Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois recently gave a presentation on the Catholic Church's teaching on the hot-button topic of marriage and same-sex relationships. The topic is certainly one of discussion in the news and most likely in several high school theology courses, especially in the areas of morality and vocation.

The full text of Bishop Paprocki's text is presented here. It is intended to be a teacher resource to assist you in sharing a detailed and well-reasoned explanation of the Church's position on this topic.

Bishop Paprocki has several unique qualifications and experiences. After he was ordained a priest in 1978, Bishop Paprocki went to law school and DePaul University. After he passed the bar, he helped to found the Chicago Legal Clinic, an agency that offers legal assistance to the working poor and disadvantaged. Bishop Paprocki is also a canon lawyer, receiving his doctorate from Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1991. Just recently, Bishop Paprocki received a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame.

An active athlete—Bishop Paprocki runs marathons and continues a lifelong passion of playing goalie on his adult ice hockey team—he is the author of Holy Goals for Body and Soul: 8 Ways to Connect Sports with God and Faith.