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 series, “Side by Side.” Through five online sessions, Jean will lead participants to connect the Twelve Steps and Ignatian spirituality so that they may support those navigating mental health crisis, addiction, or other challenges.
When asked what she hopes people take away from the “Side by Side” series, Heaton replies, “Most people want to help, but they don’t know how, and they are afraid that suffering people need a professional. They don’t want to do anything wrong. ‘Side by Side’ offers guidelines on how an average person can be a Good Samaritan in their own parish.” The work is about “train[ing] people to accompany but not fix.”
The first session is October 21, 2026. Learn more and register.
Being Catholic affects our approach to supporting those struggling with addiction, as Heaton explains, “Catholics have a place in the history of the early Alcoholics Anonymous movement. Father Ed Dowling, SJ, became friends with AA founder, Bill Wilson, eventually becoming his spiritual director. He and Bill discussed the parallels between the steps and the Exercises. Eventually Father Ed saw the universal use of the steps, using them as inspiration for the Pre-Cana conferences, where married couples help married couples, much like alcoholics help alcoholics, and now I hope that everyday people accompany everyday people.”
Jean is the author of Helping Families Recover from Addiction.
