In 2015 Dr. Paul Sullins retired from CUA Sociology to found the Leo Initiative to “explore social realities from a Catholic perspective and defend the claims of the Catholic faith on consequential social or policy issues” with objective empirical evidence. Since then the Initiative’s award-winning research has focused on the family and sexuality, bringing factual evidence to bear on such issues as the benefits for children of stable married man/woman parents; the psychological difficulties suffered by children following parental divorce, by children with same-sex parents, and by women following abortion; the connection between clergy sexual abuse of boys and homosexual clergy; and the benefits of desisting from a sexual orientation or gender identity contrary to God’s loving design for human flourishing. A frequent conference speaker, Dr. Sullins’ latest research and lectures can be found at the Ruth Institute and his personal website.
