Catholic Virtual is proud to serve our Catholic schools and their students around the world. In his delightfully engaging style, Joe invited his audience to reflect on their own experiences in order to identify for themselves what it means to be authentically Catholic. The philosopher Martin Heidegger spoke of a ‘waying way’ (der alles bewegende Weg), a way that sets everything on its way and unfolds the journey before us we undertake it. The ultimate question of Catholic identity, as scripture scholar Luke Timothy Johnson puts it, is whether we think Jesus is dead or alive. Eucharist is at the very center of being Catholic. That’s how people define each other. Recently I had the opportunity to listen to author and national consultant, Joe Paprocki, give a workshop on Catholic identity. Higher education today has an emphasis on … In our context, all identities are at stake: religious, nonreligious, secular; all worldviews are called into question by the presence of those who think, believe, and live otherwise. Nearly one-in-ten adults (9%) qualify as “cultural Catholics.” When asked about their religion, they identify with a faith other than Catholicism (mainly Protestantism) or say they have no religious affiliation. It’s so easy to place our identity in the things of the world. We hope this post will provide greater clarity as your family define’s its Catholic identity and how that identity is put into practice. Catholic Identity Conference . The exercise was useful because mission hiring is often viewed by faculty as a third hurdle after quality and diversity. For Christian individuals and communities intentional and concrete encounters in dialogue with others, believers and nonbelievers alike, is a matter of fidelity to the Lord’s command of love of neighbour and love of enemy. Formation 3. Identity does not happen by itself as it seemed to when women and men religious staffed our schools. Czech philosopher and parish priest Tomas Halik says that in addition to the two traditional dimensions of the church’s mission, those of proclaiming the gospel and of pastoral care for the faithful, a third dimension emerges in the twenty-first century: the mission of ‘accompanying the seekers’ of our post-Christian societies. Catholic identity is more than a set of values, a code of ethics, an example of heroic living or human achievement; rather, as Pope Benedict put it, it is ‘the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction’ (Deus caritas est, n. 1). It is expressed in structures and processes; in curriculum and the learning environment; in the formation of staff to support, teach and lead; in strategic planning and community culture; the wellbeing of students; and the engagement of parents, parish and wider community. But since he exists now in the mode of God, the presence of the risen Lord is not a demonstrable fact, as is his historical career in first century Palestine. The Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies of the Catholic University of Leuvenin Belgium (KU Leuven) has been developing a new empirical methodology to frame, assess and enhance the identity structure of Catholic educational organisations. As you can see from the above definition of what Catholic identity means in our Catholic Schools, we are very proud of our principals, teachers, staff, parents, parishioners and pastors for sustaining schools where our Catholic Identity is a strong lived reality. One of simplest ways to talk about identity is to understand it as, Catholic identity embeds me in two great narrated memories or plotlines, which do not originate with me, but into which I find my personal story invited and implicated. The Catholic identity of an institution can be a great competitive advantage. Rather, it is a multistage process involving data collection, scoring, feedback, and action. Catholic Identity Today 2 Catholic Identity Today: A Position Paper Catholic identity signifies our essence, our distinctive character, and our raison d’ etrè. A Key to Catholic Identity The central message is simple: our faith is profoundly social. I’m an athlete. Catholic identity is a keystone for the evangelising mission of all Catholic education communities. Personally, I have always had the tendency to find my identity and self-worth as an athlete. We will strengthen our Catholic identity t… We all believe in the teachings, values, and traditions passed along to us by our parents, teachers, and clergymen. If our worldview presumes that he is, in fact, dead then Jesus will be of interest to us a figure of historical enquiry, a source of moral values and perhaps a tragic witness to the tendency of humans to reject and kill those who teach of love and justice. The need for Catholic identity and Catholic education now is clear. The philosopher Martin Heidegger spoke of a ‘waying way’ (. That is the way to go. This is so for both individual and communal subjects of identity. We know him now by faith, not by sight. Creating an environment that is identifiably Catholic. The global social dynamics of, So what might be features of a reflexive Christian identity, maturing in its own uniqueness precisely through entering into identity-forming encounters with others, both believers and nonbelievers? Ensuring their genuinely Catholic identity is the Church's greatest educational challenge. Our identity cannot simply lie in worldly success. Figure 1: Key Elements within the Catholic Identity Matrix The CIM does not provide a “quick fix” to the challenge of Catholic institutional identity. Catholic Identity intersects faith, life and culture to offer all students lifelong meaning and purpose. The issue with labeling ourselves solely with whatever we are at in a specific time in our life is that we were not made for this world; our ultimate goal is to be united with God eternally in heaven. These believers and the tradition they inherit will be the building blocks of any attempts to strengthen the school’s Catholic identity in the future. But many more Americans have connections to Catholicism even though it is not their primary religious affiliation. Jesus goes ahead of them to other people, and the disciples follow him. To conclude: the more we find ourselves drawn into this way opened up by the living Lord, who leads us into transformative encounters with others, believers and nonbelievers; the more our hearts and minds are attentive to the ongoing work of discerning this way, this mission, into which we are called here and now, the less anxious we will be about our Catholic identity. The first is the memory of creation, of the personal relationship between the Creator God and the world of created things, including – awesomely – me. CIC 2019 Highlights. If, on the other hand, our worldview presumes that Jesus is alive, alive indeed in the transfigured existence of the resurrection, himself a source of the divine aliveness present and available to us to participate in here and now, then our story, our very existence, is qualified by and oriented by that presence. If our worldview presumes that he is, in fact, dead then Jesus will be of interest to us a figure of historical enquiry, a source of moral values and perhaps a tragic witness to the tendency of humans to reject and kill those who teach of love and justice. Catholic Identity in Education: Principles articulates elements the Church expects to find in all Catholic schools and which distinguish them from other schools.The principles are derived from Church documents related to education, including the documents of Vatican II, documents from the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education, and the writings of various Popes. We live in an increasingly materialistic and secular world. RTO Code: 31402 Learning and Teaching 4. But not only at the organisational level, Catholics also feel exposed and under pressure at a personal, existential level, at the level of our own faith commitment. The Catholic identity of St Francis Xavier Primary School is widely supported by the large number of Christian believers present in the school community. Then, secondly, the Lord leads his disciples into encounters with others, both friend and enemy, to create relationships of solidarity and concern, especially with those at risk of being lost and forgotten in society. Catholic identity embeds me in two great narrated memories or plotlines, which do not originate with me, but into which I find my personal story invited and implicated. Implicit in the notion of Catholic schools is a strong Catholic identity, which manifests itself in an environment permeated by the spirit of the Gospel, visible communion and cooperation with the Church, both universal and local, fidelity to Catholic teaching, and a vibrant sacramental life. This is a much more fulfilling purpose than what society tries to tell us! The age of Enlightenment tended to be suspicious of tradition, as something trying to control or oppress the free exercise of our reason and agency. Speaking from the heart of the Church with a confident Catholic identity, you are forming talented and creative disciples, equipping them with a Christian vision of life, culture, and history and sending them out well prepared to be leaders in the contemporary world.” — Bishop James Conley We strive to create a campus environment where both students and faculty can grow in their relationship with Christ through Sacred Scripture, the Sacraments, and the Magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church. It is the soul of our schools. The days that once held stories of rulers and rapped knuckles – true, false or exaggerated -- are over. Fidelity. The research focuses on the religious identity of Catholic ed… The principles soundly reflect the key themes in Church documents on education, including the documents of Vatican II, guidance from the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education, and the teachings of various Popes. It is a memory that Christians are called to live out in the midst of all closed narratives that threaten the dignity and integrity of human persons, deny the spiritual and relational nature of people, and set humans over the nonhuman environment in exploitative ways. Identity is who we are at our core. Complementing the primary role of parents in educating their children, such schools, which should be accessible, affordable, and available to all, build up the community of believers, evangelize the culture, and serve the common good of society. The global social dynamics of pluralisation of cultures and worldviews, individualisation and commodification of choice, and detraditionalisation of identities and forms of belonging, powerfully affect the way in which people perceive themselves and the way they belong to world around them. And these experiences stand somewhat in tension with signs of health and vibrancy (the lively participation of Catholics born overseas now resident in our parishes; the continuing attractiveness of Catholic schools for some Catholic and other parents; emerging practices of ministry and spiritual life by Catholics at a local level). But there is still work to be done. This methodology (quantitative as well as qualitative) allows us to investigate in detail the kind(s) of Catholic institutional identity and the level(s) of Catholicity present in an organisation, today and towards the future. And we recognise the spiritual importance of the encounter only as we undertake it; we can’t always see it ahead of time. It is a memory that allows us to hear the cry of the abandoned and forgotten of our modern globalised societies, and to enact a vision of human life and community created in the image and likeness of God. Bruce Pitman. “Catholic Identity” is a phrase that both adults and young people struggle to define. Specifically, about my Catholic identity. For Christian individuals and communities intentional and concrete encounters in dialogue with others, believers and nonbelievers alike, is a matter of fidelity to the Lord’s command of love of neighbour and love of enemy. So the way of the disciple in our pluralising and secularising context can only be the way of discernment, personal and communal, in response to the leading of the living Lord and his Spirit, and in responsibility for forging the encounters of dialogue in which the Lord is calling us to find our identity and mission. "Every situation is different," Depperschmidt explained. School has a curriculum that “order the whole of human culture to the news of salvation so that the knowledge the students gradually acquire of the world, life and man is illumined by faith.” We protect, defend and advance human life around the world by directly meeting basic needs and advocating solutions to injustice. But that is no longer the case, and those who hold Christian commitments today find themselves called into question by admirable and conscientious others who do not share those commitments. My sense is that Catholic people feel exposed and questioned today – in ways that were not felt so keenly 40 years ago – in the view of society in general, of the media and public opinion, in front of our work mates and colleagues; our friends and associates of other beliefs or no religion, even our own families, children and grandchildren. We aspire to strengthen capacity to lead, engage and teach with a re-contextualised Catholic worldview that permeates all structures, processes, relationships and learning and teaching contexts. The Creator of the universe willed us into existence and desires to be in communion with us until the end of time! October 23-25, 2020 | Pittsburgh, PA. 2020 CIC Video On-Demand Register TODAY. This loss connects with other experiences of diminishment in our communities (continued decline in participation at Mass and sacraments, church closings and parish clusterings, little take up of church participation by the millennials, reduced financial resources for most dioceses and parishes in the country). The Catholic Identity and Faith Development of St Elizabeth’s is expressed through:-Collaboration with our parish community. It means discerning step by step, in multiple differentiated strategies of engagement with others in our cultural settings, what is the way the Lord Jesus is leading us in our time and place. All students of all faiths are welcome at CCHS and we encourage and guide all members to contribute to our Catholic identity and the formation of a faith community which responds to the spiritual life of the students, teachers, staff and parents. 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