Auspice Maria: Catholic Schools Week
This year, the National Catholic Educational Association sponsors “Celebrate Catholic Schools Week” from January 26th to February 3rd. If you are a Catholic school educator or parent in the Diocese of Portland, you know the schedule and how your school will celebrate this upcoming week. As a local Church preparing for the week, I would like to highlight some important aspects of Catholic Education, referring specifically to the recently published pastoral letter, “The Joy and Wonder of Catholic Education,” by Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska.
In his pastoral letter, Bishop Conley presents the five characteristics “essential to Catholic education,” as Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, explained (pp. 3-4). These five essential “marks” of Catholic education are:
1) Catholic education must be “inspired by a supernatural vision.”
2) Catholic education must be “founded on Christian anthropology.”
3) Catholic education must be “animated by communion and community.”
4) Catholic education must be “imbued with a Catholic worldview throughout its curriculum.”
5) Catholic education must be “sustained by gospel witness.” (p. 4)
I would like to summarize each mark as Bishop Conley explains them to readers.
Catholic education must be “inspired by a supernatural vision.” A supernatural vision sees and understands who we are and what we are called to be. Bishop Conley talks about Catholic education being “liberal” in the true sense of the word, that is, an agent of freeing the mind and heart of the student to understand and live “the truth of being made in the image and likeness of God” (p. 4). He says, “This understanding serves as the foundation of each person’s inalienable dignity, which is so under assault in today’s culture. A supernatural vision teaches students that happiness comes from living in accord with our dignity and our nature, placing God’s will first” (p. 4.) This type of “liberal” education “must be faithful to the Gospel and to the teachings of the Church, emphasizing them as the true path to human flourishing and fulfillment” (p. 4).
Catholic education must be “founded on Christian anthropology.” Bishop Conley explains that a proper understanding of the human person made in the image and likeness of God is that all are made to become saints (p. 5). “A Catholic education, again, draws out of students a sense of their own call to holiness, helping them experience the grace that renews their minds (see Romans 12:2) and frees them from sin and death (see Romans 8:2). An authentically Catholic school teaches students that through Jesus they can become the people God calls them to be” (p. 5). Catholic anthropology, at its core, emphasizes first who the human person is and not what the person can do (p. 5). Understood correctly, this is a significant shift from utilitarian anthropology, which communicates that the human person is a first doer, and his/her value depends on what he/she can do. An essential part of Catholic anthropology is the view that the human person is a beautiful composite of body and soul. Our bodies are good; our souls are immortal. We are good and loved as we are, not for what we can do.
Catholic education must be “animated by communion and community.” Part of the genius of an authentic community is the reality that members are seen, known, and loved for who they are. Bishop Conley writes, “True Catholic formation demands a personal relationship, one in which students are known and loved as individuals. Coupled with healthy boundaries, authentic relationships promote a learning atmosphere. When educators maintain a healthy level of personal involvement with their students, they can accompany their charges along the road of intellectual, spiritual, religious, emotional, and social growth” (p. 6). Another dimension of this mark of Catholic education is the role of the larger Catholic community in Catholic education. Bishop Conley adds, “Catholic schools offer the best opportunity for evangelization, both of non-Catholics as well as Catholics who are not fully living their faith” (p. 7). Catholic schools should be places where the Gospel is proclaimed, people encounter Jesus, and the Kingdom of God is built.
Catholic education must be “imbued with a Catholic worldview throughout its curriculum.” All Catholic education is done through the lens of a Catholic worldview and understanding. As Catholics, our reality is sacramental, meaning that God’s grace and life penetrate and saturate our world. Bishop Conley writes, “A Catholic education should offer so much more to students because we see the world through a sacramental lens – a lens that sees connections, integrates knowledge, discerns the ultimate meaning, destiny, and purpose of the human person, and understands how we fit into the big picture. When students awaken to truth, goodness, and beauty, their lives are changed” (p. 8-9). Awakened to this reality, students experience “joy and wonder, natural happiness, confidence, virtue, and an eagerness to learn” (p. 9). Joy and wonder move the imagination of the student to dream and hope (p. 10).
Catholic education must be “sustained by gospel witness.” Bishop Conley explains, “In a genuinely Catholic school, teachers and administrators foster friendship through the hard work of love. They inspire, form, and lead students out of the virtual world into the world of what’s real – to the true, good, and beautiful – where they can encounter and glorify the Lord. Our call is to help students experience the joy of being alive, the wonder of God’s creation, a love of learning, and a hunger for faith. To do so, we must live these ourselves.” (p. 11). The bishop says that Catholics must be authentic and not hypocritical. He continues by pointing out that hypocrisy among Catholic school administrators and teachers is fatal to the faith development of students. Bishop Conley, in this section, quotes a memorable and impactful statement of St. Pope Paul VI: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (p. 11).
He concludes his letter by mentioning some real challenges our students face at this moment in time. Also, he offers some specific suggestions for our Catholic schools, recognizing that some of us in Catholic education may be called to develop “new models or approaches” (p. 13). Overall, the Holy Spirit is at work in our Catholic schools. May we cooperate with the Spirit to continue helping make our schools places of excellence and encounter. This summary may have inspired you to want to read Bishop Conley’s pastoral letter. It may be found at https://www.lincolndiocese.org/joyandwonder. I highly recommend it. God bless you.
-Bishop James Ruggieri
