BACK TO SCHOOL 2012: A School Year of Faith!

COLORADO SPRINGS. Catholic schools in the Diocese of Colorado Springs began our school year on Aug. 15 — the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation.  The school year begins not only with tales of summer but with a school Mass and an opportunity to learn more about this most important Marian feast. For the second year in a row there is an increase in enrollment in our Catholic schools, up about 3 percent over last year, and proof positive that more parents are choosing an education for their children centered in faith.

At the diocesan level, three goals will guide local school initiatives — strengthening Catholic identity; providing rigorous academics; and quality training for those called to serve in our Catholic schools both as models of faith and educators.

Primary to the mission of Catholic schools is to “unite with the parish and parents to form each child into a disciple of Jesus Christ . . .” The goal of a strong Catholic identity and a true Catholic culture in our schools will drive many of our school initiatives. Catholic school teachers, like all teachers, spend eight to 10 hours a day with their students. What a privilege, what an awesome responsibility! Church documents pay a great deal of attention to the vocation of teaching in Catholic schools. Catholic school teachers in imitation of Christ, the true Teacher, reveal the Christian message for their students.

To prepare our teachers for this most noble task, we have increased catechetical requirements and training for those who serve in our Catholic schools. The second annual Aquinas Catechetical Institute (ACI) was held at the end of August to provide teachers an opportunity for in-depth study in our Catholic faith. Additional Masses and eucharistic adoration time have been added to school schedules, and students will participate in the many faith traditions of the Catholic Church. Teachers began training in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, and over the next few years Catholic school students (ages 3-9) will explore the life of Jesus, the Gospels, Mass, sacraments and all the beauty and mysteries of our faith in a Montessori approach. Our Catholic schools will begin to explore the National Catholic School Standards and Benchmarks published last March. These standards are critical in our ongoing effort to make our schools truly Catholic and to form students, who know the faith, grow to love the faith and live it passionately.

Like all schools across America, our Catholic schools strive for continuous academic improvement but for different reasons. Not motivated by federal and state mandates, Catholic schools believe that each student is first and foremost a child of God, and God has placed gifts in that child that are to be developed and used to serve God and serve others. To develop academic gifts, we are adding formative assessments, using data-driven instruction, aligning curriculum with (Catholic) Common Core State Standards and will continue to implement and support effective educational initiatives. Over 97 percent of first and second graders diocesan-wide in Catholic schools met or exceeded national reading and language standards last year. Our Catholic elementary-school graduates who attend St. Mary’s High School passed AP exams with a 3 or higher score at a rate of 90 percent (the statewide pass rate for high school students scoring 3 or above is 69 percent). Nationally, 97 percent of students who graduate from Catholic schools attend post-secondary education, and 94 percent of those students complete the programs. Those percentages are significantly higher than the national average. Catholic schools are providing quality academics.   

Like public schools, we are challenged to prepare our students with the 21st Century Skills program so they can be college and work ready. Catholic schools add a critical element. 21st Century Skills is simply a list of skills identified by educational professionals that answer the question, “What skills do our students need to survive and thrive in the 21st century?” The answer addresses ways students think (creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, decision making and learning), how students should be able to work (communication and collaboration), tools students will need to work (information and communication technology and information literacy), and finally, skills for living in the world (citizenship, life and career, and personal and social responsibility). We are changing the type of educational experiences students will have in our schools, the type of questions they will be asked, as well as the criteria used to determine mastery. We will address fewer standards but will go more in-depth.

The Diocese of Colorado Springs is preparing teachers to succeed in teaching these skills.Teachers spent the last school year and the summer attending staff development in highly effective teaching, differentiated instruction and brain-based learning. This school year began with an in-service using data to set learning targets for daily instruction and local staff development teams have presented what they learned at summer trainings. Technology is being upgraded and integrated into the instructional and learning process in all Catholic schools. We will continue to support professional development of our teachers so they may prepare our students for the identified 21st Century Skills, but we will do more.

Our Catholic schools will add the conspicuously missing elements of teaching a love for wisdom and passion for truth. Referencing Pope Benedict XVI, Ottawa, Canada, Archbishop  J. Michael Miller wrote in The Holy See’s Teaching on Catholic Schools: “Catholic schools take up the daunting task of freeing [students] from the insidious consequences of relativism — a dictatorship that cripples all genuine education” (The Catholic University of America, September 2005). He continues that Catholic school teachers are to “educate in the truth,” the Truth is Jesus Christ.

Preparing students for the 21st century means cultivating a school climate where students learn a passion for truth that defeats moral and cultural relativism. Based on faith, students will be taught not only to think creatively but to solve problems incorporating Christian virtues and their Catholic faith. They will be challenged to communicate and collaborate, remembering always to give dignity and respect to others. They will learn to use technology not only as a tool to support their academic success but as a yift from God to help evangelize and change the culture in which they live. Faith is the critical element not identified by the educational experts but central to learning in a Catholic school.

So our Catholic schools begin a School Year of Faith with a mission and determination to strengthen our Catholic identity, prepare our students to be educated, good stewards in the 21st century and eternity, and to support the ongoing formation and training of our Catholic school teachers. We ask for your prayers and are thankful for your continued support as we provide an education that intentionally includes faith in all that is taught. Catholic schools are critical to the evangelizing mission of the church. They are worth the sacrifice!

(Goodwin is Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Colorado Springs.)

Diocese to merge Massillon’s parochial schools

Bishop George V. Murry, head of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, has accepted a recommendation from the Massillon Catholic School Planning Committee that the two Massillon Catholic Schools be reorganized into a single elementary school on two campuses, beginning with the 2013-2014 school year.  

The new school will be named “Bishop Massillon Catholic School.”

Both St. Mary and St. Barbara campuses will maintain prekindergarten through grade 4 programs.  

 The middle school program (grades 5-8) will be housed at the St. Mary’s campus.  

 In a new release, Nicholas Wolsonovich, Diocesan Superintendent of Schools, said, “The new model allows for the younger children to attend their parish school and provides them the opportunity for the preparation of the sacraments of First Communion and Reconciliation to be completed at school.  This option keeps both buildings open and preserves the strong traditions of both schools.”

The plan allows for the consolidation of resources in the middle school grades that will enhance the instructional programs and the learning opportunities for all students.

 Discussions are already in the works to make the new 5-8 grades a STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) school. The larger number of students in the upper grades provides opportunities for enhanced drama and art programs.

NEW NAME

 The new name  was chosen to commemorate the city’s namesake, Bishop Jean Baptiste Massillon.  

 Monsignor Lewis Gaetano, president of the Stark County Regional School System stated: “This initial collaborative effort of St. Mary’s and St. Barbara’s Catholic Schools, now Bishop Massillon Catholic, provides an opportunity to strengthen the ministry of Catholic education in western Stark County, creating an alternative-collaborative community.

 “Our 12 schools within the new Stark County Regional Elementary Catholic School System are called to share a common philosophy, mission and vision, and profile of the Catholic school graduate. I believe that the continuing collaborative efforts of all our schools will be the catalyst for creating a new way of working and of re-imagining Catholic education for the future. This model of collaboration becomes the forming influence for the emerging profile of the Catholic school graduate and for the Catholic identity of our alumni within our parishes.”

All faiths welcome in Catholic schools

All faiths welcome in Catholic schools

Non-Catholic students bring diversity, unity to all students (Extended version)

Published: August 18, 2012

Mustafa “Mo-Mo” Filat (left) and his father, Isaac, pray toward Mecca — the birthplace of Muhammad — in their Little Rock home. Mo-Mo Filat is a member of the Islamic Center of Little Rock with his family.

By Aprille Hanson
Little Rock Correspondent

Mustafa Filat, nicknamed “Mo-Mo,” will be the first to say he’s no different than any other student at Catholic High School in Little Rock.

The 17-year-old senior said his fellow students are a “brotherhood” — attending Mass, participating in religion classes and activities while sharing the high school experience. But while his brothers receive holy Communion during Mass, Filat, a Muslim, goes up for a blessing.

“It’s not really stressed that I’m different, I don’t feel like a different person. I like it,” Filat said of attending a Catholic school. “I sometimes fast during the month of Ramadan. I’m allowed to go to the library while everyone else is eating.”

Filat is part of the 22 percent of students within the 30 Catholic schools throughout Arkansas that is not Catholic.

Vernell Bowen, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Little Rock, said the Catholic schools have a non-discriminatory policy, accepting all faiths with the understanding that the schools are a ministry to the Catholic Church. Students must participate in all Catholic-related activities, including attending Mass.

“I do not know of any Catholic school that would deny any faith,” Bowen said. “We believe that the parents are the primary educators of their children and that they are in partnership with the school to develop their child spiritually and morally. As Catholic educators, we are to teach the Gospel message and live as Christ teaches in the Gospel to be models to all.”

Catholic school principals throughout the state said all non-Catholic parents understand before they enroll their children that they will learn the rituals and traditions of the Catholic faith.

“We do see all the boys who come through us as having great value and dignity and while they’re with us, we will offer them academic and religious formation,” said Rob Loia, principal at the all-boys Subiaco Academy. “One of the things we do ask the boys’ families is to understand that is what we’re offering and to accept that.”

Filat’s father, Isaac, said he chose to send his son to Catholic High School because of the school’s moral reputation and educational excellence.

“They don’t force their religion on you,” Isaac Filat said. “They’re not trying to convert my kid over to Catholicism.”

CHS principal Steve Straessle said the school opened in 1930, and at least since the 1960s the student population has stayed about 30 to 35 percent non-Catholic, with religions ranging from a variety of Protestant faiths to Buddhism.

“We had one boy who was a (Muslim) foreign exchange student, adamant about the times to pray. We worked his schedule out (to have the time) to pray and have a quiet room for him to go to,” Straessle said, adding that once, even at an away football game, he made time for prayer.

“He put his blanket under the stands and began his prayers. Some kids from the other school were making fun of it, (the Catholic High) boys came to his assistance and he finished his prayer.”

Straessle said students of other religions have the opportunity to discuss their faith in world religion classes. Straessle and most other principals agreed they have not had any disciplinary problems resulting from students not accepting another person’s faith.

“Everything is taught from the Catholic perspective, but with that said, every religious tradition is respected. We’ve never thought of Catholic High as the happy hunting ground for new Catholics,” Straessle said. “We’re using it to teach the kids about Catholicism … If a boy comes to Catholic High and he’s Jewish … if he graduates as a devout Jew that has a strong understanding of Christianity I’d consider that a success.”

Bowen said while the schools do not try to convert students, “I do see families convert to Catholicism by having their children in our schools,” adding that she herself converted to the faith when her son attended a Catholic school.

“I think that the reason Christianity and education go so well together is because both are focused on not what the individual is, but what the individual will become,” Straessle said. “To lose sight of that … narrows the impact and power of each.”

In May, Little Rock Christian Academy, a private Christian school, denied a 4-year-old boy admittance into the school’s pre-kindergarten because he is Mormon. The school has had the policy of excluding people that are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints since it opened in 1977, but some years the ban has not been enforced, according to a May 31 article published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The article quoted Carla Emanuel, a Little Rock Christian Academy school board member, as saying of Mormons, “I don’t believe they’ll go to heaven.”

Diane Wolfe, principal of Mount St. Mary Academy in Little Rock, said religious diversity should be a lesson for students.

“As for Little Rock Christian Academy not accepting a Mormon student, I was just like many, a little amazed, but certainly the private school has the opportunity to do that,” Wolfe said. “But they certainly missed out on a great learning opportunity for their students.”

Kathleen Green, a teacher at St. Joseph High School in Conway for 26 years, is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and called the situation at Little Rock Christian Academy “sad.”

“I think it’s an overreaction on the part of religious leaders. It’s sad because these are kids, they’re not going to go around prophesying,” Green said. “I was sorry people had just a closed-minded attitude.”

Bowen said 21 percent of the staff in Catholic schools are not-Catholic, but those teacher are not allowed to teach religion classes. According to the diocesan policy, “teachers employed in diocesan schools should be either active, committed Catholics or individuals who have a positive attitude toward the Catholic faith and a commitment to Christian living.”

Green said while she is a devout Mormon and vocal about her faith, she has respect for the Catholic Church and her experience at St. Joseph has been positive. Green said when she was first hired at the school, administrators held a meet-and-greet and only served alcohol, which is prohibited in her religion.

“I went out in the hall and filled up my cup with water from the drinking fountain. When I came back in, another teacher I had met and talked to and knew I am Mormon, she said, ‘This will never happen again.’ From that day forward, there has always been a bottle of Sprite sitting on the table,” Green said. “They’ve always been accepting. We believe in the Ten Commandments, we believe in Christ as our Savior … We are all Christians and trying to live the Golden Rule basically.”

Isaac Filat said it’s important to understand the similarities in a variety of religions.

“If you just primarily teach your faith, I don’t think an individual will grow and make his own decisions about religious beliefs,” he said. “The stories in the Bible, Koran and Torah almost parallel one another.”

St. Joseph High School principal Joe Mallet said many religions “came from variations of the Catholic faith.”

“When you study all religions, it opens up everyone’s eyes,” Mallet said. “Our goal is to get to heaven; we’re all trying for that.”

Leah Elenzweig said her daughter Bayley, a junior at Mount St. Mary’s, has not only had a rich educational experience, but a chance to understand another religion. Her other daughter, Lexi, will be a freshmen this year at the academy.

“Our Judaism is very important to us. I love the fact that they can see another religion and watch it work and how it works and learn about themselves with the similarities as well as the differences. You can be part of the whole but have differences from it,” Elenzweig said. “I want my children to respect other people’s beliefs.”

Bayley Elenzweig, 17, who is very active at Temple B’nai Israel in Little Rock, said people should learn about other religions in order to “survive in this world.”

“I still have to take theology class like everyone else. It’s been weird, but they’ve been nice about it and not in your face about anything … I had a lot of misconceptions about Catholicism that I found out aren’t true,” Bayley Elenzweig said. “Most of the kids in my school have never met anyone who is Jewish. They wanted to know more because they were really interested. A lot of them asked a lot of questions.”

About 30 percent of the academy’s students are non-Catholic, Wolfe said. All students follow the school’s list of Mercy Values, which includes “recognition for the intrinsic worth and dignity of each person” and “respect for varied religious traditions and beliefs,” according to its website, mtstmary.edu.

“Once we did research on the Mercy Values, I was blown away because the Mercy Values are what I share,” Leah Elenzweig said. “I felt like if my daughter could absorb those values in my home and at school it would make her a better person.”

Wolfe said the academy makes accommodations for students of other faiths to be able to participate in their own traditions, including a Muslim student who graduated last year.

“We made accommodations for her at noontime to participate in her prayer and provided her, actually in our chapel, a quiet sacred place for her to participate with her faith,” Wolfe said.

The academy also hosts the annual Christian Unity Week, where pastors from other faiths in the area say a morning prayer and a few words over a closed circuit TV, broadcast to the students.

Betsy Young, minister of discipleship and spiritual formation at Second Baptist Church in Little Rock, said she’s spoken at Christian Unity Week twice.

“Both times I kind of took the opportunity to talk about the church getting outside of its walls regardless of what our denomination is and making a difference in the community around us,” Young said. “I’ve experienced just a lot of openness and felt really embraced by the faculty and the students.”

Jim Hattabaugh, principal at Trinity Junior High School in Fort Smith, said the school emphasizes that “we are all children of God,” an important concept to accept not only as a student, but as a working adult.

“It’s important not only for spiritual reasons, but economic as well. We’re in a global economy and being able to interact and do business with people of another faith, I think it’s good to have that knowledge and ground work to be prepared for that,” Hattabaugh said.

Though religious diversity is more common in Catholic high schools, the state’s elementary schools also have an array of religious backgrounds.

Little Rock’s Christ the King School principal Kathy House said the school first accepts Catholic students and if there’s room, non-Catholic students. Since the students are younger, differences in religions do not stick out as much as in the upper grades, House said.

“We try to make the (non-Catholic) children feel very comfortable. They come up to get a blessing (at Mass). They do everything,” House said. “You don’t know which [students] are Catholic and which are not Catholic, they blend in.”

Marcia Brucks, principal at Immaculate Conception School in North Little Rock, said the school had a student a few years ago that went to the Church of Christ, which was a good learning opportunity for the young students.

“It was a great exchange between the kids. Some of the kids went to church with her to see what it was like,” Brucks said. “I loved hearing them talk because they were learning so much about her religion compared to theirs … She (also) loved learning about (Catholicism). She wanted to learn as much as she could.”

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, Bowen, who was then principal at St. Edwards School in Little Rock, invited Sue Filat-Alami, whose son Adam was a fourth grader at the school, to speak about the Muslim faith.

“I was born and raised in this country. This was an opportunity for me to explain that not every (Muslim) in this country is a terrorist,” Filat-Alami said. “We never had any issues. We are so pro-Catholic schools.”

Filat-Alami said her son went on to graduate from Catholic High School for Boys and his experience convinced her in-laws, who didn’t understand why she’d send her son to a Catholic school, to provide a Catholic education for their children. She added that throughout his education, her son made straight A’s in his religion courses.

“It’s still one God. Each has their own way of believing,” Filat-Alami said. “Everyone should accept everyone’s religion and faith no matter who they are … that’s why God created everybody. He didn’t create all of us the same.”

Non-Catholic students and parents considering a Catholic education need to keep an “open mind,” Bayley Elenzweig said.

“If you’re not going to have an open mind, don’t go. I had a Jewish friend who went to Mount that didn’t have an open mind and left,” she said. “If you’re going to a place where you’re not in the majority, you need to be the one that’s going to be accommodating. Everyone’s been very nice about (my faith) and interested in it. It’s a good experience to have.”

Mo-Mo Filat, who will graduate this year, said he will be leaving Catholic High as a strong young Muslim man with a clearer understanding of Catholicism and lifelong friends.

“If I didn’t have the opportunity to go to Catholic, I’d be upset. I’m really glad Catholic High didn’t not accept me because I wasn’t Catholic,” he said. “Through religion class, I’ve learned all about the Catholic faith and feel like I’m very informed. I’m really glad I got to open my mind and understand the Catholic faith.”

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Lebanon Catholic keeps the faith

Like Catholic schools across the country, Lebanon Catholic School has been struggling for more than a decade with the pressures of declining enrollment and spiraling costs.

But an uptick in new enrollment and renewed support from alumni and local parishes has administrators feeling optimistic that the school on Assumption Hill in Lebanon has a bright future.

A decade ago, Lebanon Catholic was facing a mounting financial crisis.

In a cost-saving measure, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, under which it operates, directed Lebanon Catholic to merge its elementary and secondary programs into its high school building at 1400 Chestnut St. Modular classrooms were added to accommodate the grade-schoolers.

Many predicted

it was the beginning of the end for Catholic education in Lebanon County.

While the number of students who attend the pre-kindergarten to 12th-grade school is far from its heyday of the 1950s and ’60s when total enrollment was more than 1,000, Lebanon Catholic’s enrollment has stabilized above 300, and administrators are encouraged because a significant number of new students will be attending this coming year.

“As of today, 20 percent of our new families make up the total enrollment, which lets you know that we are alive and growing,” second-year Principal Rose Kury said. “Just that influx of new families coming into our school in light of the current economics is a good sign.”

The Rev. Edward J. Quinlan, secretary of education

for the Harrisburg diocese, also sees signs of encouragement at Lebanon Catholic, but he does not sugarcoat the challenges the school faces.

“Lebanon Catholic School, formed in 2001 with the merger of Our Lady of the Valley School and Lebanon Catholic Junior-Senior High School, has seen mixed success,” he said in an email. “They have successfully integrated the programs, forming a cohesive staff and well functioning administration, while providing the necessary elements of distinctive elementary and secondary education. However, there are concerns.”

Top among them is declining enrollment, which has fallen from about 560 in the year prior to the merger to about 320 last year. As a result, Quinlan said, for many years the school has been operating at a deficit, which last year alone was $69,000.

“This will challenge the school to seek greater community support, for its annual operating budget, any needed repairs and renovations, and to reduce their outstanding liabilities,” he said. “Hopefully, given the proud history and list of graduates, Lebanon Catholic can meet these challenges.”

Lebanon Catholic’s struggles have mirrored the experience of parochial education nationwide.

Catholic education in the U.S. hit a peak in 1960 when there were 5.3 million students attending nearly 13,000 Catholic schools, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Since then, enrollment has declined steadily with the latest statistics for 2010-11 showing 2 million students studying at just under 7,000 Catholic schools.

Here and elsewhere, the cause for the declining trend can be traced to the 1970s when lay teachers began replacing nuns and priests, according to Lori Kostow, Lebanon Catholic’s director of development.

“Back in the ’60s, it was almost 100 percent religious life people teaching students here,” she said. “So in the ’60s, there was no tuition. But as people began leaving the religious life, more lay people came on. So here come the challenges – now we have salaries to pay; now we have tuition.”

The cost for a year at Lebanon Catholic at the elementary level is $3,245 for students from Catholic families and $4,050 for non-Catholic students. Middle school costs $3,695 for Catholics and $4,835 for non-Catholics, and high school $4,125 for Catholics and $5,500 for non-Catholics.

A family rate of $9,550 applies for families with three or more children at the school.

Lebanon Catholic also has an endowment fund funded by alumni that is used for scholarships to help families who have trouble paying tuition. If parents want their child to attend Lebanon Catholic, there is often a way to make it work financially, Kostow said.

“Everyone here wants this to be feasible for families,” she said. “The last thing that should be a hurdle is the financial obligation. … When a family has a financial hardship, we try our best to meet them with the scholarships we provide.”

Kostow and Quinlan both noted that Lebanon Catholic stands to benefit from the recent increase from $75 million to $100 million in the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program that allows businesses to establish scholarships at private schools in return for tax credits.

When meeting with prospective parents, Kostow said, she emphasizes that tuition is an investment that is often returned with generous scholarships when their student attends college.

“On average, a child who starts here in pre-K and continues through 12th grade, based on our tuition now, the parent will invest $57,000 over those 13 years of education,” Kostow said. “What I want the community-at-large to know is the return on investment for college scholarship is being met or exceeded – kids are receiving scholarships for college, which are amazing. Recently, we’ve had graduating classes of say 36 to 38 kids, and they are receiving, as a whole, over $600,000 in scholarships.”

Students receive the scholarships because they are well prepared for post-secondary education and most go on to college, Kury said.

“We have graduates return all the time during Thanksgiving and Christmas vacation, and one of their comments is ‘Oh college is a breeze’,” she said. “And they can say that because they’ve been given the tools to work hard, to be responsible and disciplined for their academics.”

Credit for that goes to Lebanon’s faculty, who are willing to work for far less than their public school counterparts, said Kury, who began teaching at Our Lady of the Valley Elementary School in 1983.

The starting salary at Lebanon Catholic is $25,000 compared to about $40,000 at the county’s six public schools.

Tom Beazley started teaching at Lebanon Catholic in 1977 and has taught just about every grade level there. Currently, he teaches high school social studies and religion.

Working for far less than he could earn in a public school is a sacrifice Beazley said he is willing to make because he enjoys being in an environment where everyone is working toward a common goal of providing an affordable Catholic education.

“What keeps me at Lebanon Catholic are the people I work with and the families that support the school every year. They are just great,” Beazley said. “It is nice to work at a school where you believe in the same things, and you all have the same mission and goals for the kids.”

A tight-knit school community means every student gets the attention he or she deserves, Beazley added.

“One of the advantages of being small – and we could grow a good amount and still be small – is that we know every kid,” he said. “No kid hides from the faculty. Every kid is accounted for.”

The largest classes at Lebanon Catholic have a student-to-teacher ratio of 20:1, and most are smaller, Kury said.

The individualized attention students receive is one of the major reasons Greg and Tracey Bender of Lebanon are sending there three children to Lebanon Catholic.

“One of the biggest determining factor was class size,” said Greg Bender, a Cornwall Borough police officer. “We just felt that the city schools are overcrowded with a big student-to-teacher ratio. When we first went there (Lebanon Catholic), we were so impressed that the faculty knew all the students’ names, and just the atmosphere of the school sold me on it.”

The family atmosphere at Lebanon Catholic is also a big selling point for Pat and Betsy Dorsey of North Cornwall Township, who have five children attending the school, ranging from 16-year-old Christopher, a junior, to 5-year-old Shannon, who is entering kindergarten.

“There is something about the fact of the principal walking down the hall calling every kid by their first name, said Pat Dorsey, a pilot for United Airlines. “It is a big family.”

The Dorseys are such advocates for Lebanon Catholic that they volunteer on the Welcome Committee for families considering enrolling their children.

“One of the things we tell people is to do a tour at the school,” Dorsey said. “When you walk down the halls, the kids look you in the eyes and are so polite. There’s no locks on lockers, and if someone gets into a shoving match, it’s big news because it just doesn’t happen.”

Kury predicted the safe and caring atmosphere provided by Lebanon Catholic and the importance the school puts on a belief in God is what will sustain it.

“I think parents really want their children to grow up with discipline, with faith, with values they find important in their own family and beyond,” she said. “They are looking for a safe place – a community – which they may not feel they have elsewhere.”

Kostow, who sends her two daughters to Lebanon Catholic, shares Kury’s optimism that after navigating through some rough times, it will be smooth sailing ahead.

Strong support from Harrisburg Bishop Joseph P. McFadden only serves to bolster her belief, she said.

“What I am thrilled about is the approach by Bishop McFadden,” Kostow said. “He has taken accountability to get parishioners back to Sunday mass, back to their vocation as parents and to raise their children in the Catholic faith. And if one percent of our Catholic population in Lebanon County, just one percent, would send their children to Lebanon Catholic this year, we couldn’t house them all. We would have to build. It is out there. It is attainable. I just think when this ship is steadfast moving forward it will be climb aboard the love boat.”

johnlatimer@ldnews.com; 272-5611, ext. 149

Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida: The HHS Mandate is Identity Theft

VENICE, FLORIDA (Catholic Online) – While many have focused on the so-called “contraception issue” of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Mandate, still many others have realized that this federal law attacks the very identity of the Catholic Church and other faith-based groups in this country. At its root, the HHS Mandate is guilty of “identity theft.” The Mandate is an attempt to strip religious institutions and individuals of their identity and thus force them to act against their conscience and core beliefs.

Religious liberty in our nation has always involved more than merely the “freedom to attend a religious service.” For Catholics, faith integrally informs and gives life to all of our actions, including various charitable outreaches, such as Catholic social services, healthcare, and education. Faith motivates and, in fact, is the underlying inspiration for all of our works. This is an important truth of the Catholic Church which contradicts those who claim that they only, ‘do their religion on Sunday, in church.’

In this country, the Catholic Church and others have long enjoyed the freedom to live out their religious faith without unnecessary government intrusion. However, the HHS Mandate demands that religious organizations and individuals provide abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception, which are contrary to both our core beliefs and our identities as religious individuals.

Specifically, for an institution to know whether it is religious enough to meet the government’s exemption standard, it must submit to an investigation whereby federal employees determine whether the institution hires and serves “primarily” those of the same belief.

Part of “living out” our Catholic Faith is to serve all people in need. However, in order to be exempt from the Mandate, Catholic organizations will be forced to stop serving non-Catholics and fire non-Catholic employees (even though Catholic schools and social services are open to all). Catholic organizations would no longer simply ask, “are you hungry?,” but instead, “are you Catholic?” before extending services.

Helping all people in need is rooted in our Faith; it is who we are–our very identity. This identity and way of living out our Faith, however, will soon be outlawed. Since the poor and those in need have always been the primary recipients of Catholic charity, they too have much to lose as a result of this governmental decision.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced that the federal government is now “at war” with those who disagree with the HHS. We did not choose or desire such a war: but our government has unilaterally imposed war on all citizens who disagree with this Mandate, including Catholics who strive to help others.

This violation of our religious liberty and freedom of conscience has been deemed “necessary,” so as to ensure that every citizen has access to abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception. Even if these “services” were necessary, coercing individuals to betray their conscience and religious identity would not be the prudent or humane course of action.

The issue is clearly not about whether people have a “right”, or “access to”, abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception. In a most profound way, the Mandate is “identity theft.” The government is attempting to coerce Catholics, and other religious organizations, into violating their conscience and core beliefs. This is an attack on who we are as Catholics – as well as the faith-imbued manner in which we have always served both Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

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Most Rev. Frank J. Dewane is the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Venice in Florida

Leave no child behind: Catholic schools should accept everyone

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Parents shouldn’t be subjected to a moral entrance exam to send their kids to Catholic schools.

In May 2010 the Boston Globe reported that St. Paul Elementary School in Hingham, Massachusetts had withdrawn its acceptance of an 8-year-old boy when the pastor and the school principal learned that the boy was the child of a lesbian couple. “There are many different non-traditional families that fall under the umbrella of the Catholic Church,” one of the boy’s parents told the Globe. “I guess we assumed we would fall under one of those.”

Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley supported the pastor, saying, “He made a decision about the admission of the child to St. Paul School based on his pastoral concern for the child.” At the same time, the archdiocese reached out to the family and offered to help them find another Catholic school in the archdiocese for their child.

In January 2011 the Archdiocese of Boston announced a new policy for Catholic school admissions, stating, “Our schools welcome and do not discriminate against or exclude any categories of students.” The policy also says that parents and guardians of students in Catholic schools “must accept and understand that the teachings of the Catholic Church are an essential and required part of the curriculum.”

Who “belongs” in a Catholic school? On what basis do we exclude a specific child or family from a Catholic school? Can a Catholic school become too “catholic”? These are some of the questions that arose from the controversy in Boston and the subsequent decision that adherence of families to Catholic teaching and practice will not become a criterion for admission to Catholic schools.

I am one of two pastors whose parishes support Pope John XXIII School in Evanston, Illinois. The school is celebrating its 25th anniversary as the offspring of two independent parish schools that united in order to thrive. Pope John is an important ministry, a powerful presence, and a valuable resource in our community. It is a National Blue Ribbon School with a student body that is diverse in race, ethnicity, and social background. As part of its mission Pope John welcomes students of Christian and non-Christian families. I believe that the mission of evangelization and outreach is at the heart of the Catholic school system in general.

The call of the apostle Matthew challenges the status quo of his time (Matt. 9:9-13). Jesus calls Matthew to follow him when he is still practicing the sinful act of collecting taxes for the Romans. Matthew responds by hosting a dinner to which he invites other practicing “sinners”; he then brings Jesus to meet the group he has gathered.

When the religious authorities grumble that Jesus is associating with the “unclean,” Jesus responds by clarifying the mission of God’s kingdom, saying, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus soon names Matthew (still called “the tax collector”) as one of the 12 apostles. In the roots of what will become the institutional church, Jesus balances the call to ongoing conversion with tolerance of imperfections.

During my time as a co-pastor of Pope John XXIII school, I have witnessed the power of Jesus’ attitude when, without prejudgment or exclusivity, we extend an invitation to people. Last year, several children in our school requested baptism and Eucharist after years of learning about the Catholic faith. Their parents were not yet ready to make a commitment to the Catholic faith but were willing to support their children. Local Catholic adults, friends, and relatives of the families agreed to sponsor the ongoing faith development of the children.

Conversion is not the primary purpose of opening Catholic schools to families who do not practice the Catholic faith. Nevertheless, these families–Catholic, non-Catholic, and nominally Catholic–have chosen our school because it is Catholic. Our mission is to evangelize them and their children by word and example.

Matthew was judged a sinner by “religious” Jews. He did what was forbidden; he accommodated the “pagans” who had occupied Israel. As a result he was excluded, shunned, and discounted by his “righteous” Jewish brothers and sisters. He was offered no path to acceptance or reconciliation; he had no hope of ever belonging among the “holy.”

Jesus, on the other hand, offered Matthew both reconciliation and acceptance. He did not require Matthew to undergo an immediate and complete conversion. He embraced Matthew as he was and then led him into the mystery of God’s love.

Jesus criticizes neither Matthew nor the other “sinners” at the table. On the contrary, he reserves his criticism for those who consider themselves righteous and deny a need for reconciliation. They judge themselves to be in good health and so separate themselves from the healing that Jesus offers.

Each family who becomes part of a Catholic school community, each man or woman who teaches or volunteers, and every principal or priest who serves in a Catholic school needs God’s healing in each and every moment. We strive to follow the call of Jesus, but we are imperfect witnesses to the faith. The most powerful witness that we offer our children is that we strive to grow in the understanding and practice of our faith and are willing to admit our imperfections and seek God’s grace.

I am not suggesting that a member of a Catholic school community has the right to contradict church teaching and create disharmony or confusion. I am suggesting that any adult who supports the religious curriculum that is presented in a Catholic school is on a path to holiness, regardless of what I know or presume to know about his or her personal life.

There is a significant difference between denouncing church teaching as wrong and acknowledging the imperfection of my attempts to live by this teaching. In the gospels the “lost” are those who refuse to admit their imperfections. The challenge is to strive honestly toward a holiness that remains just beyond our reach.

So what do we do when the reputation, behaviors, or lifestyle of a school parent stirs controversy among the school community?

I accept that, in specific instances, the pastor, principal, and school board may need to make a pastoral decision to refuse admission to a specific family in the best interest of that family and that school community. However, I oppose any general policy that excludes types of families or presumes that controversies always will be resolved by excluding the “unfaithful” family.

I can envision situations in which the resolution most consistent with church teaching will be to ask a family to leave because of the intolerance they display and model for their children and the community. My experience has been that these situations can be resolved by the reassurance of the pastor and principal that children will be taught both Catholic teaching and values and tolerance for the beliefs, practices, and imperfections of others.

Our school community comprises a diversity of family models. I have been approached by single, divorced, and same-sex parents about whether they can enroll a child. One family headed by two mothers feared they would not be welcomed or that their children would be ostracized. These women have since become active supporters of the school, the parish, and the archdiocese; they participate with their children each week at Sunday Mass, and their children are thriving within the school community.

Some parents have expressed a concern that the lifestyle of a “non-traditional” family will confuse their child. They have asked how to teach tolerance for others while also teaching Catholic values. I believe that learning to deal with these tensions will help in a variety of situations in which the values we teach conflict with the perceived behaviors of relatives, neighbors, friends, and public figures. This is part of being Catholic in a pluralistic culture.

Those who would attempt to certify parents as “sufficiently Catholic” based on a preconceived list of perceived faults place us all on a very slippery slope. Do we extend this judgment to our business practices, our treatment of neighbors and extended family, our stewardship of creation, our generosity to the poor, or other aspects of our behavior? If so, then who will be left in our Catholic schools?

Thank you, Boston, for echoing the teachings of Jesus and making the ongoing evangelization of both the faithful and the imperfect a core value of Catholic education. Thank you for placing Catholic education at Matthew’s open dinner table rather than among those who would make the banquet exclusive. Thank you for continuing to place Catholic education at the service of the mission of Jesus and of his “catholic” church. 

Read more: A parent’s perspective on choosing a school

By Father Bill Tkachuk, pastor of St. Nicholas Parish and co-pastor of Pope John XXIII School in Evanston, Illinois. This article appeared in the August 2012 issue of U.S Catholic (Vol. 77, No. 8, pages 23-27). Sounding Board is one person’s take on a many-sided subject and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of U.S. Catholic, its editors, or the Claretians.

Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida: The HHS Mandate is …

VENICE, FLORIDA (Catholic Online) – While many have focused on the so-called “contraception issue” of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Mandate, still many others have realized that this federal law attacks the very identity of the Catholic Church and other faith-based groups in this country. At its root, the HHS Mandate is guilty of “identity theft.” The Mandate is an attempt to strip religious institutions and individuals of their identity and thus force them to act against their conscience and core beliefs.

Religious liberty in our nation has always involved more than merely the “freedom to attend a religious service.” For Catholics, faith integrally informs and gives life to all of our actions, including various charitable outreaches, such as Catholic social services, healthcare, and education. Faith motivates and, in fact, is the underlying inspiration for all of our works. This is an important truth of the Catholic Church which contradicts those who claim that they only, ‘do their religion on Sunday, in church.’

In this country, the Catholic Church and others have long enjoyed the freedom to live out their religious faith without unnecessary government intrusion. However, the HHS Mandate demands that religious organizations and individuals provide abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception, which are contrary to both our core beliefs and our identities as religious individuals.

Specifically, for an institution to know whether it is religious enough to meet the government’s exemption standard, it must submit to an investigation whereby federal employees determine whether the institution hires and serves “primarily” those of the same belief.

Part of “living out” our Catholic Faith is to serve all people in need. However, in order to be exempt from the Mandate, Catholic organizations will be forced to stop serving non-Catholics and fire non-Catholic employees (even though Catholic schools and social services are open to all). Catholic organizations would no longer simply ask, “are you hungry?,” but instead, “are you Catholic?” before extending services.

Helping all people in need is rooted in our Faith; it is who we are–our very identity. This identity and way of living out our Faith, however, will soon be outlawed. Since the poor and those in need have always been the primary recipients of Catholic charity, they too have much to lose as a result of this governmental decision.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced that the federal government is now “at war” with those who disagree with the HHS. We did not choose or desire such a war: but our government has unilaterally imposed war on all citizens who disagree with this Mandate, including Catholics who strive to help others.

This violation of our religious liberty and freedom of conscience has been deemed “necessary,” so as to ensure that every citizen has access to abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception. Even if these “services” were necessary, coercing individuals to betray their conscience and religious identity would not be the prudent or humane course of action.

The issue is clearly not about whether people have a “right”, or “access to”, abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception. In a most profound way, the Mandate is “identity theft.” The government is attempting to coerce Catholics, and other religious organizations, into violating their conscience and core beliefs. This is an attack on who we are as Catholics – as well as the faith-imbued manner in which we have always served both Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

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Most Rev. Frank J. Dewane is the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Venice in Florida

Ontario Catholic schools struggle to get their point across on gay …

On Friday, Laurel Broten, Ontario Minister of Education, said that gay students who want to create support groups will be allowed to call their clubs “gay-straight alliances,” or GSAs. This is part of the province’s proposed Bill 13, which is intended to stop bullying in the school system. The decision to allow students to call their clubs GSAs is a recent amendment. The Catholic Church says it is, of course, opposed to bullying but does not want clubs called gay-straight alliances. Rather, the Catholic schools have proposed something called “respecting differences” groups that could cover bullying in general but also specific issues such as homosexuality.

Related

• Church blindsided by Ontario government over gay -straight alliances: Catholic sources

• Students could call gay-straight alliance a ‘gay-straight alliance’ under new Ontario legislation

On Monday, the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association held a press conference to try to explain their objections to GSAs and why their model would be better. However, the message was not exactly clear. The press conference was led by Marino Gazzola, president of the Catholic trustees group.

Q: So you’re saying you do not want the GSAs but you want clubs revolve around the formula called respecting differences. What would the difference between a GSA and a respecting difference club focussing on gay issues?

A: We want to fully support students to ensure and protect the safety of all the students. We have ["respecting difference" clubs] in our schools right now and several that go by different names.

Q: You’re not answering my question. What’s the difference between a GSA and the kind of club you’re suggesting?

A: Respecting difference clubs would focus on Catholic values. That means the care of the whole student: mind, body and spirit.

Q: But what would a GSA do that would oppose that?

A: Again, the “respecting difference” club would focus on Catholic values.

Q: Are you concerned that the GSAs would become advocacy groups and not respect Catholic teaching?

A: That’s not our concern. Our concern is on focusing on Catholic values and the safety of all students and ensure they are protected.

Q: Why do you hope the amendment will fail?

A; In our view the word [gay] is distraction. We want to focus on the safety of the students.

Q: The word gay is a distraction?

A: It can be. It takes away from the focus of the message.

Q: I think you need to be clearer. What is it about the GSAs in particular that you don’t approve of? Why are they a problem?

A: By focusing on a name it distracts from the other reasons students are bullied. I worked in high schools for years and I handled daily incidents of bullying. And there are many reasons for bullying: the way they dress, their size … many, many reasons. The sexual orientation was only one of the reason students were being bullied. And we don’t’ want to focus on one area.

Q: What’s the problem of calling a spade a spade? What’s wrong with calling it a gay-straight alliance?

A: It distracts from the important issue of safety.

Q: Why not call it a gay club?

A: GSAs are externally developed and they don’t reflect the unique values our Catholic schools are based on. I don’t think the name GSA is the reason for the objection.

Q: But you just said you wanted to defeat an amendment that would allow the students to call the clubs GSAs. You’re not making sense.

A: If it’s passed we will comply with the legislation.

Q: Would you bring up that gay behaviour is intrinsically disordered under the Catholic model, as is taught by the Church? In a “respecting difference” club would that come out?

A: These groups are student led. We want them to have a respect for the Catholic teachings that GSAs do not have as far as we’re concerned.

Q: So you’re saying you would teach the Catholic teaching?

A: That’s correct.

Students work to fund their faith-based education – Chicago Sun

by Susanna Negovan
susanna@suntimes.com

June 13, 2012 7:18PM

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Vouchers Breathe New Life Into Shrinking Catholic Schools

BY STEPHANIE BANCHERO AND JENNIFER LEVITZ

EAST CHICAGO, Ind.—It had been years since Principal Kathleen Lowry pulled extra desks from the dusty attic of St. Stanislaus, the only Catholic school left in this port city. But after Indiana began offering parents vouchers in the spring of 2011 to pay for private tuition, she had to bring down 30 spare desks and hire three teachers’ aides.

Thanks to vouchers, St. Stanislaus, which was $140,000 in debt to the Catholic Diocese of Gary at the end of 2010, picked up 72 new students, boosting enrollment by 38%.

“God has been good to us,” says Ms. Lowry. “Growth is …