SLIconnect and Religious Formation Conference to Present Virtual Symposium on Trauma Awareness in Ministry

SLIconnect, the ongoing online learning platform of Saint Luke Institute (SLI), and the Religious Formation Conference (RFC), a national Roman Catholic organization serving women’s and men’s religious institutes, have announced a collaboration on an internationally available 3-day virtual symposium addressing an array of topics related to trauma awareness in ministry.

The online event “Reviving the Crushed Spirit: Trauma-Aware Ministry – A Virtual Symposium for Church Ministers & Leaders” will feature a total of nine web seminar presentations over the days of March 25-27, 2025. The presentations will be led by subject matter experts and feature an interdisciplinary focus, including Catholic clincial psychologists, spirituality leaders, religious sisters, theologians, professors, an adult catechetical leader and artist. Several of the presenters are internationally known presenters and authors. Two presentations will offer bilingual simultaneous audio options in Spanish and English, with options for AI-generated subtitles in both languages for the others. All nine presenters will be recorded and available on the SLIconnect and RFC platforms with subtitles in English and Spanish.

“The Religious Formation Conference is thrilled to partner with SLIconnect to offer this series on trauma-aware ministry,” said Ryan Hoffmann, D.Min. “This first-of-its-kind collaboration invites leaders and ministers from across the Catholic spectrum to deepen their knowledge of, and best practices around, navigating trauma. The topic is both timely and relevant given today’s pressing challenges.”

SLI’s Director of Communications and SLIconnect, Marc DelMonico, Ph.D., further highlighted the unique partnership for the symposium. “In discussions with colleagues at RFC, it became clear that the topic of trauma in ministry is not only a topic of high interest among our two audiences, but that there was great enthusiasm among colleagues and stakeholders across both organizations in bringing together an interdisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners to address the topic from multiple angles,” DelMonico said. “That enthusiasm also extends to our speakers and is demonstrated by the commitment of each of them to the program overall and to be able to include ways for multiple language groups to access the content, which our collaboration with RFC has enabled.”

Each live 90-minute webinar will include opportunities for interaction with the presenter. All registrants receive ongoing on-demand access to all webinar recordings.

Those interested in registering for the virtual symposium should visit https://sliconnect.org/revive, a co-branded web page which provides additional details about the event and presenters, as well as registration and cost information, and other low- and no-cost resources related to trauma in ministry. Questions about the symposium can also be submitted there.

The list of topics and presenters for “Reviving the Crushed Spirit: Trauma-Aware Ministry” are as follows:

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

• Part 1: The Simple Care of a Hopeful Heart: Resilience, Compassion, Self-Care & the Prevention of Secondary Stress / Los sencillos cuidados de un corazón esperanzado: Resiliencia, compasión, autocuidado y prevención del estrés secundario – Presenter: Robert Wicks, Psy.D., Professor Emeritus of Loyola University Maryland and internationally acclaimed author, in English with simultaneous Spanish translation
• Part 2: What’s Happening in the Body and Mind? An Explanation of the Trauma Response – Presenter: Taryn Waker, Psy.D., Licensed psychologist and colleague of Saint Luke Institute
• Part 3: Do You Know Who I Am?: Trauma-Informed Accompaniment – Presenter: Lynn M. Levo, CSJ, Ph.D., Colleague of Saint Luke Institute and Religious Formation Conference, licensed psychologist, and international presenter

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

• Part 4: When Church Hurts: Empowering a Lay Response – Presenter: Cathy Melesky Dante, MDiv, LCSW, Ph.D. (ABD), Marquette University, licensed social worker, spiritual director
• Part 5: The Healing Power of Beauty – Presenter: Brother Mickey McGrath, OSFS, internationally-acclaimed sacred artist and spiritual speaker
• Part 6: Resiliencia en un mundo con culturas violentas / Resilience in a World with Violent Cultures – Presentadora: Hma. Griselda Martínez Morales, CSJ, Teóloga / Theologian, in Spanish with simultaneous English translation

Thursday, March 27, 2025

• Part 7: The Role of Addiction and Trauma in the Formation Process – Presenter: Stephen Carroll, Ph.D., LCPC, Director of Education and Aftercare at Saint Luke Institute
• Part 8: Fostering the Mental Health-Aware Parish – Presenter: Mike Carotta, Ph.D., religious educator and faith-formation leader
• Part 9: Posttraumatic Growth: It’s a Real Thing! – Presenter: Mary Pat Garvin, RSM, Ph.D., psychotherapist, SLIconnect presenter and colleague of Religious Formation Conference

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About SLIconnect

SLIconnect is the online learning platform of Saint Luke Institute, an international Catholic education and treatment center serving clergy, women and men religious and other ministers and Church leaders. We bring the healing ministry of Christ to those in need of psychological and spiritual care, serve as a professional resource for bishops, major superiors and their collaborators, and support healthy human formation through education and research.

About Religious Formation Conference

The Religious Formation Conference is a national Roman Catholic organization serving women’s and men’s religious institutes, primarily in the United States and in other countries.