Brick by Brick

"The Poster Child of Former Catholics is a Disaffected Teenager"

There's plenty to chew on when reading "Faith in Flux: Changes in the Religious Affiliation in the U.S." recently released by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

[Read the U.S. Catholic Bishops' press release and the full report by the Pew Foundation.]

The report indicates that for those who have left the Catholic faith, more than any one cause or crisis moment, they simply drifted away over time. Most who left did so in their teens and early twenties.

Why?

The Center for Applied Research Apostolate put it well: "More often than not its not about teachings, beliefs, or scandals. This is about Youth coming of age and not feeling connected to their faith...The poster child of former Catholics is a disaffected teenager."

This is why Pope John Paul II High School exists. What better argument can there be for healthy, vital Catholic high school education than our critical role in guiding young people to a mature adult faith connected with the life of the Church? Imagine the spiritual confusion or even emptiness when navigating young adulthood without a foundation in our faith and a sacramental life. Reading this study ought to confirm for all of us involved with Catholic education the importance of our mission.

Your comments welcome.

JPII Loses a Good One

Sad news befell the JP II community as we learned of the death of Mr. Thomas Eagar late last week. Mr. Eagar had been hired to launch the school's Latin program this past summer. While he became ill in the final week prior to school's opening, he contacted a friend, Mrs. Maureen Nicholson, to sub for him until his return.  Mr. Eagar faced numerous setbacks with courage and genuine faith. Sadly, he lost his battle with cancer on Thursday, October 8, 2008.

For the most part, Mr. Eagar's association with JP II was brief -- so brief that many at the school only met or saw him once. Still, for some of us, we knew a man of deep, abiding faith who wanted greatly to found the Latin program as a gift to the school. While this was not to be, Mr. Thomas Eagar left his mark nonetheless.

But Then, You Already Knew That...

Ran across a recent, large-scale, international study demonstrating statistically the advantages of Catholic education -- for both students and the wider culture.

At a time when Catholic schools can no longer rely on a common, institutional understanding of their advantages ("here comes everyone"), leaders must show and tell what we know from our own experiences and that of our students -- that Catholic education is an advantage for life.

See the study here.

The Forest and the Trees

Sometimes it takes a little stepping back to see the forest for the trees. Time without students in the building makes the hallways, cafeteria, and athletic practice fields look surprisingly different from when we left off in June. It's not just that our students have grown and matured. It's that our school has, too.

Today marked the full-day return to classes for JPII students, doubling the size of our school and creating new buzz with the addition of the Class of 2012 and all that they bring. Some major "firsts" will take place soon and I am proud of the young people who will make them happen.

It's good to be back!

A Fitting Book-End

On September 4, 2007, we started our year simply and together -- with people, prayer, and bricks. Similarly, at our end-of-the-year commemoration, our community of students, staff, and families gathered to mark this unique year and all that has been accomplished.

Looking back with words and pictures, it is clear that we have accomplished a great deal and built a real, solid, and lasting foundation for our school. I am proud of what we have made together.

Click to read Student Council remarks (Download studentcouncilremarks.pdf) and Principal's address(Download Principalsremarks.pdf) .

Let Me Say a Few Words...

Last week I was asked to speak at a gathering of teachers and administrators from all the schools in our Diocese to be held on Friday. Specifically, I was asked to focus on Cape Cod as part of the larger story of Catholic education in the Diocese of Fall River and its attendant lessons of birth, death, and new life (For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven [Eccl 3.1]).

Despite (or because of...) the tight leash of time (2-5 minutes...I can't clear my throat in that time!), this little assignment's got me in a reflective way as I dwell on how our Cape 'trees' color and change the Diocesan 'forest.'

I'm told that the duty's mine in part due to remarks given at the Cape-Wide Catholic Schools Week Mass held at St. Pius X Church in January. This special liturgy featured students, teachers, and guests from all five Cape Catholic schools and was celebrated by Bishop Coleman.

Read those remarks here: Download csw_mass_remarks.pdf

Lion Pride? [12-15-07]

Coming into a pair of tickets to Friday's Celtics game had me reminiscing about the team's glory days. As a boy I had an album called Celtic Pride(free from A&P, or something like that), a compilation of Johnny Most's descriptions of team accomplishments ("Havliceck stole the ball!") which created a palpable sense of Celtic pride for me and I imagine for many a New Englander.This pride, of course, had its source in the team's winning tradition and multiple championships. This is a privileged position; to be able to take pride based on real evidence of accomplishments linked to a clear standard of success.

These reminiscences brought me around to the question of pride at (and in) Pope John Paul II High School. A reality of our new school, in my observation, is that some or perhaps many students do not yet feel pride in JP II. This isn't to say that they feel negatively -- its only to say that, as ninth-graders in a environment without tradition and an established identity, feelings come slowly and cautiously. All of us but young people especially "look around" to others to see how to feel. They're at a tough age to decide who we are and what we are and derive pride without the helpful validation of older students.

What's tough for freshmen to see, but no less authentic a source of pride, is pride in responding to the call and pride in meeting the challenge. My desire is to see our first class of thirty-six to take pride that it is they who have been called and they who are  meeting the challenge -- The challenge of building  without forebears and from their own strength and character. I see our students responding to the call and meeting the challenge, yet I see students unsure how to feel about their unique role. 

Time and patience. It will be gratifying indeed to see students proud of themselves and proud of their school. I look forward to the day when student articulate, in whatever manner they are able to, that "We made it happen" and "It is good." That'll be Lion Pride!

Leadership and Culture [12-13-07]

When leaving Ohio, a friend and colleague gave me Witness to Hope, George Weigel's biography of Pope John Paul II (sort of required reading for my new gig...).

A dense and philosophical treatment of John Paul's remarkable life, one point about his papacy really stood out in my mind: John Paul's insistence that culture is the glue that holds people together, not national politics or ideology. Wherever he went, he appealed to people to build up their culture. It was Polish culture, for example, that resisted communist politics and ideology. It is American culture that holds out such freedom and yet so many abuses of this freedom.

Yesterday Pope John Paul II High School held, for the first time, Student Council elections. Three strong candidates were selected to be representatives, two as officers, and one president. It is a high-quality group that I believe can do wonderful things for the school.

I think about leadership and culture and John Paul's insistence on the importance of culture because the challenge these young leaders face is not so much organizing activities as it is forming student culture in our new school. While this formation is already underway, our new leaders have the ability to develop norms, values, patterns and habits that solidify our student culture and define who we are. These leaders do not have past culture at this school to rely upon, so have only their values, integrity, and leadership skills. I'm betting that these student leaders and their abilities will be more than enough to forge strong culture. There's a football expression to the effect that 'We win with people'. Stay tuned...

Talk about leadership training!