FAQ
Some frequently asked questions about the Academy
The Academy
The Family and Life Academy is a Catholic formation platform dedicated to forming students, parents, pro-life and pro-family advocates, and all the faithful, in the unchanging teachings of the Church — particularly those which relate to the crucial moral issues of our day. To achieve this, the Academy provides accessible and comprehensive courses and webinars on key life-subjects such as marriage and parents as primary educators of their children, bioethical issues such as contraception, abortion and euthanasia, and other subjects which are vital to living our faith in accordance with the unchanging and universal principles of natural and divine law.
The purpose of the Academy is to respond to an urgent need for traditional Catholic formation to face today’s crisis in faith and morals. The Academy’s online courses, webinars and other resources facilitate a substantial understanding of key moral and doctrinal issues in the light of authentic Church teaching; doctrine which is essential not only for believing but for living the Catholic faith — for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
The Academy’s programme of courses and webinars is tailored for students, parents, pro-life and pro-family advocates, and all the faithful, wishing to better understand the principles which will help them to live their faith, fulfil their duties of state and defend life and the family using the best possible tools. The programme is also suitable for non-Catholics seeking to learn about crucial life and family issues in the light of the natural law.
The faculty of the Academy is made up of the world’s leading experts and academics, carefully chosen from both the clergy and the laity for their specific expertise in their respective subjects. For more information about the Academy’s teachers, see the TEACHERS page.
The Academy programme is being developed gradually to cover all the crucial issues of Catholic moral teaching affecting human life today — from conception to natural death, based on the principles of natural and divine law. As this is a work in progress, with new courses, webinars and other materials being added regularly, we recommend signing up for updates and visiting the site to see how the programme develops and how you, and others, might benefit from it.
Enrolment costs £50 per course. This can be paid by Paypal or by credit or debit card. If your account is not in GBP (£), the amount will be debited from your account in its native currency. For information on conversion rates, please consult your payment provider. The enrolment fee provides unlimited, permanent access to the chosen course. Signing up for the Academy is free of charge, as is participation in monthly webinars on specialist topics not covered in courses. Frequent blog posts and other learning materials are also freely available.
Course lessons are typically 40 minutes in length, after which the teacher will respond to any questions submitted via the lesson chat. An entire session usually lasts one hour. Free webinars also have the same structure.
A webinar is an online seminar presented by a guest speaker. Each webinar focuses on a particular aspect of Catholic faith and morals in greater depth, and provides an opportunity for those who are not enrolled in courses to study the Academy’s curriculum. Webinars are open to all and have the same structure as Academy lessons.
No coursework is required to complete the course. Ready-made study notes are provided for each lesson, to help you consolidate your learning and make the most of your study time. It is possible to actively participate in live lessons by asking questions, either via live lesson chat or via email — info@familyandlifeacademy.com
Whilst the Academy is not part of any formal educational body, a personalised certificate is issued upon completion of each course.
Voice of the Family is an initiative of Catholic laity, established to defend Catholic teaching on life and the family before during and after the Synod on the Family (2014–2015). Voice of the Family collaborates with some of the world’s best academics, educators, and pro-life and pro-family advocates to provide the best possible formation in Catholic morality. All of these efforts depend on the generosity of our supporters, without whom it would never have been possible to continue this apostolate.
Since its formation in 2014, Voice of the Family has organised conferences, discussing perennial Church teaching on life and family issues with world-leading experts. In addition to the courses and webinars offered by the Academy, Voice of the Family’s apostolate includes a weekly Digest online, books and magazines via Calx Mariae Publishing. Voice of the Family also runs the popular Our Lady of the Rosary Family Catechism, which helps parents all over the world to form their children in the unchanging truth of the Catholic Faith.
The Platform
On the page of your chosen course, simply click “Enrol now” at the bottom of the right-hand column. You will then be invited to buy the course.
If signed in:
On the page of your chosen webinar, simply click REGISTER
If not signed in:
On the page of your chosen webinar, click SIGN IN/UP at the bottom of the right-hand column. You will then be invited to sign in to register for the webinar.
After you have enrolled in an upcoming course or registered for a webinar, you will receive an email invitation with a unique link to the virtual classroom, hosted by the platform Demio. You will receive reminders one hour and fifteen minutes before each lesson. To join the session, simply click JOIN in any of these emails. The lessons will be available on demand from 12PM (UK time) the following day on the Academy website (sign-in required).
During a live lesson, you can type questions into the lesson chat. Questions will be answered in the Q&A after the lesson.
Outside of live lesssons, you can also submit questions via email to info@familyandlifeacademy.com. Your question will be reserved for future lessons or, if the course has already finished, may be answered directly or kept for future.
Lesson videos will be available from 12PM the following day, via the course page on the Academy website (sign-in required).
Live lessons are accessible from all desktop, laptops, tablets and smartphones. A good internet connection is recommended to ensure the smooth running of both video and sound in the live stream.
If you experience difficulties with sound and video, it is recommended to:
- Close the browser tab or window in which the lesson is streaming and reopen it via the “Join” button in the email.
- Switch the sound off and on again in your internet browser by clicking the audio icon (generally located in the address bar or tab heading in your browser).
- Check the settings in Demio by clicking the cog icon at the top right of the video and ensuring that audio output is set to “system”.
If these do not resolve the difficulties, please let us know. And do not worry, you can catch up on anything you miss through video lessons from 12PM the following day.
Content
Yes. Through the Academy platform, you can access free webinars and articles on and around course subjects, as well as blog posts, external resources and further reading suggested by the teachers.
All the courses, webinars, and other material are in English, except in cases where citations are drawn from foreign-language works not available in translation.
Study notes and tips for course participants are available to download and print. Live and video lessons and webinars are only available through the Demio platform and Academy website and cannot be viewed offline.
Generally, the Academy offers two courses a month, with lessons held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 18:00 GMT, although this varies. Monthly webinars are also scheduled at various times.
Other
The Academy is funded entirely by the donations of our supporters and enrolment fees in courses. Above all, we rely on our tremendous patrons, the most blessed Virgin Mary, St Joseph and St Thomas Aquinas. We also commend our work to your prayers.
To help us sustain our work, please consider making a donation. Please also get involved by enrolling in a course and recommending the Academy to anyone who may be interested, or who could benefit from it. If you would like to help promote the Academy online, at events or through other publicity, please contact us directly at info@familyandlifeacademy.com
If you have further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at info@familyandlifeacademy.com or via our CONTACT form.