Fall 2008 Bulletin of Catholic Higher Education

8/9/2019 Fall 2008 Bulletin of Catholic Higher Education

1/24

October 2008Volume 1, Number 1

EDITORS NOTEJoseph A. Esposito

FEATURE ARTICLESWorld Youth Day and Catholic University StudentsCardinal George Pell

Benedetto: Benedict XVI and Dietrich von HildebrandExploring a Common BondDr. Alice von Hildebrand

CATHOLIC SCHOLARSHIPThe Fides et Ratio SeminarsDr. Angelyn Arden

The Vatican Studies Center:A Project o the Thomas More College o Liberal ArtsCharlie McKinney

Bringing Hope, Empowering Individuals:The University o St. Thomas (Houston)Micro-Credit ProgramDr. Rogelio Garcia-Contreras

STUDENT CULTURE

Room At The Inn and Pregnant College WomenJeannie Wray

MINISTRY AND EVANGELIZATIONCatholic Missionaries Evangelizing Catholic CampusesCurtis Martin

Why We Play: Mount St. Marys UniversitySports Chaplaincy ProgramBarbara Ruppert

MAGISTERIUMPascendi Is Still RelevantDr. Peter A. Kwasniewski

BOOK REVIEWS

EVENTS

I

NT

HISISSUE

The Bulletin of Catholic Higher Education


2/24

2

EdITorS NoTEBy Joseph A. Esposito

Welcome to the rst issue o The Bulletin o

Catholic Higher Education, a quarterly publication o

The Center or the Study o Catholic Higher Education.

TheBulletin provides resh insights into issues aecting

Catholic colleges and universities and shares inormation

about successul initiatives.

We are blessed to have two internationally known Catholic

leaders provide the rst two eatured articles in this issue.

Cardinal George Pell, the Archbishop o Sydney, Australia,

begins with a discussion o World Youth Day, which was

held in Sydney in July 2008. The second essay is by the

distinguished philosopher Dr. Alice von Hildebrand, who

refects on the relationship between Pope Benedict XVI and

her late husband, Dietrich von Hildebrand.

The next group o articles deals with Catholic scholarship,

and there are three insightul essays. Dr. Angelyn Arden, an

associate proessor o humanities at Holy Apostles College &Seminary, writes about her attendance at two Fides et Ratio

Seminars and how her college is ollowing up. Similarly,

aculty and students are beneting rom a new, multi-aceted

Vatican Studies Center at Thomas More College o Liberal

Arts, which Charlie McKinney describes.

This section concludes with an article on a new international

micro-credit program, combining development theory,

2 ....................................... EditorsNote

3 ....................................... FeatureArticles

7 ....................................... CatholicScholarship

19 ....................................... StudentCulture

17 ....................................... MinistryandEvangelization

19 ....................................... Magisterium

21 ....................................... BookReviews

22 ....................................... Events

23 ....................................... CenterNews

24 ....................................... AbouttheCenter

Catholic thought and hands-on involvement by students,

which is thriving at the University o St. Thomas (Houston);

advisor and assistant proessor Dr. Rogelio Garcia-Contreras

discusses how this initiative came about.

We also will be exploring student culture in each issue o

The Bulletin. This issue ocuses on an important new home

being planned at Belmont Abbey College to help pregnant

college women. Jeannie Wray, executive director o Room At

The Inn o Charlotte, North Carolina, tells us about this pro-

lie initiative.

One o the most vital Catholic organizations in the area

o ministry and evangelization is the 10-year-old Fellowship

o Catholic University Students (FOCUS). The ounder and

president, Curtis Martin, writes about FOCUS expansion

rom secular to several Catholic campuses.

Also impressive is a unique spiritual outreach to students

at Mount St. Marys University. Here, as Barbara Ruppert

relates, seminarians participate in a chaplaincy program that

serves each o the universitys 19 sports teams.

Our last section o articles deals with the Magisterium.

This issue Dr. Peter A. Kwasniewski, one o two Newman

Fellows at our Center and an associate proessor o theology

and philosophy at Wyoming Catholic College, provides a

perspective on the papal encyclical Pascendi Dominic Gregis,

which received little attention on the 100th anniversary o its

release last September. He tells us why Pope St. Pius Xs

encyclical on modernism has meaning to todays college

students.

Finally, to highlight the great contribution o Cardinal Avery

Dulles in many areas o the Catholic Church, including higher

education, we have included brie reviews o his two recent

books. These works, one on the Magisterium and the other

on 20 years o His Eminences McGinley lectures, are to be

savored.

Beore concluding, we mention a ew upcoming

conerences o note and identiy some o The Centers

plans or the next ew months. These sections will continueto grow in our January issue o The Bulletin and beyond.

We hope that these articles help advance your thinking on

Catholic higher education and oer ideas that might be

implemented in a variety o ways. Please contact us

with any suggestions.

I

NS

ID

E


3/24

Universities have played an enormous part in my lie. I had

the immense privilege o undertaking doctoral studies at Oxord

University in the late 1960s, and I have also been ortunate to

study at universities in Rome and Australia. As a young priest,

in my home diocese o Ballarat, I served as Director o Aquinas

College, a small diocesan teachers college that later became a

campus rst o the Institute o Catholic Education in Victoria

and then o Australian Catholic University (ACU). I headed the

team that brought ACU, Australias rst Catholic university,

into being, and when I was Archbishop o Melbourne, I was

able to assist in consolidating the Universitys two suburbancampuses into one major inner-city site.

As Archbishop o Sydney, I have been delighted to

play a part in establishing campuses o Australias second

Catholic university, the University o Notre Dame Australia

(UNDA) in prime inner-city locations; with the law school

and education aculty located in Broadway, just down the

road rom our oldest university, the University o Sydney;

and the medical and nursing schools located in Darlinghurst,

right in the middle o the largest Catholic hospital

and medical research precinct in the country.

So, I am deeply committed to what universities cando, and in particular to what Catholic universities can do.

I believe wholeheartedly in the importance o university

education and the role o the Church in helping to orm the

next generation o leaders. For secular universities, this means

a serious commitment by the Church to chaplaincy services.

One could be tempted to describe the role o Catholic

university chaplaincies as providing a reuge or students on

campus. To some extent that is undoubtedly true, but it is only

part o the picture. Chaplaincies provide a positive service that

not only sustains student aith lie, but also seeks to nurture

and strengthen it.

To that end the chaplaincy teams in Sydney archdiocese work

hard to build a Catholic culture on campus to help students

access the spiritual and intellectual riches o the Church,

regularly and reely. An eective chaplaincy ensures that

daily Mass, prayer and scripture study are always available.

Naturally, the organization o social activities is a crucial part

o the mix to enable students to meet each otherthe modern

university campus can be a very lonely placeand orm

strong networks and lasting riendships.

There is also a missionary element to all this work. As

Catholics, we believe that the Gospel message is timeless and

will always have something to contribute to the betterment

o people and society as a whole. Through activities such as

stalls (sites or distributing material), mission weeks, orums

and debates, the chaplaincies continue the ne tradition o

Catholic intellectualism and engagement with the wider

culture.

We must never orget that it was the Church that rst inspired

the idea o the university. We should have the condence to

treat it as home tur, and use the opportunities and challenges

o university lie in a secular age to encourage and prepare

young leaders to take part in public lie and in the battle o

ideas.

The renewal o university chaplaincy in Sydney has made

good progress, and I hope or more in the uture. O course,

success in any work o the Church is never due to one single

cause. There always are a number o actors that come

together to bring about success, especially grace and Godsblessings. I wanted to strengthen university chaplaincy when

I arrived as Archbishop in Sydney, and ater considering the

opportunities and resources available, and hearing a number

o suggestions as to what to do, a Christ-centered, sacramental

and missionary model o chaplaincy was implemented, largely

led by lay people.

This model has worked well so ar, bearing more and more

ruit with time on the campuses where it is in operation.

Critical to this has been employing good people who work

3

Wl Yuth day an Cathlic Univesity Stuents

By Cardinal George Pell

So, I am deeply committed to

what universities can do, and

in particular to what Catholic

universities can do.


4/24

4

hard and are committed to the aith, and who can cooperate

eectively with the existing Catholic student societies. My

ambition is to expand this model o chaplaincy to reach other

campuses across the Sydney area. Having the resources to do

this is one thing; but having the right people to take on andlead this work is another, perhaps even more important, actor.

The most important actor, in all our eorts, lies in prayer and

aithulness to Church lie and teachings.

The Developing Impact

It is rom within this context that we can glimpse part o

the eect o World Youth Day on campuses. The chaplaincy

at Sydney University, or example, geared its entire rst

semester program this past year towards encouraging students

to register or World Youth Day. Given the enormous nancial

pressures on university students today, which are signicantly

greater than they were or my generation, it would have beenno surprise i some were put o by the registration payment o

up to $300. But this proved not to be the case.

The groundswell o enthusiasm or World Youth Day across

the country, and especially in Sydney, was tangible and strong.

For example, in 2007 we had 180 young adults take part in a

short training course or pilgrim group leaders; this year we

had over 650 participate. A proportion o these leaders came

rom among university students, although the segments rom

parishes and schools were larger.

There were an enormous number o people working or

World Youth Day in Sydney and in every diocese throughout

Australia. Parishes, schools, religious orders, communities

and ethnic groups got on board. I have no doubt that the

chaplaincy work we have been doing boosted the numbers o

university students willing to take part in this sort o course.

Some say that once university students get the aith

they are likely to keep it or the rest o their lives. Certainly

adult conversions are normally longer lasting. When we are

born into something we can take it or grantedthe cradle

Catholic syndrome. On the other hand, as the saying goes,

adult converts run the risk o being more Catholic than

the Pope, sometimes to the amusement and discomort ocradle Catholics.

Young adults are generally still idealistic, seeking what is

authentic to answer their questions about meaning, values and

integrity. They are looking or purpose in their lives, something

to give them orientation and a reliable compass in the craziness

o the modern world. And or many o them this means using

their gits and talents to serve Christ and others. This desire to

be o service to others runs very strong in the young. When it

ails to nd ulllment in something lie arming, hurt and

bitterness can ollow. The university is oten a testing ground

or dierent answers, so it is essential that students be exposed

to the Gospel message and the Catholic tradition in all their

genuine vitality.

World Youth Day oered what is authentic and lie

transorming not just to students at university, but to young

people everywhere. The work we have done in university

chaplaincies has given rise to a number o associations which

took a very active part in World Youth Day, and these groups

played an important part in bringing the World Youth Day

message to university students among the pilgrims.

I hope many o these pilgrims have come back to their

universities and studies with a renewed commitment and

energy to spreading the word on campus. Pope Benedict XVI

is not only a wonderul pastor, but an intellectual in the besttraditions o Catholic Europe and European university lie.

University students in particular ound much to inspire them

and to pray about in the Popes teaching during World Youth

Day. Pope Benedict is an exemplary role model who combines

a brilliant intellect with humility, and a depth o culture with

great aith.

Countless young people throughout the world have

rediscovered their aith through a World Youth Day experience.

There are also many who have ound their vocationeither to

marriage, the priesthood or religious lie. My hope and prayer

is that similar ruits will be born in Sydney, or Australia and

our region rst o all, and in all the countries to which the

pilgrims returned ater the Holy Father departed.

Cardinal George Pell has been Archbishop o Sydney since2001. Pope John Paul II named him a Cardinal in 2003. He

previously served or nearly ve years as Archbishop

o Melbourne.

For a complete biography o Cardinal Pell see:

www.sydney.catholic.org.au/Archbishop/bio.shtml

Some say that once

university students get the

aith they are likely to keep itor the rest o their lives.


5/24

5

I a journalist were apprised o the act that Benedict XVIhad granted a private audience to Dietrich von Hildebrandswiewhen it is well known that it is a privilege very rarelygrantedand would be given 24 hours (the time usuallyallotted newspaper reporters) to write an inormative articleto justiy this discrimination, he would hastily turn tothe Internet.

He will come to the conclusion that both men being Germanand having lived or many years in Bavaria, inevitably shared

a bond. Moreover, he might nd out that they briefy met inMunich in 1951.

When ater many years o voluntary exile, Dietrich vonHildebrand returned to the Bavarian capital, his riendsarranged or him to give a talk. The topic was The Role oBeauty in Christian Lie. The talk was attended by a youngpriest named Ratzinger, who was an assistant pastor at St.Georg Church in Bogenhausen. It had been Dietrich vonHildebrands parish rom the time o his conversion in 1914until he voluntarily let Germany when Hitler came to powerin 1933, reusing to live in a country headed by a criminal,as he called the Fhrer.

Through a piece o luck, this journalist also might ndout that both men shared a great love or Bavarian Baroquearchitecture and or great music, both having a rich musicalbackground and a common love or the Gregorian chant. Togive a nal light touch to his task, he might add that bothshare a special aection or cats whose grace enchanted them.Armed with this inormation, he would now eel well equippedto write an article on the topic assigned to him.

The late journalist Malcolm Muggeridge wrote in his memoirs

that the inormation hastily garnered is oten inaccurate and

usually leaves out the essential. Even though the imaginary

journalist I have alluded to does give valid inormation, it would

be ludicrous to claim that it had answered our original query.We must look deeper.

Most o Dietrich von Hildebrands youth was spent inFlorence, not in Germany, and even though he struck deeproots in Bavaria and loved its Baroque architecture and itshigh musical culture, his heart remained deeply attachedto the country that sheltered much o his early years.He remained very Italian in his ways.

The lecture mentioned above was given in the summer ol951. When invited to attend Dietrich von Hildebrands talk,young Father Ratzinger might have been briefy inormed thatthe speaker had let Germany voluntarily when Hitler grabbedpower, and had chosen exile and poverty to ght a sampleo the anti-Christ. It is most likely that he was not awarethat upon leaving Munich, Dietrich von Hildebrand rst tookreuge in Florence, and then with the ull support o AustrianChancellor Engelbert Dolluss, ounded in Vienna an anti-Nazi, anti-Communist magazine which earned him the honor

to be dubbed by Franz von Papen, German ambassador inVienna (as ormulated in a top secret message sent to Hitler),the Reichs enemy number one in Austria. This inormationwas not yet available at the time. Father Ratzinger could notpossibly realize that he had met a hero.

Jose Ratzinger was a child when Hitler came to power, andwilly-nilly, rom his sixth year until he was 18, he lived in acountry poisoned by Nazism. Thanks to his deep aith and thepolitical clear-sightedness o his atherwho opposed Hitlerrom the very beginninghe was unaected by the Nazi virus.But most German citizens were ar rom being ully aware othe immensity o the Nazi crimes.

The content o the talk, the eloquence and love with whichit was delivered made a deep impression on Father Ratzinger.The lecturer was clearly a great truth-lover and a dyed-in-the-wool enemy o relativism. Father Ratzinger perceived that theapproach o the speaker was like a resh philosophical breeze,ar removed rom the pretentious and abstract chatter thataects many university proessors. Every word ound an echoin the soul o a uture Pope who, rom his early childhood on,had allen in love with Gregorian chant and been overwhelmedby this voice coming rom heaven.

When Dietrich von Hildebrand entered the Church at theage o 24 and discovered this liturgical musicwhich is

in act a prayer which in pure sounds says what the humansoul would like to say in words, but cannot because human

The content o the talk, the

eloquence and love with which

it was delivered made a deep

impression on Father Ratzinger.

Beneett: Beneict XVI an dietich vn Hileban Expling aCmmn Bn

By Dr. Alice von Hildebrand


6/24

vocabulary is to anemic to capturing experiences which arelike a dew rom heavenhe too ell in love with this arch-Catholic music, this pure expression o Catholic worship.From this moment on, he never missed a single chance o

attending a Gregorian high Mass. This was apparent in histalk, and resonated in the soul o the young priest.

Common Bonds

Father Ratzinger had met a kindred soul. A common

love o beauty, seen as a refection o God, creates a bond

between souls. Not only did they share a great love, but the

speaker made him ully realize that Catholicism, ar rom

downgrading human values, gave them a new splendor by

relating them to Beauty itsel.

Dietrich von Hildebrand was superblyequipped to give this talk. The son o a great

artist, knighted by the King o Bavaria, raised

in a country o sublime beauty, ed rom

his earliest youth on masterpieces in art,

music and literature, he understood, when

he converted that all this beauty, ar rom

becoming irrelevant in religious lie, was a

glorication o God who is Beauty itsel. This

is why he wrote in his unpublished memoirs

that it is only when he became a Catholic that

he ully appreciated the sublime beauty with

which he had been acquainted as a child. A

totally new dimension opened up to him; hesaw it in the light o eternity, as a hint o the

beauty o the Eternal Hills. He gained deep insights into the

crucial importance o beauty in religious lie.

Common love o beauty, common love o truth, common

rejection o relativism had led both Dietrich von Hildebrand

and Father Ratzinger to the thought o St. Augustine

who they both viewed as the greatest o the athers o the

Church. This love was to last or the rest o their lives. In his

memoirs, Dietrich von Hildebrand expresses his gratitude in

the ollowing words, Beloved St. Augustine, how can I ever

thank you or what you have given me.

For Dietrich von Hildebrand (I assume that the present

Pope would agree), The Conessions o St. Augustine was

the greatest book ever written ater the Bible. This preerence

reers not only to his immense intellectual debt to the Bishop

o Hippo, to a spiritual and intellectual anity, but to a

proound gratitude or the act that the works o this great

saint, illumined by aith shed light on the key questions o

human existence: mans relationship with God, his nature,

his destiny, his relationship with others. St. Augustine shows

how aith puries reason and the human heart, and teaches

man how to love, by partaking in Gods love. Augustines

superb literary skills are put at the service o Truth itsel.

St. Augustine never alls into the pitall o intellectualism

and abstractionism: man is a person, made to the image o

the Holy Trinity. It is this supernatural revelation that sheds

an invaluable light on the mystery that man is: Platonic

exemplarism (so crucial in the thought o both thinkers) nds

in St. Augustine its completion and ulllment. De Trinitate

is a philosophical and theological gem, so rich in insights,

so proound, so illuminating that in it, man is given precious

tools shedding light on who he is. He can only validly relate

to himsel by relating to Him who is closer to man that he

can be to himsel. This is expressed in the

Conessions: Augustine realizes that or many

years he was away rom himsel because hehad strayed away rom God. Late have I

loved Thee, O Beauty so ancient and so new.

Numerous are the philosophical books

that are so dry, so abstract, because mans

intellect is isolated rom the riches o

the human person. The aective lie is

labeled as subjective and dangerous: no

distinction is made between its caricature

(sentimentality and emotionalism) and its

authentic meaning, namely the stirring o the

human heart when it aces what is great, noble

and true.

It is said in the Bible, give me your heart, not your intellect.

In the Canticle o Canticles, we read the ollowing words:

Feed me with apples, because love makes me swoon.

The word heart appears some 800 times in the Bible, and

it is one o St. Augustines innumerable merits that he sheds

light on holy aectivity which in act presupposes both

the intellect (the object o our love must be known) and the

sanction o our will: love unies all o mans spiritual powers.

Plato saw this, even though in a limited and imperect way

when he wrote, Love is heavens greatest blessing (in hisdialogue, Phaedrus).

It is easy to draw a caricature o the heart. Yet it is also

easy to show that pride is the cancer o the intellect, and the

great danger o intellectuals. Sel-will is sel-slavery. St.

Augustine baptized Plato, in placing his world o ideas in

God, while totally rejecting his errors and pagan limitations.

But he does not hesitate to proclaim him the greatest o the

Greeks, an intellectual precursor o Christ.

6


7/24

7

How deep are the words, Thou hast made us or Thysel

and our hearts are restless till they rest in Thee. How

poignantly St. Augustine etches the duel that takes place

in the human soul between good and evil. How admirably

does he unveil the nature o true reedom. Whereas theConessions are totally centered on the relationship

between the soul and God, The City o God completes it

and highlights the role o community and communion in

Christian lie, the bond existing between men giving us a

magnicent understanding o history viewed in the light

o revelation.

How precious is his distinction between ontological

reedom and moral reedom. How sublime are Augustines

interpretations o the Psalms. Far rom overlooking the

distinction between aith and reason, theology and philosophy,

he shows convincingly that aith both puries and illumines

human intelligence, how crucial humility is or an authenticintellectual lie, how it ecundates mans mind.

A great common love or someone who ully deserves

love orges a bond between men that is based on a rock. St.

Augustine opens up the eld o personalism that has now

fowered in contemporary thought.

Truth-based philosophy should not be imprisoned in a

system that, valuable as it might be, tends in the hands o a

great masters disciples to become an intellectual straightjacket

which rejects on principle insights that transcended its limited

vision. Who said so? should be replaced by, is it true?

Pope Benedict in his speech at Regensburg revealed

eloquently that he knows what the Church urgently needstoday, namely a philosopher to whom God has granted a

powerul mind, ecundated by aith, a deadly enemy o

relativism, someone who knows ull well that the latter is a

poison which bars the way to God. Once the objectivity o

truth is grasped, the way is opened to the one who said, I

AM THE TRUTH. Benedict XVI knows that the thought o

Dietrich ts the bill: this, I believe, is why his wie was the

beneciary o a priceless privilegea ace-to-ace encounter

with the successor o Peter.

Alice von Hildebrand, Ph.D., is a proessor o philosophy

emerita at Hunter College, where she taught or 37 years.

She serves as an Honorary Member o the Advisory Councilor the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project.

For urther inormation on the Dietrich von Hildebrand

Legacy Project see: www.hildebrandlegacy.org g

TheFides et Ratio SeminasBy Dr. Angelyn Arden

For decades, ecclesial and ecumenical groups have voiced

dismay over the secularized, ragmented, highly specialized

state o education. Even secular concerns have been expressed

(William Deresciewicz on the disadvantages o elite colleges

in The American Scholar, Summer 2008, Vol. 77, No. 3). It is

not an understatement to say that the study o core curricula

and great books continues to be quite minimal.

Pope Benedict, in his Address to Catholic Educators at

The Catholic University o America, calls or the Catholic

college or university to be a place to encounter the living God

who in Jesus Christ reveals his transorming love and truth.

Both he and Pope John Paul II beore him (e.g., Fides et Ratio

encyclical) provide guidelines or recovering past voices o

wisdom that taught revealed truth.

In an October 2008 research paper o The Center or the

Study o Catholic Higher Education, Dr. R. E. Houser notes

several actors, including core and great books, that constitute

the essence o Catholic education. He traces the growth o these

actors rom medieval times to their decline since. Working

with Pope Benedicts Address to Catholic Educators, he lays

out prospects or rekindling the Catholic Intellectual Tradition.

For those interested in the issues that Dr. Houser raises, the

question o praxis arises. That is, how do we implement such

renewal without the stamp o dogmatism, parochialism or

oppression? In the summer o 2007 and 2008, I participated

in a weeklong seminar or aculty at Catholic colleges and

universities that aims directly at prolierating and promoting

great texts and thought o the Catholic Intellectual Tradition.

Its method nurtured open conversation between participating


8/24

8

aculty while addressing controversial issues in the great

works. It is instructive to all reormers.

The Fides et Ratio Seminars on the Catholic Intellectual

Tradition o the 20th and 21st centuries, sponsored by the Faith& Reason Institute, have the goal o strengthening Catholic

liberal education. The Seminars do this through aculty

development with a view to nurturing the souls o young

men and women who are taught by the aculty attending the

seminars. The seminar ocuses on great works by a wide range

o modern and ancient poets, philosophers and theologians

who shaped 20th century Catholic culture.

Strengthening Faculty

The Seminars provide participantsproessors rom

Catholic colleges, universities and seminaries in the United

States (and one rom Peru)with an extensive Library oWorks that grew to 53 in the summer o 2007 and now has

grown to nearly 100 classic and contemporary works. The

weeklong seminar osters a growing community o scholars

who take back to their respective institutions and classrooms

the grounding in the great Catholic library explored in common

during the Seminar.

The rst Fides et Ratio Seminar was held in 2006 at

Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. The second, the

rst I attended, convened at the University o St. Francis in

Fort Wayne, Indiana. The third, held this past summer, was

held at two locations: Providence College, July 13-19, and the

one I attended at Notre Dame, July 27-August 2.

The seminar director, Dr. Patrick Powers, and co-director,

Dr. Robert Royal, ran our to ve sessions per day. Specic

novels, rom the 19th to 20th centuries, were required reading

prior to the seminar with the rest o the assigned, shorter

readings to be done during the week at reading periods

between discussion sessions. The 2008 novels were: Graham

Greenes A Burnt Out Case, Walker Percys The Moviegoer

and Willa CathersDeath Comes or the Archbishop.

Each year, the Library o Works has expanded in number

and scope. I nd the texts illuminating and also helpul inmy teaching, writing and spiritual development. They remain

an ongoing part o my thought and inquiry. Whereas most

conerence and seminars include members within a similar

eld, what distinguishes this group is that expertise in a

specialized area is not the point. Participants ace one another

and texts in elds not their own in a stance o openness,

without anyone being in authority.

The experience is one o a sort o kenosis: emptying

onesel o oundational assumptions, convictions, and the

rameworks o ones research and study to work on material

with a reshness and intuitive acuity. Faculty diered in age,

eld o specialization and, geographical location, yet all weremoved to be part o the renewal o the Catholic Intellectual

Tradition. Paradoxes and contradictions both between texts

in the Library o Works and also aculty perspectives sparked

lively discussion both years I attended.

The goal o these discussions was not achieving uniormity

o conclusions, but probing the richness o great minds and

wrestling with multiaceted meanings o their worksor the

sake o unveiling the larger ideas behind education through

reason and knowledge impelled by Revelation. For example,

we encountered the old world colliding with and inorming

the new world inDeath Comes or the Archbishop compared

with Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart.

One might expect an element o chaos rom a seminar o

30 people; instead the conversations were well ocused. The

director and co-director sat at either end o the table moderating

the many who spoke in turn. The group was divided with

hal discussing the text while the other hal listened. In

the next session, their roles were reversed. In all sessions,

I experienced a fuidity o discussion that precluded repetition,

dilution or digression.

I think that the uniqueness and depth o conversation was

the unction o a ew actors: the works were very rich and

stimulating, the aculty genuinely wanted to understand the work

rather than lecture one another and we had experienced leaders.

Additionally, the seminar methodology added a dimension o

trust, respect and conviviality extending to meetings outside

the sessions.

The seminars mission includes the continuation oFides et

Ratio readings and discussion at the home institution as well

as the preparation o the aculty member who will be attending

the seminar the ollowing year. Seminars have sprouted up at

prominent Catholic institutions, such as the University o Dallas,

the University o Scranton, St. Francis University in Indiana as

well as my home institution where I inaugurated a seminar inthe spirit oFides et Ratio Seminar which is already becoming

a tradition!

In the all 2007, with the support o the president-rector

Father Douglas Mosey, C.S.B., I brought a selection o the

Fides et Ratio Seminar readings back to Holy Apostles College

& Seminary as the basis o a weekly seminar. There was a


9/24

9

large turnout, approximately 11-14 aculty members (o

about 30). Pope John Pauls encyclical Fides et Ratio was at

its core.

This work was ollowed by Joseph Conrads Heart ofDarkness, Pope Benedicts On the Way to Jesus Christ, Dantes

The Divine Comedy and, nally, Nathaniel Hawthornes

The Marble Faun.This was a great venue or aculty, accustomed

to dealing with one another primarily administratively, to

engage deeply intellectually.

Ripple Effect

An unexpected oshoot o this group emerged. As the

sessions progressed, our Academic Dean, Father Maurice

Sheehan, O.F.M. Cap., a Church history scholar, revealed an

expertise in literature, a love o his since his Oxord days.

Even colleagues with whom he had worked or decades wereunaware o this side o him. The second semester we chose

an author rom the Fides et Ratio Library o Works, Evelyn

Waugh, and Father Sheehan lead a stimulating three-week

seminar on Waughs A Handul o Dust. It was upliting

to all to see the fowering o these interests in this orum.

We learned much.

Another seminar emerged rom the Fides et Ratio Seminars

goal o implementing such discussion within the academy.

Father Mosey organized a Fides et Ratio group on Tuesday

evenings, open to all aculty and students, lead by Dr. Roger

Duncan, a philosophy proessor. First semester was a textual

analysis and discussion o Pope Benedicts 2006 Regensburg

Address. Second semester was a discussion o Darwin &Galileo: Friends or Foes?

This all we are beginning as well a Faculty Seminar where

aculty members present their current writing and research to

one another. Such papers will be discussed according to the

Fides et Ratio encyclical and themes relevant to the renewal

o the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. This will be interspersed

with another Fides et Ratio Seminar based on texts rom the

Library o Works.

We all are hopeul that the renewal o great texts and thought

o the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, both at the national level

as well as at the specic ones at home institutions o acultyattending the annual Fides et Ratio Seminars, will bear ruit

in strengthening the presence ocore curricula o Catholic liberal

education in the great books tradition

Angelyn Arden, Ph.D., is an associate proessor o humanities

at Holy Apostles College & Seminary, Cromwell, Connecticut.

The Vatican Studies Cente:

A Poject of the Thomas Moe College of Libeal AtsBy Charlie McKinney

The Vatican Studies Center was established at the ThomasMore College o Liberal Arts in 2007 to deepen and spread

understanding o Church institutions and teachings. Through

the Centers array o educational programming, Thomas More

College is oering an accurate, inormed perspective on the

ongoing role o the Vatican in world civilization.

This new Center is both scholarly and pastoral. Its programsemerge rom a proound immersion in the great body o Catholic

refection on the issues o our timebut rom that still point o

certitude, it reaches out to the uninormed or misinormed in an

engaging, attractive way. Like the best apologetics, the books,

lectures and other products o this Center shows respect or

the totality o human experienceillumined by the Churchs

understanding o the human person and his divine origin

and destiny.

Through the Vatican Studies Center, Thomas More College

is radiating the Catholic vision by examining the implications

or a healthy Christian culture that comes rom refecting on

the historic institutions o the Church. Inspired by Pope John

Paul IIs call or a new springtime or the Church, which

has been carried orward by his successor Pope Benedict XVI,

Thomas More College and its Vatican Studies Center is on the

cutting-edge o the New Evangelization.

Social Communications

The Vatican Studies Center is particularly concerned

about communicating the Churchs teaching through a wider

audience through a wide range o media orums and outlets.

As part o this eort, the Vatican Studies Center conducts a

series o lectures entitled The Vatican Forum, which oers

international journalists, members o the Roman Curia and

students and seminarians in Rome an inormed and intelligent


10/24

10

perspective about current cultural controversies or issues in the

news involving the Church.

Vatican Forum speakers have included theologians,

journalists, clergy and academics o various specialtiesaddressing reporters rom the Associated Press, Fox News,

The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Newsweek magazine,

CNN and the BBC, as well as journalists rom

Catholic outlets such as Zenit News Agency, Inside

the Vatican, Catholic World Report, The National

Catholic Reporter and The National Catholic Register.

An event hosted in Rome in April 2008 discussed the

dierences between Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict

XVI in preparation or the Holy Fathers visit to America.

Journalists attending this event included Kate OBiern,

Laura Ingraham, Peggy Noonan and Maggie Gallagher,

among others.

Vatican Forum lectures in 2008 included:

An Insiders View o the Vatican by Peter Martin o the

U.S. Embassy to the Holy See.

Chesterton on the Youth o the Church by Dale Ahlquist,

President o the American Chesterton Society.

The Problem o Modernism in the Thought o

Flannery OConnor and Pope Benedict XVIby

Dr. Hank Edmondson, Georgia College & State University.

The Intelligible Sphere: Religion and Civil Society in

the 21st Century by Dr. John Farina o George

Mason University.

The God That Did Not Fail: How Religion Built and

Sustains the Westby Dr. Robert Royal, President o the

Faith & Reason Institute.

As a result o positive eedback rom attendees, we

intend to continue oering this series both in Rome and

New Hampshire.

Partnership with Zenit News Agency

In 2008, the Thomas More College o Liberal Arts partnered

with the Zenit News Agency to spread Vatican news and theteachings o the Catholic Church throughout the world in

an eort to advance our shared mission o evangelizing the

culture. Because Thomas More Colleges Vatican Studies

Center will be constantly producing essays, lectures and

books that explore a variety o Church teachings, issues and

trends, Zenit News Agency will have an ongoing source o

intellectual content that can be disseminated throughout

the world.

The director o Thomas More Colleges Vatican Studies

Center, Tony Assa, is also the ounder and editor o the

Arabic language edition o Zenit and the ounding editor

o the Arabic edition o H2oNews.org. From Thomas More

Colleges campus, he is translating the Popes words andreporting on Church news in Arabic and spreading it widely

into the Arabic-speaking world, along with the intellectual

content rom Vatican Studies Center-related programs.

Through this eort, we are strengthening the bond among

Arabic Christians and the Universal Church, correcting

misconceptions and prejudgments about the Catholic Church

in the Middle East, and lling the void o Catholic inormation

in the Arabic language by tirelessly promoting the news and

teachings o the Catholic Church. Zenit News is the only

news agency that translates all o the Holy Fathers speeches

into Arabic.

Internships

In an eort to help our students nd that critical rst

job in sectors o culture and the economy, and to seed

organizations with well-educated, bright young Catholics, the

Vatican Studies Center has established a series o internship

opportunities or its students.

In this way, Thomas More College is oering students the

strong ormation that is ound at small orthodox colleges,

coupled with the opportunities normally associated only with

larger institutions.

The Vatican Studies Center has established the ollowing

internship programs:

The Culture o Lie Foundation Established in 2008,

this internship is currently oering two students o the

Class o 2009, the opportunity to work as Junior Fellows

at the Foundation in Washington, D.C. The Foundation

was created in 1997 in answer to Pope John Paul IIs

encyclicalEvangelium Vitae, and works with philosophers

and journalists, theologians and scientists. The students

are writing and researching or one o the leading bioeth-

cists o our time, Dr. William E. May. Two students willreceive paid internships annually.

Zenit News Agency The Colleges students are regularly

invited by Zenit News to write articles on various issues,

including pro-lie developments, bioethics and

Church news.


11/24

11

H2o News Agency This past spring, eight Thomas More

College students worked as interns or H2o News,

narrating news reports and reading the Sunday Gospel.

Several other students have engaged in similar

internships on our campus in Merrimack. This internshipprovides our students who are interested in a

journalistic career with journalism training, experience

and credentials. Faculty and sta members are also

involved in H2o News. Dr. Christopher Blum gave Pope

Benedict XVI a voice by reading aloud the English version

o Pope Benedict XVIs incisive, deeply inspiring recent

encyclical Spe Salvi (Saved In Hope), or an audience

o millions.

The Pontical Council or Social Communications

Preect Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli has invited one

student to intern or the Council each year, working inside

the Vatican and closely with the Popes communicationteam. Thomas More College is only the second institution

o higher education to have its students invited to

participate in such a unique opportunity.

The Vatican Studies Center is also working to establish

internships at the Victims o Communism Foundation and

Parable, the magazine o the Diocese o Manchester,

among others.

Lectures

The Vatican Studies Center has hosted a series o lectures

to educate priests, nuns, high school teachers, proessors,students and the general public about Church teachingand Church-related issues in the news. Previous lectureshave included:

Father Romanus Cessario(St. Johns Seminary) on Scholarship and Sanctity.

Thomas More Colleges incoming artist-in-residenceDavid Clayton onHope and Suering:

The Art o the Baroque.

Proessor John F. Quinn (Salve Regina University) on

New Englands Unsung Saints.

Charles A. Coulombe (Knight Commander o the

Papal Order o St. Sylvester) on The Popes Legions:

The Remarkable Story o the Papal Zouaves.

Robert Moynihan (editor-in-chie oInside the Vatican) on

Fatima, Ecumenism, and the Icon o Our Lady o Kazan.

Future lectures o the Center will eature topics such as

Catholic social teaching, the relationship between aith and

reason, sacred Scripture, sacred art, liturgy, music, Church-

state issues, cultural trends and bioethics, among others.

Book Publishing Program

Recently, Thomas More College entered into a collaborative

partnership with Sophia Institute Press. This new partnership

provides a solid ramework or widely disseminating content

related to the work and mission o the Vatican Studies Center.

The Center will initiate the publication o biographies,

translations o important works, histories and poetry that

stimulate a culture o lie in our time and help the public better

understand the teachings o the Catholic Church.

Pilgrimages to Rome

A key element o the Vatican Studies Center is the annual

pilgrimage made to Rome by each o the Colleges sophomore

students. The history o Christendom is written in the stones

and on the ceilings, in the streets and the cemeteries o great

cities, where we stand astonished at the beauty unveiled by

man. I our study is both o God and man, and i God made

man so that man might be made God, then we are called to

learn rom and love the works o man. So it is tting that

Thomas More College students spend a semester in one o the

worlds great citiessite o the empire that shaped Western

history and the seat o the universal Church.

Each day, in between the classes that replicate the core

curriculum going on in New Hampshire, Rome program

director Dr. Paul Connell leads the student body on explorations

o the city ocused on theology, art and architecture. Students

also travel outside Rome, exploring Renaissance churches

in Florence and Orvieto, visiting the cave o St. Benedict

in Subiaco, the Etruscan tombs at Cerveteri and the city o

St. Francis, Assisi.

Students are also able to take advantage o Vatican Studies

Center events and tours to meet with the sta oLOsservatore

Romano, Vatican Radio and the Congregation o the Doctrine

o the Faith. In uture years, the Vatican Studies Center willeature lectures, meetings with cardinals and other inormative

encounters with the people who help the Vicar o Christ govern

the Church throughout the world.

In 2005, Thomas More College students were privileged to

be in Rome at the death o Pope John Paul II and the election

o Pope Benedict XVI. In 2008, through the Colleges Vatican

Studies Center, students and aculty gained tickets to the

memorial Mass Pope Benedict held in St. Peters Square or


12/24

12

the anniversary o Pope John Paul IIs death.

The Roman semester is meant to do more than immerse

students in the details o ancient, medieval, and Renaissance

artor even the particulars o Church doctrines represented inthose artworks. Instead, the major metaphor o the Colleges

sojourn in Rome is that o a pilgrimage. One undertakes a

pilgrimage in part to undergo an interior transormationa

change o heart, to change their lie. In this way, the Colleges

Rome Semester is a transormative experience that deeply

impacts the lie and aith o our students.

Plans for the Future

While the Vatican Studies Center has accomplished a great

deal in its short history, we have ambitious plans or the uture.

With sucient unds, we hope to expand our commitment to

ashioning a new generation o Catholic journalists capable omediating the Vaticans perspectives and teachings to a wider

public, as well as oering unique educational opportunities

in areas related to Vatican studies. Simultaneously, we hope

to increase our ability to deliver quality lectures, conerences,

teacher training programs, books, internships and other

educational projects and resources. The Lord has blessed this

endeavor over the past year, and we look orward to many good

things to come rom the Vatican Studies Center in the uture.

Charlie McKinney is director o institutional advancement

at Thomas More College o Liberal Arts, Merrimack,

New Hampshire.

For urther inormation on the Vatican Studies Center see:www.thomasmorecollege.edu/index.php?/content/

view/123/121/

Binging Hpe, Empweing Iniviuals:

The Univesity of St. Thomas (Houston) Mico-cedit Pogam

By Dr. Rogelio Garcia-Contreras

The Micro-credit Program (MCP) at the Center or

International Studies (CIS) o the University o St. Thomas

(UST) is an initiative originated rom an extremely simple yet

revolutionary idea initially developed a couple o decades ago

by economist and Nobel Prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

Through a loan o only a ew dollars, micro-entrepreneurs

living below the poverty threshold are able to start up an

income-generating business. As a result, amilies rom all

around the world, too poor to be creditworthy by traditional

market criteria, are able to raise their standards o living, avoid

nancial loan sharks and build a better uture. The idea is

so prevalent in contemporary politics o development that as

part o its Millennium Goals, the United Nations proclaimed

2005 the International Year o Micro-Credit in the hope that a

large number o micro-nance institutions would be opened.

At the University o St. Thomas, a small group o students

learned about Dr. Yumas revolutionary idea and its positive

impact around the world. With this in mind and together with

a CIS aculty member, these students proposed in the all o

2006 the creation o a Center or International Studies Micro-

credit Program. By the ollowing summer, the University

o St. Thomas approved its bylaws, student-run board o

directors and a board o advisors composed o UST alumniand aculty.

The program has a dual mission. It envisions granting

thousands o hardworking, destitute individuals the necessary

cash to apply their entrepreneurial spirit toward creating

income-generating enterprises that will remove them and

loved ones rom poverty. The program also oers a unique

The history o Christendom is

written in the stones and on the

ceilings, in the streets and the

cemeteries o great cities, where

we stand astonished at the

beauty unveiled by man. I ourstudy is both o God and man,

and i God made man so that

man might be made God, then

we are called to learn rom and

love the works o man.


13/24

13

Today there are 72 benefciaries o

our program in 22 dierent countries.

We can proudly say that UST money isfnancing the development o

72 individuals, an achievement that

will become sustainable and impact at

least 72 amilies and, eventually,

72 communities.

educational opportunity or students to learn rst hand how

to run a non-prot nancial organization; develop policies

and procedures; assess risk; manage loans, payments and

collections; conduct public relations; raise unds; deal with the

media and write documents; and do other important tasks.

How Does It Work?

The Center or International Studies Micro-credit Program

is unded through donations and undraising events organized

by CIS students. The First Annual Dum Spiro Fundraiser

and Silent Auction surpassed our expectations. It eatured

over 30 pieces o art, including 19 paintings by 4th and 5th

graders rom Houstons St. Annes Catholic School. Attendees

included not only UST students, aculty and sta, but many

members o the Houston community. Close to $10,000 was

raised. The event, called Dum Spiro, translated as while I

breathe, is a reminder o our Catholic aith and our intentionto do what we can to alleviate injustice or as long as we

breathe, as long as we are alive.

Once the money or loans were raised, students had the

challenge to allocate the money to people in need. In order to

distribute loans, an ocial partnership was established with

Kiva.org, a San Francisco-based non-prot organization that

specializes in small loans or micro-entrepreneurs around

the world. From Kivas database, students responsible or

loan accounts can make all risk assessments and assign the

monetary contribution to the micro-entrepreneur o their

choice. Students monitor the success or ailure o the loan

by analyzing the repayment rate and assigning new loans

as money enters the Fund, either through new donations

or through the money repaid by the initial beneciaries o

our loans.

In January 2008, Dr. Yunus and UST President Dr. Robert

Ivany met with members o USTs Center or International

Studies Micro-credit Program to mark the launch o the lending

process. This event not only marked a high point start or the

UST MCP, but it also provided the necessary legitimacy and

public attention that any organization, whether run by students

or not, should have to increase its chances or success.

Success, however, was not dened by Dr. Yunuss visit.

Students understood that the honorary membership o a Nobel

Peace Prize in our Program increased our chances or running

a successul program, but this ortuitous event couldnt be

dened as success itsel. Happily, every one o the students

running the UST MCP understands something that I consider

to be essential or the honorable procurement o justice and the

honest respect o human dignity: The road to success only runs

through hard and honest work.

Volunteer work, eort and dedication have made the UST

MCP the relative success it is today. Since our rst loan,

students have established strict lending criteria requiring our

individual borrowers or eld partners, among other things, to

exhibit a high level o transparency and consistency in boththeir nancial and social services. We have decided to not

lend to institutions or so-called not-or-prot organizations

that charge excessive interest rates to their aliates. Nor

do we support organizations that engage in social programs

that are not in line with the social teachings o the Catholic

Church, which is not the same as saying that we do not lend to

non-Catholics.

Today there are 72 beneciaries o our program in 22

dierent countries. We can proudly say that UST money is

nancing the development o 72 individuals, an achievement

that will become sustainable and impact at least 72 amilies

and, eventually, 72 communities.

But the students eorts have not stopped there. Students have

been working in the design, development and implementation

o what may turn out to be a much more comprehensive chapter

o our Program in a small Mayan community south o Merida,

Yucatan, called Petac. The purpose o this new enterprise is

to enhance the development o alternative sources o income,

while promoting the entrepreneurial spirit and comparative

advantage o the local economy.

To acilitate the successul development o a local micro-

nance institution in the community, a group o UST

students traveled to this impoverished town in Mexico to

gather statistical material; conduct a eld study; identiy

business opportunities; promote academic research; design,

develop and establish a micro-nance program in the

region; apply or grants to nance this program; and identiy

alternative unding sources.


14/24

Assisting ellow men and women rom around the world

in their eorts to overcome the cycle o poverty should not

be seen as an altruistic endeavor, but as a conscious attempt

to help ourselves by procuring solidarity and justice among

the human amily. We are not only assisting the workingpoor, we are promoting reedom, airness and democracy

around the world by endorsing basic principles o micro-

entrepreneurship, sel-employment, property rights, wealth

accumulation, democracy, basic human rights and an overall

appreciation o human dignity.

Rogelio Garcia-Contreras, Ph.D., is an assistant proessor

in the Center or International Studies, University o St.

Thomas, Houston, Texas.

For urther inormation on the Micro-credit Program see:

www.stthom.edu/Schools_Centers_of_Excellence/

Centers_of_Excellence/Center_for_International_Studies/

Resources_and_Achievement/MicroCredit/Index.aqf

14

We have started to see the results o this exciting eort. The

Program has identied three potential business opportunities

or the people o Petac. Students are now working on the second

phase o the program that includes the ormal development o

business plans and training programs as well as a ormal questor grants to nance these programs.

Dum Spiro Spero (While I Breathe, I Hope)

Some may argue that luck accounts or Dr. Yunus

endorsement. I like to think, however, that whenever we act

with some sense o good intention, the Divine helps to clear

the way. As a student-operated program, our objective has

always been to set into motion the concept o social change

by a humble call to action directed to other ellow students,

aculty, university peers and the Houston community in

general. To accomplish this goal, we have tried to constitute

the Program as a concrete refection o USTs mission andobjectives as a Catholic institution o higher education.

Whenever I think o my responsibilities as a man o aith

and all those values that I treasure and appreciate as a Catholic,

I like to think as well o little things I can do to bring to lie

those values and desires. By providing a tangible opportunity

to impact the world in a positive and ullling way, the MCP

program not only has given me a unique opportunity to do

precisely this, but I can proudly say that the program itsel is

a living testament o how aith, hope, peace and justice can be

spread through simple, yet clear goals and actions.

The program not only oers an opportunity to close the

gap between theory and practice by connecting conceptsand ideas discussed in the classrooms with administrative

techniques. The program also creates the opportunity

or volunteer student participants to develop rom

scratch, rational and concrete mechanisms or decision-

making and problem solving, always within the context

o our commitment to the truth and our eorts to nd it.

Whenever I think o my

responsibilities as a man o aith

and all those values that I treasure

and appreciate as a Catholic,

I like to think as well o little thingsI can do to bring to lie

those values and desires.


15/24

15

Southerners are proud o their many contributions to

American lie. Those o us involved in the pro-lie movement

believe that another, emerging contribution is taking hold

in Charlotte, North Carolina, at a little organization called

Room At The Inn.

With 14 acilities run by 11 dierent organizations, North

Carolina has a rapidly expanding maternity home system that

primarily serves economically disadvantaged pregnant mothers.

However, none o these existing

residential maternity and ater-careprograms has a residential program

specically designed to serve pregnant

college women. Now, Room At the

Inn is changing that with two related

programs, Inn Good Company and the

college-based Residential Facility.

Room At The Inn opened its doors in

1994 as a home or unwed mothers

and a way to combat the rising

abortion rate. Founded by a group

o dedicated and devout Catholics who recognized the need to

provide tangible support to women acing troubled pregnancies,Room At The Inn purchased a home in south Charlotte with the

capacity to house six mothers and their inants. The program

was blessed rom the beginning, and within its rst year received

a letter o support rom Mother Theresa o Calcutta.

From its oundation, Room At the Inn understood that

education was the key to happier utures and more productive

lives or single mothers. Its program was designed so that

clients could remain in residence or up to two years but had to

be enrolled in a post-high school educational program or nd

employment. Mothers who had one other child were also eligible

or the residential program. These two acts set the Room At The

Inn program apart rom all others in the state.

Mary, a ormer residential client, recently observed, I was

a 20-year-old high school graduate, pregnant with nowhere to

go. I was ortunate enough to nd Room At The Inn. I was a

resident or 13 months. Room At The Inn supplied me with

all the knowledge and resources I needed to become sel-

sucient. I completed my bachelors degree and am now living

independent. I truly believe that I would not be the proud parent

and woman I am today without the love, support and resources

Room At The Inn provided me in my time o need.

The year 2005 marked a turning point in the program or

two reasons. The rst is that the Extended Ater-Care and

Outreach Program was started in response to the temporary

closure o the residential maternity acility, and the second was

that the board o directors began a long-range planning process

that would determine Room At The Inns uture direction

serving pregnant and parenting

college women.

During the 2005 planning study,

the Room At The Inn board

and sta researched numerous

regional resources and national

programs to determine what

resources were available or

college women. Room At The

Inn became aware o Feminists

or Lie and the work that they

were doing to champion the cause

o pregnant college women, including building awareness o the

great need or maternity and ater-care services or this segment

o the population. According to research, when asked why they

had abortions, women gave the ollowing top three answers:

pregnancy/a baby would interere with their education; they

lacked the nancial resources to care or a child; and they did

not have the emotional support to parent.

The eedback was appalling. And the regional reality was

grim; no residential maternity acilities ocusing on this

population existed in Room At The Inns service area. In

response, Inn Good Company was ormed as an outreach

program to oer counseling and material goods assistance

to pregnant college women at surrounding colleges anduniversities. This outreach program would lay the groundwork

or the uture college-based Residential Facility, the nations rst.

rm At The Inn an Caing f Pegnant Cllege Wmen

By Jeannie Wray

When I heard the announcement

that Room At The Inn was starting

a college program, I elt my soul give

a sigh o relie because I thought,

Finally! Somebody gets it!


16/24

16

Enter Belmont Abbey College

But how could this be possible and where would it be

located? As we all know, prayers are answered and angels

abound. Abbot Placid Solari and the monks o Belmont Abbeyoered a our-acre site on property adjacent to Belmont Abbey

College or this new acility. As a result, uture residents will

be able to continue their education either at Belmont Abbey

College or one o the other area educational institutions within

commuting distance. Belmont Abbey College President Dr.

William Thierelder enthusiastically supports the project and

has oered a scholarship or a resident. The college will be a

great source o student volunteers and the location is ideal.

With preliminary drawings in place, a capital campaign is

underway to make the new acility a reality. The building will

have a chapel, childcare and rooms or 15 clients and their

babies. It will provide counseling, laundry, dining and otheracilities required to enable these young mothers to complete

their college education and learn to become better parents

and not have to choose between the two. Some believe that

this will become a model or the nation.

Breaking new ground and creating a program like this takes

vision and courage. It requires the generosity and support o

others and it takes dedication and the desire to serve. Room At

the Inn is ortunate in all o these things and hopes to be able

to eliminate stories like the ollowing:

I was 18 years old and a sophomore in college when

I became pregnant. The campus nurse told me to go look

up Abortion Clinics in the Yellow Pages. So I did. There

were no words o compassion, hope or support. It rearmed

my belie that I had no choice. I only someone had been

there to show me that I had the strength to ace the truth, ace

my mother and ace my child with joy. When I heard the

announcement that Room At The Inn was starting a college

program, I elt my soul give a sigh o relie because I thought,

Finally! Somebody gets it!

Jeannie Wray is executive director o Room At The Inn,Charlotte, North Carolina.

For urther inormation on Room At The Inn see:

www.rati.org

Raised a Catholic and enrolled at a Catholic college, Joshua

Gideon looked very much like your typical college guy:

baseball, parties, ambitious about his uture but unsure how

to become a better man. But he has said, The liestyle that I

was leading wasnt satisying. Whether enrolled at Catholic

or secular institutions, a Gallup Poll revealed that 85 percent

o Catholic young adults ages 18 to 25 stop practicing their

aith, many o them during their college years; Joshua was

becoming one o them.

Then one day out o the blue, a guy (who was a missionary

or Fellowship o Catholic University Students or FOCUS)

invited me to play wife ball, o all things! From thatinvitation my lie began to change. He then asked me later

to join his Bible study and I began to look at what a ullling

lie in Christ looked like, and how I wasnt living it. It was

in January at the 2002 FOCUS National Conerence that

I decided to give my lie to Christ and start pursuing a lie

in Christ.

This was what we had in mind when we ounded FOCUS in

1998 with two missionaries and the hope to be at the service

o the New Evangelization called or by the late John Paul II.

Ten years later, FOCUS has nearly 200 missionaries serving

on 39 campuses in 22 states. O those 39 campuses, six are

Catholic institutions: Benedictine College (Atchison, Kansas),

Loras College (Dubuque, Iowa), Seton Hall University (South

Orange, New Jersey), University o St. Thomas (Houston,

Texas), Mount St. Marys University (Emmitsburg, Maryland)

and Belmont Abbey College (Belmont, North Carolina).

Earlier this year, I was at Belmont Abbey, where we helped

prepare 79 new missionaries plus dozens o returning sta who

were receiving advanced leadership training. With the goal o

raising up young men and women who can help change theculture or Jesus Christ, these dynamic young missionaries are

trained in Scripture, Evangelization and Catechesis, and sent

to college campuses where they invest their lives in ullling

Christs command to Go, thereore, and make disciples o

all nations.

Joshua Gideon is part o that eort. Now 27, he is married

and he and his wie, Elisabeth, are expecting their third child.

Since he graduated college ve years ago, Joshua has served

Cathlic Missinaies EvangelizingCathlic Campuses

By Curtis Martin


17/24

17

as a FOCUS missionary, and since 2006 his assignment has

been his alma mater, Benedictine College. In act, FOCUS

began at Benedictine College in 1998, and the campus o

more than 1,300 undergraduate students has a team o eight

ull-time FOCUS missionaries.

The Need at Catholic Campuses

Why have Catholic missionaries at a Catholic college?

According to Father Brendan Rolling, director or mission and

ministry at Benedictine, The job o a Catholic college is to

make disciples by educating students who become witnesses

or Christ. Catholic university students need and deserve

dynamic orthodox theology and aithul proessors. Even

more, they need witnesses. Ive seen FOCUS missionaries

inspire our students to take the aith theyve learned and

pursue Christs vision or lie

as witnesses on the court, inchapel and on campus. That

is their mission.

The leaders o the

Church o tomorrow

are gathered on college

and university campuses

today. We want to reach

college students at a time when they are making decisions

regarding the rest o their lives. Whether it is a Catholic or

a secular campus, the same challenges exist or young men

and women during this critical time: rampant promiscuity,

a culture o alcohol and drug abuse, and a tendency

towards mediocrity. FOCUS counters the college culture

by promoting chastity, sobriety and excellence, virtues

that can only be lived out with the transorming power o

Jesus Christ.

Many Catholic schools are making strides towards cultivating

a culture that encourages virtue and excellence in students.

FOCUS missionaries seek to enter into the lives o the students

they encounter, meeting them on common ground in dorms,

caeterias, athletic elds and coee shops. Missionaries share

the joy they nd in a Christ-centered lie while winning the right

to oer students a personal invitation to live the Gospel. Thesestudents are then built up through small-group Bible studies and

one-on-one mentoring called discipleship. FOCUS missionaries

work as part o the Catholic campus ministry already in place at

the school where they serve. Their role is to go out and bring in

students to the lie o the Church on campus and to build up the

Catholic community by building leaders.

In act, having the team o FOCUS missionaries at

Benedictine College has been benecial to the overall mission

o the school. The impact o FOCUS is measurable and

positive. Since FOCUS was ounded, Benedictines enrollment

is up, vocations are up, grades are up, service is up and Mass

attendance is up. Its exciting to see the ruit our Lord expects

rom Catholic higher education growing at Benedictine,said Father Brendan.

While we work on the university campus, our eyes are on

the horizon. In 2 Timothy 2:2, St. Paul instructs his ellow

Christians to teach teachers to teach, and this model o

spiritual multiplication is at the heart o the FOCUS mission.

We empower students to not just live the Gospel, but to share

it with others and become leaders in their own generation.

This is a great need on both secular and Catholic campuses.

Lives are changed through this approach to evangelization.

As just one measure o the impact on this generation, in the

past ten years, 140 young men

have entered the seminary and40 young women have entered

religious lie ater being

involved with FOCUS.

In January 2008, more

than 3,000 young men and

women, rom 200 campuses

across the nation came

together in Dallas, Texas, or the 10th annual FOCUS Student

Leadership Conerence. As I stood at the back o the ballroom

packed with students, missionaries, priests and religious, I

was approached by a young woman. She said, During my

rst year o college, I was headed down a path that led not

only away rom my Catholic aith, but into proound darkness.

I I had not encountered FOCUS during my sophomore year,

I would not have encountered Christ, and I would not be on a

path to heaven. Thank you.

Curtis Martin is ounder and president o Fellowship o

Catholic University Students (FOCUS).

For urther inormation on FOCUS see:www.focusonline.org


18/24

18

In an age when athletic competition oten seems to bring outour worst, the Mount St. Marys University sports chaplaincy

program reminds us o sports potential to bring out our best.

The Mount, a small Division I school in Emmitsburg,

Maryland, is a Catholic liberal arts university that also includes

one o the largest Roman Catholic seminaries in the country.

For several years now, the university

has paired varsity and club teams with

chaplains chosen rom among the men

studying or the priesthood.

Team chaplains lead prayer beore

practices and games or in times o crisis;

gather student athletes or retreats and

special Masses; and assist the teams in

community service eorts. They also

monitor study halls and encourage

students academically (very much

appreciated in required theology and

philosophy courses!). They are mentors,

authority gures and riends.

University President Thomas H. Powell believes the programis an important way to support Mount athletes. He said, Student

athletes are held to a higher standardand they oten have

higher GPAsas they balance academics with a demanding

practice and competition schedule. Even a small Division I

program can reassert the value o intercollegiate athletics. Were

here to develop a trilogy o mind, body and spirit.

To Father Leo Patalinghug, Mount St. Marys Seminary

director o pastoral eld education, competition is valuable

or the right reasons. College athletics should be about the

desire to be the best athlete you can be, not simply wanting

to win, he said. Our chaplains are there to help men and

women ask, What am I going to do with these God-given

talents? Who am I playing or, and to what end?

Chaplains are careully chosen and normally paired

with a team or the duration o their seminary training. When

a seminarian expresses interest, Father Patalinghug works

with the seminary rector, vice rector and ormation advisor

to determine whether or not he is a good t or the program.

Candidates must be healthy, have good grades and have the

potential to be relevant and eective in the ministry.

An interest in athletics is essential, explained Father

Patalinghug, who is a third-degree black belt and ormer member

o the U.S. martial arts stick ghting team. Chaplains have played

on college varsity and intramural teams, majored in physical

therapy or are avid runners. Many continue to play on Mount

intramural teams or on the seminarys champion Rectors Cup

soccer team.

Noted Father Patalinghug, The pres-

sures o a popular athlete become

very dicult, and the chaplainsare there as a sounding board, a

reminder that God is everywhere and

He can help you learn to winand

losewell.

Mentors and Friends

Does the program work? Yes, on

several levels. Simply having seminarians

in the stands and on the eld has a

positive infuence on athletes, coaches and ans. Several

chaplains have noted that sometimes athletes tone down their

language or ans behave in a more sportsmanlike mannerwhen they see the clerical collar. While team member

reaction ranges rom enthusiastic to mildly curious to

the ew who think it is weird, most see the program as a

positive thing.

Coaches have called on chaplains to talk to an entire

team whose members are making unhealthy choices. Many

athletes agree the chaplains are valuable mentors because

they add a resh perspective without being judgmental.

Several say they eel comortable asking their chaplain or

help with everything rom relationships to school work to

disciplinary issues.

According to Vincent Berry, a junior soccer team captain,

The chaplain is a man o God, a man o many virtues, and so

I eel I can trust him ully. He brings a dierent perspective

because hes not a teammate or a coach. Captain Steve Cant,

a senior, added, I appreciate the chaplains openness and

willingness to help. Ive discussed everything with him. He

wants to see the team win and do well, but he also remembers

that sport is about our growth as individuals.

Why We Play:Munt St. Mays Univesity Spts Chaplaincy Pgam

By Barbara Ruppert


19/24

19

Strong riendships oten develop between a chaplain andteam members. Noted sophomore Katie Bollinger, whoplays deense on the womens lacrosse team, Our chaplainoers riendship to everyone and sincerely cares about the

whole team and coaching sta. You can tell him anything incondence and know he is there to listen and guide you in theright direction. I value our chaplain as a respectable riendrom a higher authority.

As with many college riendships, bonds oten last ar beyondgraduation. Coaches and students have attended their chaplainsordinations and asked them to preside at weddings. Formerchaplains have come back to campus or games or traveled totheir teams tournaments. Remarked director o intercollegiateathletics Lynne Robinson, The program is incredibly positiveand enriching or both student athletes and seminarians.

The Big Picture

Many at the Mount believe that the programs spiritualconnection gives student athletes an advantage in their sportand much more. Casey-Mae Fleischer, a senior on the crosscountry and track teams, explained, Having a chaplain whoreminds us to pray enables us to see the purpose beyond thatparticular race on that particular day, to see how we shouldstrive to gloriy God in the quality and eort we put intocompeting. This really gives us an edge in competition.

It is an edge that can carry over into all aspects o lie. Headcross country and track coach Jim Stevenson refected, SeeingGod in their passion or sport helps the students see God as anintegral part o their lie. Having a team chaplain can orge a

connection to their lie beyond college and sports.

Jason Weber, the mens soccer team chaplain, noted that heactively encourages team members to look beyond soccer andthe pleasures o college lie. Part o this is encouraging themto practice their aith, whether its getting the Catholics toMass or helping those o other aiths nd a church nearby, hesaid. I try to draw out that a lot o lie choices theyll makemarriage, career, growing spirituallywill require sacriceand commitment, just as in their training or soccer.

The chaplains stress the value o the many virtuesintercollegiate athletics can oster: discipline, dedication,perseverance, teamwork, leadership. These orm a person ocharacter, someone ready or lies challenges. Said Father

Patalinghug, When you rely on inner strength, whether yourecognize it as Gods or not, you dont have to just play to thecrowd or rely on drugs. You achieve a ocus that helps you beyour best.

A Winning Combination

The program is a natural or the Mount. According toMonsignor Stuart Swetland, vice president or Catholicidentity and mission, More than one-th o our studentsare athletes, plus we have a strong seminary programits awin-win situation that builds aith and community, pillars oour university.

Seminarians benet as much as student athletes. Tim Naples,cross country and track chaplain and assistant coordinator othe chaplaincy program, said, Its a taste o the ministry wellhave one day as priests. Its a challenge, to bring aith intoordinary situations without being pushy. Weber added, Theexperience is very practical, the ellowship is inspiring andI get to watch great soccer!

Monsignor Swetland added, The chaplaincy program isamong the best eld training our seminarians get because itsso real. Athletes are dealing with the struggle to balance theircommitments, just as our uture priests parishioners will bestruggling to balance career and amily. The need or balanceis a act o lie.

Balance, character, inspiration and our best: The verysoul o intercollegiate athletics is what the Mount St. MarysUniversity sports chaplaincy program is all about.

Barbara Ruppert is a communications consultant at MountSt. Marys University, Emmitsburg, Maryland.For more inormation on the chaplaincy program contact

Monsignor Stuart Swetland at [email protected].

Pascendi Is Still revelant

By Dr. Peter A. Kwasniewski

On September 8, 1907, Pope St. Pius X issued his amous

encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis, On the Doctrine o

the Modernists. The Modernists in question were a group

o mostly Western European Catholic intellectuals o the

late 19th and early 20th centuries who, as they saw it, had

the mission o bringing Christianity up to date and into

conormity with theZeitgeist, the spirit o the age. To them,

the march o modern progress, most plainly seen in the ever-

expanding discoveries o the sciences, orced a reinterpretation

or redenition o every major tenet o Christian doctrine. The

attempt to do so, however, meant sooner or later rejecting the

very idea o an inerrant deposit o aith contained in Scripture

and Tradition and o a Magisterium that understands and

teaches this deposit without error. As a consequence, many


20/24

20

o the Modernists came to reject the great Creeds, drited away

rom the Faith and turned into hardened skeptics.

While the Modernists never ormed a denite school with

a denite systemthere was much variation in opinion romindividual to individual, country to country, discipline to

disciplinenevertheless their ideas tended to emerge rom

similar currents o modern thought and to issue in similar

proposals. As a result, it was possible and desirable or St.

Pius X to publish a survey o the overall system to which these

ideas would o necessity give rise, and then to demonstrate

how it is utterly irreconcilable with conessional Christianity

or even with sound philosophy.

The 100th anniversary o Pascendi

in 2007 came and went without public

celebration or ocial commemoration;

relatively ew Catholics nowadays haveheard o the encyclical or the problems

that led to it. Theologians and historians

who deign to mention the document oten

dismiss it as an embarrassing papal tantrum,

a belligerent caricature that ell wide o its

mark, or a protest that was buried with Pius

X and holds no lasting signicance. Indeed,

a recent Jesuit writer declared that, the

movement o the [Modernist]innovators

(at least the doctrinal and theological

movement) remained conned to the restricted circles o

Catholic scholars, mostly young priests or seminarians,

and thereore had no real impact on wider Catholic lie

and thought.

Pius X: A Prophet

And yet, it can hardly escape

the notice o an attentive reader

that this encyclical is not only not

irrelevant, it is vastly more relevant

now than it was a century ago. The

errors in doctrine and practice that

Pius X condemned are ar more

prevalent in the Church today, andin Catholic educational institutions

than they were in the heyday o

the Modernists such as Alred

Loisy, George Tyrrell and Friedrich

von Hugel. As or the Jesuits

remark, one is perhaps reminded o those who say that the

Americanism condemned by Leo XIII was a ghost heresy

that only existed on European paper and never really existed

on American soil. As with Pascendi, I challenge anyone who

reads Leo XIIIs Testem Benevolentiae today to deny that the

principles rejected there in act permeate and dominate the

church in this country.

Leo XIII and his successor, Pius X, were astute doctors othe body politic and the body ecclesiastical: they knew the

cancerous eects o alse principles i they are not strongly

counteracted. That is why they did their utmost to lead the

Church away rom the many reductive and destructive -isms

o modernity, toward the only whole that precontains and

validates all partial truths, the Catholic Faith.

Consider, or a moment, the Modernist reinterpretation

o Christianity, as it is set orth in the encyclical Pascendi.

For the Modernist, aith is an interior

sense originating in a need or the

divine; it is not a git rom without, but

an immanent surge, an intuition o theheart, a subjective experience. Religion,

accordingly, is when this sense rises to the

level o consciousness and becomes

an expression o a worldview. What,

then, is revelation? It is the awakening

consciousness o the divine within me.

Do

Date post:	30-May-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	center-for-the-study-of-catholic-higher-ed
View:	217 times
Download:	0 times

Fall 2008 Bulletin of Catholic Higher Education

Documents