The moral theologian will be doing exactly that when she speaks to an audience of young adults about sexuality and God’s covenant of love at Theology on Tap West in Mississauga, Ont.

Specifically, McQueen, the executive director of the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute, will address Blessed John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and how it pertains to dating and married life. She was invited to the March 10 event for young adults age 19-39 by Faith Connections and the Office of Catholic Youth.

McQueen says there is plenty to explore in this theological topic.

“I hope they go away with a renewed sense of the goodness of sexuality and marriage when they are ordered to the covenant of love, inspired by God’s plan for us and not ordered to what might be termed a more self-centred plan, which for example looks to procreation as a possible burden, rather than as a gift,” she said.

McQueen has been teaching moral theology at the Faculty of Theology in the University of Toronto for 20 years. She currently teaches a course in human sexuality and marriage at St. Michael’s College. With her husband, she used to teach pre-marriage courses and provide natural family planning counselling. Her academic work has reflected on God’s plan for sexuality and marriage for three decades.

At Theology on Tap West, McQueen will discuss “broader areas of sexuality, the Sacrament of Marriage and the Church’s teaching on procreativity and unity, especially the positive views on marriage and sexuality expressed in the Second Vatican Council’s ‘Gaudium et Spes,’ ” she said.

McQueen says that young adults care about the faith aspect of sexuality.

“Anyone with any sense of responsibility wants to know why the Church talks about sexuality and marriage in a positive way and is happy to know that the teaching is meant to help us fulfill our journey here on earth,” she said. “It’s so positive that it stands some secular utilitarian values on their head. It demands a total giving of oneself to the other, and that defines the unitive and procreative values that the Church stresses.”

She notes that there is plenty to explore in this theological topic, and every generation needs to talk about sexuality since it is an important part of our lives.

Theology on Tap West will be held 7-9 p.m. at West 50 Pourhouse & Grille, 50 Burnhamthorpe Rd. West, Mississauga. For more information, visit www.faithconnections.ca/event or e-mail youth@ ocytoronto.org.

(Wojdylo, 18, is a Grade 12 student at Bishop Allen Academy in Toronto.)