, and sex education; it also provides a succinct presentation of the Theology of the Body, and it exposes us to an effective tool which can be used in our parishes and schools. It can also fulfill our annual continuing education requirement for priests – that’s always a bonus! As a matter of fact, we also have another priest, Father James Campbell, who completed the course and who is a presenter with our Northwest, PA affiliate.”
And his vision for the future of Family Honor?
“I would like to see the organization continue to grow and expand into Canada and Mexico. It would be great to see Family Honor receive some level of recognition by the larger church – in the U.S. and perhaps even internationally. The more people who are aware of Family Honor, the better. Not just for Family Honor, but for our families.”
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