Remember when you were younger and thought your teachers lived at school, because you knew nothing more about  them than what they taught you? Well, Mr. Stopyra a morality teacher here at Padua answered these five questions to let us know a little more about it :

1. How many years have you been teaching at Padua?

This is my 26th year at Padua.

2. Why did you choose to teach morality and what do you like best about it?

I enjoy teaching morality because of the wide range of topics that it covers. Topics can range from personal issues like honesty to social problems like homelessness to medical developments such as cloning. I also like the analysis that’s involved. It always challenges me to think in a broader and deeper fashion.

3. Do you have any hobbies outside of teaching at Padua?

I hope someday to have free time to pursue hobbies.

4. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Philadelphia.

5. Who is your favorite moral hero and why?

The Catholic moral theologian, Father Bernard Haring. He was dedicated to the renewal of Catholic moral theology after Vatican II. He understood that moral theology is a living discipline and he worked vigorously to renew it. Haring suffered persecution from some of his own church authorities who tried to discredit his work. He pursued the truth and helped invigorate moral theology for the benefit of the church community.

I also admire Hans von Dohnányi, who was Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s brother-in-law and an important figure in the resistance to Hitler inside Nazi Germany. He was dedicated to the cause of justice and tried to restore it when the Nazis had undermined it. Dohnányi risked everything and gave up everything as he tried to do the right thing.