Page 3: From the President's Desk
When we first became aware of the crisis facing Catholic education, our response was to form the Catholic Education Foundation, whose purpose was and is to help enrollment through providing scholarships and to encourage the retention and development of faculty for Catholic schools. By means of our Catholic Education Foundation Hall of Fame, we also want to keep alive our great heritage and link the generations that have been blessed with a solid Catholic education to the current generation, so that they will be blessed.
The depth of the crisis has recently been manifest in the decision to close thirteen schools in the Diocese of Rochester, leaving only eleven schools in the Diocese once led by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. This decision affected more than 1800 students and caused one parent to say that this was “the death knell” for the Catholic Church in Rochester.
This horrific action begs one to ask the question: Why? Why are we as Catholics allowing our great treasure to be dissipated? While there are many reasons that may be given, there really is only one – a loss of the faith. The Church with its great school system has grown because of the opportunities that Catholic education provided to the middle class. What are we thinking?
In one diocese, a failed attempt to help the “poorest of the poor” achieve a Catholic education with the help of a generous donor and at the expense of middle-class parents who had to pay exorbitant tuition (that was then in part redirected to the inner-city schools), ultimately caused the break-down of both the inner-city and middle-class suburban schools. While the Church recognizes its obligation to the poor, and the affluent can handle educational expenses themselves, it is the middle class that built the Church in America and it is they who are being frozen out of Catholic education.
By not making education the priority that it needs to be in order to assure the growth of our Church and the salvation of souls, Church leadership is, in reality, pushing students into the governmental school system and exposing them to an “occasion of sin” as “health” programs in many schools prepare students for the inevitability of fornication by promoting “safe sex.” Where is the outrage of our leadership?
CEF continues to try to do its part to lead the way in helping Catholic education not simply survive but to thrive. I am delighted to announce two such developments.
Many of you know Father Peter Stravinskas from his prolific writings in theology, apologetics and liturgy; what many don’t know is of Father Stravinskas’ great passion for Catholic education, which caused me to invite him some years ago to sit on CEF’s Board of Directors, where he has offered wise counsel. Some months ago, I came to realize that if CEF is to grow as it needs to grow (and as the Church needs it to grow), we should have a full-time Executive Director. I made that invitation to Father Stravinskas, and he has graciously accepted it, bringing a wealth of experience that includes a doctorate in school administration from Fordham University and teaching and administrative work at every level of Catholic education: elementary, secondary, college, university, and seminary.
Father Stravinskas formally assumed his duties on January 15, 2008. They include: serving as our liaison with Catholic high schools, diocesan superintendents of schools, heads of schools of education in Catholic colleges and universities, as well as with the Education Department of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Catholic Education Association; editing our on-line magazine, The Catholic Educator; developing grant proposals for interested foundations; opening and then coordinating local chapters of CEF; functioning as public relations officer to present the CEF vision and positions to the media, Catholic and secular; taking responsibility for fund-raising dinners and educational seminars.
Father Peter has already dove into the post, making initial contacts with officials in the Archdioceses of Miami and Cincinnati and the Diocese of Covington. If you have any suggestions for him to pursue, contact him by phone at: 732-914-122 or by email at: fstravinskas@hotmail.com.
A second piece of good news comes from CEF Board Member, Dr. Peter Redpath of St. John’s University about a new program becoming available to students of high school or college age via the internet. International Cultural Studies is a program of college-level studies resulting in a Licenjat (the European equivalent of a bachelor of arts degree) being offered to students for the first time in the Fall of 2008. The program is the result of the collaboration of the College of Social and Media Culture in Torun, Poland, and the Western Civilization Foundation Great Books Program in the United States (directed by Mr. Patrick Carmac, a CEF friend). Seventy per cent of the program may be completed by distance learning from any personal computer. Dr. Redpath and another CEF Board Member, Dr. Curtis Hancock, serve as program advisors for the new initiative.
This accredited degree program will acquaint students with the marvelous treasures of Western civilization including: its most important intellectual masterpieces – the Great Books of literature, poetry, history, politics, and science; the perennial philosophy of Socrates, Aristotle and Aquinas, together with the theology of St. Thomas. In the summers, students will personally experience the great heritage of Western civilization by visiting European museums, cathedrals, and medieval cities, viewing paintings, mosaics, architecture and sculpture, listening to symphonies and participating in orchestral Sacred Liturgies, as well as having the opportunity to take part in a huge pilgrimage to the most sacred shrines in Poland and/or Rome.
Another piece of good news is that the financial cost of the program is projected to be about 25% of the typical cost of a private school college program in the United States. In addition, students graduating from the Western Civilization Foundation's Great Books Home School program will be able to complete the Licenjat in place of their high school diploma, thus accomplishing two goals for the price of one.
While the initial bad news I felt compelled to share with you is indeed depressing, as Christians, we are called to counteract the negative with the positive, responding in hope and refusing to be mastered by a spirit of negativity or pessimism. As Pope Benedict reminded us in his latest encyclical (Spe Salvi) and taking his cue from St. Paul, we “were saved in hope” (Rom 8:24).
St. Paul also said that “hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5) Our indefatigable belief in the importance of Catholic education – because of our concomitant conviction that Catholic schools are God’s will for His Church – spurs us on to respond with creative and engaging initiatives. Christian hope, however, is not a shallow kind of secular optimism; it is grounded in reality, which tells us that we must do much hard work for the Lord to “give success to the work of our hands” (Ps 90:17).
For all you do to help bring about such success, I thank you; for what you can yet do to ensure that success, I humbly but confidently seek your support.
The depth of the crisis has recently been manifest in the decision to close thirteen schools in the Diocese of Rochester, leaving only eleven schools in the Diocese once led by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. This decision affected more than 1800 students and caused one parent to say that this was “the death knell” for the Catholic Church in Rochester.
This horrific action begs one to ask the question: Why? Why are we as Catholics allowing our great treasure to be dissipated? While there are many reasons that may be given, there really is only one – a loss of the faith. The Church with its great school system has grown because of the opportunities that Catholic education provided to the middle class. What are we thinking?
In one diocese, a failed attempt to help the “poorest of the poor” achieve a Catholic education with the help of a generous donor and at the expense of middle-class parents who had to pay exorbitant tuition (that was then in part redirected to the inner-city schools), ultimately caused the break-down of both the inner-city and middle-class suburban schools. While the Church recognizes its obligation to the poor, and the affluent can handle educational expenses themselves, it is the middle class that built the Church in America and it is they who are being frozen out of Catholic education.
By not making education the priority that it needs to be in order to assure the growth of our Church and the salvation of souls, Church leadership is, in reality, pushing students into the governmental school system and exposing them to an “occasion of sin” as “health” programs in many schools prepare students for the inevitability of fornication by promoting “safe sex.” Where is the outrage of our leadership?
CEF continues to try to do its part to lead the way in helping Catholic education not simply survive but to thrive. I am delighted to announce two such developments.
Many of you know Father Peter Stravinskas from his prolific writings in theology, apologetics and liturgy; what many don’t know is of Father Stravinskas’ great passion for Catholic education, which caused me to invite him some years ago to sit on CEF’s Board of Directors, where he has offered wise counsel. Some months ago, I came to realize that if CEF is to grow as it needs to grow (and as the Church needs it to grow), we should have a full-time Executive Director. I made that invitation to Father Stravinskas, and he has graciously accepted it, bringing a wealth of experience that includes a doctorate in school administration from Fordham University and teaching and administrative work at every level of Catholic education: elementary, secondary, college, university, and seminary.
Father Stravinskas formally assumed his duties on January 15, 2008. They include: serving as our liaison with Catholic high schools, diocesan superintendents of schools, heads of schools of education in Catholic colleges and universities, as well as with the Education Department of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Catholic Education Association; editing our on-line magazine, The Catholic Educator; developing grant proposals for interested foundations; opening and then coordinating local chapters of CEF; functioning as public relations officer to present the CEF vision and positions to the media, Catholic and secular; taking responsibility for fund-raising dinners and educational seminars.
Father Peter has already dove into the post, making initial contacts with officials in the Archdioceses of Miami and Cincinnati and the Diocese of Covington. If you have any suggestions for him to pursue, contact him by phone at: 732-914-122 or by email at: fstravinskas@hotmail.com.
A second piece of good news comes from CEF Board Member, Dr. Peter Redpath of St. John’s University about a new program becoming available to students of high school or college age via the internet. International Cultural Studies is a program of college-level studies resulting in a Licenjat (the European equivalent of a bachelor of arts degree) being offered to students for the first time in the Fall of 2008. The program is the result of the collaboration of the College of Social and Media Culture in Torun, Poland, and the Western Civilization Foundation Great Books Program in the United States (directed by Mr. Patrick Carmac, a CEF friend). Seventy per cent of the program may be completed by distance learning from any personal computer. Dr. Redpath and another CEF Board Member, Dr. Curtis Hancock, serve as program advisors for the new initiative.
This accredited degree program will acquaint students with the marvelous treasures of Western civilization including: its most important intellectual masterpieces – the Great Books of literature, poetry, history, politics, and science; the perennial philosophy of Socrates, Aristotle and Aquinas, together with the theology of St. Thomas. In the summers, students will personally experience the great heritage of Western civilization by visiting European museums, cathedrals, and medieval cities, viewing paintings, mosaics, architecture and sculpture, listening to symphonies and participating in orchestral Sacred Liturgies, as well as having the opportunity to take part in a huge pilgrimage to the most sacred shrines in Poland and/or Rome.
Another piece of good news is that the financial cost of the program is projected to be about 25% of the typical cost of a private school college program in the United States. In addition, students graduating from the Western Civilization Foundation's Great Books Home School program will be able to complete the Licenjat in place of their high school diploma, thus accomplishing two goals for the price of one.
While the initial bad news I felt compelled to share with you is indeed depressing, as Christians, we are called to counteract the negative with the positive, responding in hope and refusing to be mastered by a spirit of negativity or pessimism. As Pope Benedict reminded us in his latest encyclical (Spe Salvi) and taking his cue from St. Paul, we “were saved in hope” (Rom 8:24).
St. Paul also said that “hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5) Our indefatigable belief in the importance of Catholic education – because of our concomitant conviction that Catholic schools are God’s will for His Church – spurs us on to respond with creative and engaging initiatives. Christian hope, however, is not a shallow kind of secular optimism; it is grounded in reality, which tells us that we must do much hard work for the Lord to “give success to the work of our hands” (Ps 90:17).
For all you do to help bring about such success, I thank you; for what you can yet do to ensure that success, I humbly but confidently seek your support.
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