Attendee Comments from
Past Clergy Seminar

Following are survey comments, grouped by presentation first, and then general comments.

A History of NFP

• Well done - informative and inspiring!
• Can be helpful when speaking with couples.
• I entered midway through his presentation but was pleased with what I heard.  History is very important.  “Remember the past with gratitude, the present with enthusiasm. You must live and look forward to the future with confidence.” JP II
• Great way to begin – excellent!
• Information good
• Good to know where this all comes from.
• PowerPoint slides and note sheets were very helpful.

The Scientific Basis and Teaching of NFP

• Very clear
• Very good!  Sincere and belief in mission as critical part of spiritual change.
• Essential knowledge to know
• Well done. Good overview. Overall useful and well presented.
• I was somewhat confused on “job” of estrogen and progesterone.  More clarity, please — otherwise, a wonderful presentation
• Your commitment to God and His plan for human love as revealed through the Church and your love for the faith is something I will take back with me to the people I serve.  Thank you.
• It was very informative, but the sheer amount of material was a bit overwhelming. Perhaps a little more time could be allotted for it to sink in better.
• Excellent – good to get biological basics down before beginning
• Solid witness of couple working together
• This was perhaps the most important lecture for knowing the details of what NFP really is.
• PowerPoint slides and note sheets were very helpful.
• Excellent presentation

 The Effects of NFP on Marriage (witness couple talk)

• Excellent witness from the heart.  Can relate to all couples
• Extremely well done!  Personal experiences shared had a great impact on believability and sincerity.
• Perfect example
• Excellent presentation. A good view of the challenges faced by couples who use NFP. Enlightening and humorous.
• Marvelous! A solid presentation
• Their shared witness to the beauty of the Church’s teaching is exemplary. I am glad that they turned out “weird” like that first couple they met.
• Their witness was beautiful. Praise God for this wonderful couple and their zeal!
• Awesome! Their natural presentation had an impact of me – want to invite them to our diocese.
• Very inspirational and a great witness!
• Very natural and genuine witness. Your enthusiasm and conviction have really motivated me! Powerful to hear your experience as a couple and how the spiritual dimension grew from learning NFP and practicing it.

Medical Implication of Hormonal Birth Control, Infertility and Sterilization

• Good info – facts
• Very well prepared and knowledgeable
• Very, very helpful
• Great to see a committed Catholic physician fighting the system. Good references given for follow-up. Spoke at our level and with optimism.
• Outstanding – the referencing to literature was very helpful.
• His Catholic witness in the medical world is truly appreciated. While his reward may not be great on earth, it will be great in Heaven.
• Dr. Kahlenborn’s presentation was excellent. The medical information and insights on political/monetary factors in dissemination of studies was interesting.
• Excellent – very helpful.
• Could have listened and discussed issues much longer — great presenter and very valuable information.
• Outstanding! I could listen to Chris for hours on all this information — very revealing.
• Excellent! I am glad this was slotted for two hours.

Marriage Preparation and NFP

• Great talk for priests/deacons. People want truth.
• Inspiring – turned on with NFP and high conviction to what it offers his parish and the world.
• Good model for all priests
• Good presentation, but not many specifics offered. I appreciate his enthusiasm but was looking for more concrete specifics.
• Together with the witness couple talk, a tremendous challenge to “be not afraid”.
• Very inspiring
• Fr. Moreau’s talk was very good. His challenge to not be afraid and addressing common fears of priests/pastors was important.
• Very good – pastorally helpful
• Would improve if briefer outline in book. A shorter outline would have encouraged note taking on the many great points made! Hold the outline until after the talk.
• Excellent, spirited presentation of real life experience – excellent witness
• Wonderful encouragement to preach the truth no matter what the cost! Just what I needed!

Spanish Development

• Graph comparisons were very educational.
• Talk was beneficial and presentation well done – content wise
• A reality we need to be proactive – not reactive 20 years from now.
• Good overall presentation on realities of Hispanic life in USA. Excellent insight into communication models - helpful and focused.
• Some points did not completely resonate with my experience of the Spanish community. However, overall it was on the mark.
• I have a lot of background in Spanish ministry from my seminary formation and a mission trip to Dominican Republic. I also speak Spanish. There were some very good and helpful points!
• Good presentation.  This will probably be something that will benefit me in the future as the Hispanic population grows.
• We don’t have many Spanish people in our area; however, it did make me aware of how we need to reach out to other cultures.

Recruiting, Training NFP Teachers and CCL Services

• Good, clear instruction and clarification about how to become a CCL teacher - how to recruit CCL teachers.
• Informative and tied up loose ends - well done and very knowledgeable.
• Very helpful
• Good for reference material and personal witness testimony
• Good and practical – non-threatening
• An enjoyable presentation and quite informative
• I appreciated knowing the various services provided by and the processes involved in CCL.
• Great – helpful NUTS AND BOLTS!
• Valuable background information
• Very good – answered some questions I had.

Breastfeeding: How it Spaces Babies

• Very informative
• What an asset to CCL program! Very knowledgeable
• An alternative to the free method for couples open to children when they come.
• Thank you for opening my eyes to an entirely new area. Well done – provided ample time for questions.
• Both her joint presentation and this one were delightful. She has a winning way. The point about an extended infertile period was noteworthy.
• Most, if not all, of this information was new to me. Now I understand the reasons for breastfeeding more fully.
• Good to know – very informative! Helps me understand home schoolers, etc.
• Excellent information – never knew any of this before.
• Very important for us to be exposed to
• Very Good!

How to Implement a Pilot Program

• Great!
• Well done – Father is on fire! Good presenter
• One of the best!
• Great enthusiasm! Good ideas.  Passionate. Inspired me to change my focus in marriage prep.
• Very inspiring
• His marriage prep information was very helpful. The connection between sexuality and the Eucharist was very beautiful.
• Good – how he speaks about actual conversations/questions he asks couples.
• His passion is contagious and encouraging! Thanks.
• Many valuable points and excellent suggestions.  He really answered the question of “How?”
• Excellent! Extremely helpful for me, especially what Fr. Moreau tells his couples.

Overall Comments, Recommendations or Suggestions

• I liked everything about the conference. Went away with loads of information I can apply to parish work.
• Would love to hear from other witness couples – maybe add more witness talks to the conference.
• This is the answer to ending abortion!
• This is a powerful ministry, and it has been extremely rewarding in my own ministry.
• Every priest and deacon should attend.
• Thank you for an excellent conference! I was already sold on NFP prior to arriving; however, what I was lacking was knowledge of how to incorporate it into homilies and marriage prep. This seminar filled in those gaps and has given me the confidence to move ahead.
• I appreciate the helpfulness of CCL staff. All my needs were addressed in a helpful, courteous manner. Good assembly of speakers, knowledgeable in their fields and passionate in their love for Christ and His Church. My only suggestion would be to include a block on virtue, particularly chastity and maybe some helpful tips on how to address cohabiting couples. Thank you and may God continue to bless the work you do in His name.
• I appreciated the respect to time elements – it is easier to listen if you know it will end. Also, I know myself well enough that I will need someone (from CCL) to keep my feet to the fire.
• The historic, scientific and breastfeeding portions were the best. We priests can only learn these latter two by being taught by a woman in a situation like this. I think knowing the science/biology is an important part of this seminar because the more comfortable we are with the science, the better off we will be. The Theology of the Body Course is fundamental. We should know this stuff before we come, but you integrated it well.
• Thanks for the dedication and enthusiasm of all the presenters. This was the smoothest, time-controlled event I have attended — very professional. The support from the Drawbridge is also appreciated! I can’t wait to get back to meet our Teaching Couples.
• This entire conference was excellent! The speakers were well chosen. Location was excellent – so close to the airport and the city. Accommodations and spaces used are very good. Food and drink were very good, and refreshments were welcome at the break. I really loved the use of PowerPoint. Pure lectures can be draining, so thanks for this. It was great to have Mass, Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. I know it must be difficult to schedule all these things, and there are good pockets of free time, but it is intense having so many presentations in a 48-hour period of time. On the other hand, priest schedules are busy too, so a 2-3 day conference is really good. The books on sale and literature given are excellent!! Thanks for having them available. I will recommend this conference to other priests, hope to spread it in my parish and diocese and hope to work on our seminary as well.
• Excellent, thorough conference/seminar folder of notes on talks and resources – very helpful and valuable! Great to have critique sheet to fill out during entire seminar, rather than at the end.
• I was really impressed by how the spiritual life of a couple can grow through practicing NFP (as well as married life)!
• I feel this is absolutely necessary for all people in the parish to be exposed to NFP for their benefit and the benefit of the parish. Thank you so much! 
• Well worth coming to – no dollar amount could be put on it!  I wish the clergy of years ago had had this information! I feel these days of study are well worth it.