Catholic Transcript Online

 Archbishop Henry J. Mansell

My Pastoral Letter on Catholic School Education, "Together, We Produce Great People," is printed in this issue of The Catholic Transcript in place of my usual column.

A Pastoral Letter on Catholic School Education

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Reflect on Jesus’ command to His disciples whom He sent forth, saying, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation." (Mk 16:15) "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you." (Mt 28:19-20)

We are called by our baptism to be a faith-filled and hopeful community entrusted by God, through the salvation of Jesus Christ, to live out the Good News in His Church and in His world by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are a Church willing and able to commit ourselves to the apostolic ministry of teaching. We are called to be beacons of great hope for our young people and for their descendents who will continue to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The words in the Gospels according to St. Mark and St. Matthew speak directly and convincingly to all of us: bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated religious, and laity of the Archdiocese of Hartford. They are words inviting us to let the Good News shine forth in our message, in the building of community, and in our service to others. They are words leading us in a special way to the ministry of Catholic school education, where we express faith in action and bridge the crossroads of faith and knowledge for our students.

It is through the teaching ministry of Catholic school education that we form, inform, and transform our young people to become truly productive moral citizens, spiritual leaders, and global thinkers. The Catholic Church recognizes:

"Education is one of the most important ways by which the Church fulfills its commitment to the dignity of the person and the building of community. Community is central to educational ministry, both a necessary condition and an ardently desired goal. The educational efforts of the Church must therefore be directed to forming persons-in-community; for the education of the individual Christian is important not only to his solitary destiny but also to the destinies of the many communities in which he lives." (To Teach As Jesus Did, #13)

Research has proven that Catholic schools provide a uniquely powerful education for the child’s spiritual, intellectual, physical, and social growth. It is the Church’s responsibility to cultivate in our young people strong religious, spiritual, and moral knowledge of the world in which they live, and to prepare them for what is to come. Catholic schools provide rigorous academic programs that make the future for our students all the more promising, and they do so in the context of addressing the entirety of the human person. Without spiritual development all education is fundamentally flawed.

There is as much need today for articulate Catholic students as when the first Catholic school in Connecticut convened in the musty basement of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Hartford. Thus began Catholic school education in Connecticut on Nov. 2, 1830. It is my intent, therefore, to preserve and to advance the ministry of Catholic school education in the Archdiocese of Hartford. In order to achieve this call "to teach," we must build our future by fully embracing our vision and embarking on a plan for growth.

In January 2005, I promulgated a vision for Catholic school education. That vision proclaims that the primary role of Catholic schools is to produce graduates imbued with the Catholic faith and, simultaneously, armed with critical thinking rich in spirituality and ready to assume Church and civic responsibilities. As depicted in the Vision Statement, our Catholic school students truly receive an "Education for a Lifetime." I ask everyone, consequently, with a rousing salute of fidelity to our past and rejuvenated confidence in our future, to support the strategic direction emanating from the 2007 Educational Symposium, which charts a bold future.

I am committed to providing tuition scholarships to families who choose, but cannot afford, a Catholic school education for their children, thanks to the generous support of those who contribute to the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal and other support programs. I am also grateful to the parishes of the Archdiocese that continue to support the ministry of Catholic school education through the generous financial support of our parishioners. Since these funds are limited, however, we also look forward to an increase in revenue from the Foundation for the Advancement of Catholic Schools to make our schools accessible to more students.

Catholics and others who are concerned about education in our state, especially parents whose children attend our schools, must themselves engage in legislative educational issues that are supported by the Connecticut Federation of Catholic School Parents. Each year, our schools save Connecticut taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in operational costs and in the costs of new construction and capital repair which would be necessary if our schools did not exist. Think, too, of the lien that dropouts from other systems put on the public assistance rolls for years to come. Our dropout rate is a fraction of one percent. Nonetheless, we receive minimal resources or funding from state and federal government.

The Supreme Court of the United States has declared constitutional many forms of financial and other assistance to nonpublic schools, including schools with religious sponsorship. It would be quite helpful if Connecticut would implement more of these programs.

More fundamentally, parents must be directly involved in their children’s education, as their primary educators, and offer encouragement through word and action. Education in the faith does not involve just the young people; parents must be formed in the faith and be witnesses to Jesus Christ, especially through parish life.

The complexity of the modern world makes it all the more necessary to increase awareness of the identity of the Catholic school. It is from its Catholic identity that the school derives its character and its structure as a genuine instrument of the Church, a place of real and specific pastoral ministry. The Catholic school participates in the evangelizing mission of the Catholic Church and is the privileged environment in which Catholic education takes place.

We have advocated for and strongly endorse the commitment of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

"Young people of the third millennium must be a source of energy and leadership in our Church and our nation. Therefore, we must provide young people with an academically rigorous and doctrinally sound program of education and faith formation designed to strengthen their union with Christ and his Church." (Renewing our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium, 2005)

The Catholic culture of the school is richly expressed through daily prayer, sacramental life, moral education, knowledge of the faith, service learning and experiences, human communication, discernment of vocation and spiritual leadership, symbols of our faith, sacred art, sacred music, and Catholic social teachings, attitudes, and beliefs. The Catholic school plays an integral part in the evangelizing mission of the Catholic Church.

The Catholic school, through pastoral support, exemplary leadership, and qualified educators, must be excellent in all of its programs provided to our young people. Catholic educators must commit to lifelong learning through adult faith formation, professional development, and the establishment of best practices for quality Catholic education.

"Today, perhaps more than ever, it is important to recognize that learning is a lifelong experience. Rapid, radical changes in contemporary society demand well planned, continuing efforts to assimilate new data, new insights, new modes of thinking and acting." (To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #43)

Under the leadership of the archdiocesan superintendent of Catholic schools, along with the collaboration of the archdiocesan school board and other Catholic and civic agencies, we must be a resource of service, optimism, and joyfulness for our Catholic schools. As disciples of Christ, we are called to share our time, talents, and treasure in advancing the ministry of Catholic school education. The Office of Catholic Schools must therefore carry forth a plan that will advance the Catholic identity, quality of education, accessibility, and advancement of our schools.

It will be the responsibility of the Office of Catholic Schools, in cooperation with those serving in Catholic schools, to ensure the viability and the vitality of education in the Archdiocese of Hartford. In doing so, the Office of Catholic Schools will look to the future in establishing new models, determining which schools should be maintained, and identifying new areas for building new schools. In all of this it will be working closely with local parishes and school communities.

Our Catholic schools must, without compromise, be living witnesses to the unity we have in Jesus. We must celebrate the legacy of Catholic school education and embrace a future with great confidence in our young people. We, the Catholic Church of Hartford, must mobilize ourselves to strengthen the ministry of Catholic school education and to profess confidently that, together, we produce great people.

I call upon the superintendent of Catholic schools and his office and the archdiocesan school board to convene an Educational Forum with delegates from all Catholic schools in the spring of 2012 to provide a progress report on the Strategic Plan.

At the same time I express my profound sentiments of appreciation to all who by your sacrifices make Catholic school education the invaluable enterprise that it is: parents and guardians, parishioners, pastors, principals, presidents, faculty and staff members, school board members, and the leadership in the superintendent’s Office of Catholic Schools. May God continue to bless our commitment to our students for all the years ahead.

We go forth in prayerful gratitude to carry out the mission that Jesus, the greatest of teachers, entrusted to his disciples: "Go, therefore, and make disciples."

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend
Henry J. Mansell