Connecticut Dioceses – Page 2

Catholic education: where is it going and why?

The Catholic school system in the US has been in a very desperate shape for years: acute and chronic money problems, lack of good, solidly trained Catholic teachers and administrators, a coherent vision of Catholic education as it interfaces with the charism of the religious order/diocese operating the school, building & grounds in near of repair, low endowments, etc. Then there is the assessment of what is purported to constitute a Catholic school: poor formation in the faith, the arts & humanites and science suffer, good use of current technologies, and engagement with people who do things differently, engagement with the vulnerable and culture of life, etc. Many, many Catholic schools don’t offer the Sacrifice of the Mass on a weekly basis for the students; and very few of them that I am familiar with offer reliable guidance and formation of the faculty and parents. In my book, if the bishop rarely shows up and the pastor visits the school only when there is crisis. then the problem is more acute.

Don’t get me wrong: I am a product of a lot years Catholic education and wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love my time in the Catholic schools I attended but I can see the gaping holes in education and experience. I also believe that the Church needs excellent schools and formation programs.

Five exceptions to this critical view may be the five schools in the Diocese of Bridgeport recently named “Blue Ribbon” by the US Dept of Ed. But for these success stories in Catholic Education there are thousands of others pointing to major problems.

Today, there is an article in Time that speaks to a corrective of what is noted above. The dynamic Mr. Ekicsen is asking the right questions and seeking reasonable solutions. The bishop of Patterson made an excellent choice in hiring Eriksen and I pray his project thrives. It will –the saints are behind him. Read about the Eriksen initiative…

I think of a few things that are contributing to a renewal of Catholic eduation in the US: 1) Luigi Giussani’s The Risk of Education; 2) the Ed Conference; 3) UND’s ACE program; and 4) Dwight Longenecker’s booklet The Risk of Faith; 5) Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. This is not an exhaustive list by any stretch of reality because I know there are plenty of more good programs/schools out there so please forward the names to me.

St John’s Church Stamford CT named minor basilica

Word has been received that the Church of Saint John (Stamford, CT) has been given the high honor of being named a minor basilica by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.

Henceforth, the parish will be known as The Basilica of Saint John the Evangelist.

The Catholic community has been present in the Stamford sine the early 18th century but an official ecclesial community was founded in 1847. The current church was completed in 1886.

Saint John’s is the second church in the State of Connecticut to receive this distinction. The first is the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Waterbury, CT. There are only 65 minor basilicas in the US.

UPDATE

The announcement from the Diocese of Bridgeport, October 17, 2009

The Stamford Advocate‘s article of October 17, 2009

Sacred Heart University’s new chapel is a sanctuary for the pilgrim people of God

Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT enters into rites dedicating the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, today. Rarely do we have the opportunity to newly construct a marvelous work of art given for God’s greater glory and His worship such as Sacred Heart’s Chapel of the Holy Spirit. Having Father Rupnik‘s commission in Connecticut gives us a special link to the work of the Church in calling us to deeper union with God. Rupnik’s mosaic work had its first world dramatic epiphany in Apostolic Palace’s Mother of the Redeemer Chapel (Vatican City State) due to Pope John Paul being struck to the beauty wrought by Rupnik and his colleagues at the Centro Aletti. Today, we are struck by the same beauty drawn more deeply into the mystery, into radical holiness by another dramatic manifestation of the mosaics.

I previously mentioned Rupnik’s work in the USA.

The NY Times features the liturgical art of the chapel.

On the new chapel organ for the chapel.

The progression of building the chapel…

I have to note that Sacred Heart’s mosaics are not the first for the artist in the USA: Father Rupnik’s first work was installed in the Holy Family Chapel at the central office of the Knights of Columbus, New Haven, CT. And like today’s ceremonies of dedication, the mosaics in New Haven were blessed for liturgical use by Bishop Lori, the same who is doing consecration today.

5 Blue Ribbon Schools in the Bridgeport Diocese

Today the Diocese of Bridgeport conveyed the great news that 5 of the Catholic schools of the diocese, and only ones in the State of Connecticut, have been named a Blue Ribbon School by the US Department of Education.

This distinction places these schools in the top 10% of schools in the USA. Here’s a list of the 2009 recipients of the Blue Ribbon distinction.

The five schools in the Diocese of Bridgeport:

Greenwich Catholic School, Greenwich, CT

St Rose of Lima School, Newtown, CT

St Cecilia School, Stamford, CT

St Mark School, Stratford, CT

Our Lady of Fatima School, Wilton, CT

Fan the Fire 2009

The group photo of Fan the Fire 2009!

(Can you find me?)

Fan the Fire is now an annual youth rally hosted by St. Rose of Lima Church (Newtown,CT) in conjunction with the Diocese of Bridgeport. 2009 was the fourth time Fan the Fire was held. This youth rally reminds me of a mini world youth day in the sense that there are hundreds of teenagers present; there’s Mass, Confession, Eucharistic Adoration, presentations on the faith, small and large group discussions and an opportunity for friendship. Numbers were down this year: only 500 youth from the Diocese registered with some coming from the neighboring Archdiocese of Hartford.

The day together was electric. You could feel the enthusiasm and zeal of the teens in attendance. They were there not because of some obligation but there was a desire in their hearts to be together for each other, for themselves and for Christ and the Church. The rally while a bit large and seemingly unwieldy was well done: I believe it was a time for all to meet Christ.

Bishop William Lori spent Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and evening with Fan the Fire participants. He gave two presentations and led two Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction services and celebrated Mass. Priests from around the diocese heard confessions and lent a hand in teaching.

All of this would not be possible without the assistance of Msgr Robert Weiss and many, many of the parishioners, Sisters and Knights of Columbus of St Rose!

Newtown, CT Knights dedicated new space: Moritz Hall

On Saturday August 16th Bishop Lori blessed the grounds of
the new Council 185 Meeting and Storage building which will be named Moritz
Hall.

The Moritz Hall derives its name from PGK Len Moritz who has been a major
force assuring completion of this four year project.

The hot day was part of a
Saint Rose of Lima (Newtown, CT) hosted Fan the Fire Youth Rally. Over 600 teens from all
over the diocese spent the day participating in renewal, witness and
confession. The day ended with a sunset Mass celebrated by Bishop Lori,
Monsignor Robert Weiss and a host of concelebrants. Vivat Jesus!

ACLU sides with Bridgeport Diocese

Rarely does one see the ACLU agree with the Catholic Church never mind agree with a local Church prelate on constitutional matters. Here the officials of Diocese of Bridgeport can justifyably claim that they were correct in their reading of the First Amendment and stating that they’re not a lobbyist. The ACLU runs contrary to Carol Carson of the State of Connecticut Ethics Committee’s ascertion that the Diocese violated state law. The CT Post ran a story today (of course it was not on page one).

In its filed brief the ACLU stated: “The Supreme Court, keenly aware of the need to carve out a protected zone, for petitioning activity, that lobbying statutes cannot reach, has defined lobbying narrowly, as involving only ‘direct communications with members of the [legislature]’ or indirect communications occurring ‘through an artificially stimulated letter campaign.” The brief backs up my thinking that a clearer definition of what a lobbyist is and how a lobbyist works in congress is needed. The governor’s office or one of legislators ought to propose a revision of existing law so as not to bog down the good work of the State in the future. I wonder how money was spent on this foolish exercise!

Nevertheless, there remains a lot of work to do on the education front: What is the purpose of the Catholic Church, how does it engage in the public square and what is a believing Catholic’s response, how do people of good will mobilize to express regret with their lawmakers?

Connecticut Catholics might be…

… forced to keep quiet by the State if the current law on lobbying stands. States officials in the Ethics Office are applying an unjust law to the Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport; if the Catholics today, other Christian groups, Jews and Muslims tomorrow. As Bishop Lori correctly states, the Diocese of Bridgeport is not a lobbyist but a church. And as a church is the bishops and priests are called upon to teach, govern and to sanctify. The SB 1098 and other state bills that seek to change the mission of the Church violates constitutional freedoms. This is a matter, therefore, of all people’s First Amendment rights, not just about the rights of Catholics to exercise their freedom to speak and assemble publicly. Efforts now must begin to work for the current rules for lobbyists to be changed and the ruling of the Ethics Office overturned. Civil and intelligent discourse please! The Fox News report is interesting because it reports the claim that the officials in the Ethics Office are objective. Hmmm, I don’t see the evidence of that in this case. So, I can’t say that I believe for one minute that the CT State Office of Ethics is content neutral, particularly when it comes to the Roman Catholic Church in Connecticut, and more so when it comes to Bishop William Lori.

Fox news reports

Connecticut State Ethics Office charges Diocese of Bridgeport violated law

Connecticut State Officials try to muzzle the Church! In a letter to the people of the Diocese of Bridgeport today, Bishop William Lori states that the gathering of people to protest Bill 1098 that would violate the First Amendment, was a violation of law. The State of Connecticut Ethics committee said this mobilizing of the people amounted to “lobbying” because the Diocese failed to register as a lobbyist (which would invite State regulation). Now the claim is that the Diocese is subject to penalties.

Exhorting the people, i.e., giving information to the people, encouraging the people to take part in democracy, forming the consciences of the people from the pulpit, web-based materials and rallying does not constitute lobbying.

Nutmegers need to contact the State legislator before the end of the legislative session this coming Wednesday.

The Diocese of Bridgeport is filing a civil rights lawsuit in Federal Court against the State of Connecticut seeking relief from government action on this ruling.

For more information see the Diocese of Bridgeport website.

The priest

Bishop William Lori ordained two men to the diaconate today; they’ll be ordained priests next year. Saturday, May 16, the Bishop ordains six men to the priesthood. These are happy days for the diocese of Bridgeport. So, I was thinking about the priesthood and what it means. While there are vast amounts of literature on nature of the priesthood, I thought Saint John Vianney would be an appropriate sounding board for today.

The
priest is not a priest for himself; he does not give himself absolution; he
does not administer the Sacraments to himself. He is not for himself, he is for
you. After God, the priest is everything. Leave a parish twenty years without
priests; they will worship beasts. If the missionary Father and I were to go
away, you would say, “What can we do in this church? there is no Mass; Our Lord
is not longer there: we may as well pray at home.” When people wish to destroy
religion, they begin by attacking the priest, because where there is no longer
any priest there is no sacrifice, and where there is no longer any sacrifice
there is no religion.

Saint
John-Mary Vianney, The Little Catechism of the Cure of Ars