1998 Diocesan Education Institute Is Largest Ever

By Michael F. Flach
^{HERALD Editor}

ARLINGTON — The 1998 Diocesan Education Institute held recently at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington was the largest in history. More than 1,200 Catholic school teachers and administrators attended the annual event sponsored by the Office of Catholic Schools.

In addition to O’Connell’s gymnasium and cafeteria, every classroom was filled with a workshop session and more than 100 exhibitors.

The surge in attendance is directly related to the rapid expansion of Catholic education in the diocese. A new elementary school has opened every year for the past eight years. Holy Cross Academy in Stafford, the newest school, already has an enrollment of 450.

Diocesan officials are planning on opening two new high schools — one in Prince William County near Dumfries and the other in Loudoun County, said Msgr. James W. McMurtrie, diocesan administrator. Msgr. McMurtrie was celebrant and homilist for the opening Mass.

Pope John Paul II designated 1998 as the year of the Holy Spirit in preparation for the new millennium. Institute organizers followed the pope’s lead by selecting the theme "Holy Spirit, Giver of Hope, Guide Us to Teach the Gospel of Christ."

Cecilia Schmitt of St. James School in Falls Church designed the institute’s program cover by incorporating the Blessed Trinity’s love for humankind.

The keynote speaker was John Carr, secretary of the Department of Social Development and World Peace at the U.S. Catholic Conference.

"The Gospel of Jesus Christ and Catholic social mission bring us together," said Carr. "As educators, you have a vital role in shaping Catholic leadership into the next century."

Carr issued a call to every Catholic educator that "now is the time" for a renewed focus on the Church’s social mission.

"We’re better in theory than we are in practice," he said. "Effective social teaching helps the parish and school be more and do more.

"Our Catholic social heritage is an unknown. It is our best kept secret. We believe that the human person has dignity, regardless of race, religion and gender.

"We will be judged, as individuals and as a society, by how we treat the poor and vulnerable among us," Carr said. "Are the weak among us cared for with dignity?"

Carr predicted that the keystone of Pope John Paul II’s pontificate will be his solidarity with the poor. "We need to share this message and mission with our students," he said.

America may be one nation, Carr said, but it has three economies. At one level are the people who are "pulling ahead." At the bottom are those being left behind. The majority of Americans are being squeezed in the middle.

"Society is in moral disarray," he said. "We solve our social problems through violence. Abortion destroys the young, euthanasia abandons the elderly and the death penalty kills the criminals.

The Church’s moral framework is its strongest asset, Carr said. "The Church is not trendy. It has strong convictions, structure and an institutional presence."

Last June, the U.S. Catholic bishops said there is a need to integrate Catholic social teaching and Catholic education. This integration is taking place in the classroom through revised curriculums. Carr said he is heartened by the response.

"You can’t do it all," he told the educators, "but my kids are better people because of the job you do. You must be partners with parents to teach and present Catholic social teaching.

"The most important work being done in the Church is what’s being done in our schools, classroom by classroom."

Copyright ©1998 Arlington Catholic Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.