me the knowledge and framework to
communicate unchanging truths about
reality and morality. By defending truth
with natural law, I am able to effectively
communicate the dignity of the human
person from conception until natural
death in the public square.
Why did you choose to study theology?
ARINA GROSSU:
Defending the Dignity of the Human
Person in the Public Square
By Br. Patrick Mary Briscoe, O.P.
Arina Grossu, MA ’08, is the
Director of the Center for Human
Dignity at the Family Research
Council where she focuses on
sanctity of life issues. Ms. Grossu
has done television interviews on
CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox News, EWTN,
and CBN and has presented lectures
at the United Nation’s Commission
on the Status of Women, Trinity
International University’s Center
for Bioethics & Human Dignity,
the University of Notre Dame, and
numerous other institutions.
How has a Dominican education
prepared you for your work at the Center
for Human Dignity?
After completing his studies, St. Dominic
became an effective itinerant preacher,
sharing the Gospel message with his
world. Today, as a PFIC alumna, I am called
to do the same in my personal life, my
work, and my lay ministry. The theological
education I received at the PFIC gave
Faith & Reason - Volume III, Issue I
My faith sought understanding, echoing
St. Augustine’s “credo ut intelligam” and
St. Anselm’s “fides quaerens intellectum.”
My Catholic faith is central to my life
and I wanted a mature and intellectual
understanding of it so that I would be
able to confess it, defend it, and apply it.
How would you describe your time at
the PFIC?
The PFIC was incredibly welcoming to me
as a laywoman. I felt privileged to have the
opportunity to partake of a Dominican
education alongside men being formed
to become Dominican priests, the
intellectual powerhouses of the Church.
My faculty and peers encouraged my
growth and learning. I would highly
recommend it to other women and
laypeople seeking to arm themselves with
a mature understanding of the truths of
the Catholic faith.
“The theological education
I received at the PFIC
gave me the knowledge
and framework to
communicate u