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Arlington, VA, August 11, 2009 -- “A tremendous conference!  I was hoping for a professional, academic, scholarly, and thoroughly Catholic presentation and I received it,” commented one participant at the third annual Pastoral Formation Seminar:  Psychology Serving Marriage and Family.

Co-sponsored by The Institute for the Psychological Sciences and ePriest, the seminar was held August 4-6, 2009 at the Our Lady of Bethesda Retreat Center in Bethesda, Md.  The intensive conferences were designed specifically for priests, deacons, religious, and laity who provide spiritual guidance and counseling.

Participants from around the country heard from IPS faculty and other experts on topics such as meeting with distressed couples, love worth fighting for, Canon Law and the annulment process, character formation in the family, and biological and psychological underpinnings of addiction.

During the first evening of the seminar, Bishop Martin Holley, Auxiliary Bishop of Washington, D.C., delivered the keynote address, Is There a Need for Exorcism Today? The sensitive and compelling nature of Bishop Holley’s talk was followed by a lengthy and riveting discussion.

Mass was concelebrated daily by the priest participants, with lay people and sisters in attendance. There were also opportunities for idea-sharing and enrichment, as well as prayer.

Exclaimed one priest,“I definitely gained knowledge in several areas of ministry!  I came hoping to hear some good talks on interesting subjects, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed.” The only regret for many was not enough time to absorb all the information.