Author and speaker Jean Heaton will be a panelist and a breakout session leader at a virtual conference exploring a Catholic response to addiction, “Reclaiming Our Belovedness.” The September 25, 2026, conference is hosted by Catholic in Recovery and iTHIRST Initiative. The keynote will explore “the effectiveness of the Examen prayer in a regular rehab setting,” says Heaton.
Events like the virtual “Reclaiming Our Belovedness” conference are important, Heaton says, “Because addiction is a spiritual problem that not only touches the addict or alcoholic but the family and friends who love them. Recovery, from both the twelve-step perspective and the Ignatian tradition, are solutions that have been widely available in the Church’s history but little-known. It is important to ask why. The answer is simple: stigma, fear, and shame.”
She continues, “‘Reclaiming Our Belovedness’ helps sufferers be seen by the Church. It offers solutions that deal with healing our relationships to God, self, and others (Twelve Steps) and helping us grow in the relationship: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (the Exercises), to the point that we let go of our own will and heal.”
Learn more and register for the conference.
Jean will also lead Ignatian Ministries’ new professional development
