Scottish Catholic Observer

At Stirling University Catholic Society, the students focus on coming together to talk to each other and discuss the role of our Faith in our lives and also to learn from those who can offer catechesis, experiences or insights.

One highlight of the term so far was when Emmet Dooyle from Pure in Heart, a registered charity based in Ireland that now offers its mission of spreading a positive and healthy set of attitudes towards sex and relationships, came to Stirling to share his knowledge.

The talk, entitled Love, Sex and Relationships’, had the highest attendance of any Catholic Society event in the semester, drawing in several fresh faces, of young people eager to hear a counter-cultural message on an issue of such prominence.

Mr Dooyle talked about the philosophical and practical meaning of chastity, and described the search for purity and authenticity within our relationships as ways to ensure that God is at the centre of these relationships at all times.

A running theme of the discussion was the beatitude :“Blessed are all the pure in heart, for they will see God” from Matthew 5:8.

What was great about this talk was that not only did Mr Dooyle present his audience with facts of our faith, but he also explored the scientific reactions that our emotional and sexual engagements cause, and how this affects not just us and but also those around us.

He explained the role of hormones such as oxytocin and used this to reaffirm God’s truth, entirely backed up with biological facts.

Coming at it from this angle was new and enlightening for many of those listening. After the talk, there was continued chatter about how this message resonated with a new sense of clarity for students present, who are both practicing their faith and striving to stay true to God’s teachings and to themselves in the context of their relationships.

‘I never heard anything like that before, it gives me an awful lot to think about,” said Elena Taylor, a 21-year-old law student.

“Usually chastity talks are a bit awkward and uncomfortable, even for university students, but Emmet sat down with us and spoke to us entirely on our level, with no judgement, just an open mind and great sense of humour,” added Kieran Daly, a 19 year old film and media student.

And third year Sarah Haire summed up the students’ reaction by commenting that, “The talk was so great, reaffirming my own view on why chastity is so important, with the focus on what St John Paul II said; ‘only the chaste man and woman are capable of real love.’

Overall, it’s fair to say that the talk was a huge success for both Mr Dooyle and our newly established Catholic Society. A lot of interest for the society itself and its work was sparked that night as well as, of course, interest in the Pure in Heart organisation and ultimately Christ’s messages of purity–from Matthew’s Gospel, the Church’s magisterium, and elsewhere.

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