Catholic schools’ plan emerging; Black Catholic Congress recap

    The strategic planning process for Catholic schools in the archdiocese is nearing a conclusion. Can you fill us in on where the process stands?
    We will be sharing the recommendations developed by the strategic planning committee and the educational consultants from The Catholic University of America at a meeting on Sept. 24 for pastors, school presidents and principals. We will ask them to examine each recommendation and to either accept it, reject it or come up with a better or more adequate recommendation.
    Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel?
    I can see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as receiving the report, but this is a long-range process. We’re talking about a strategic plan that probably will need five years for implementation. With anything that is worthwhile, we have to make changes very delicately but also in a way that draws upon the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. After receiving the report, we then will enter into another pilgrimage, which is implementation and making sure that the quality of our Catholic schools in terms of educational excellence and Catholic identity grows even stronger.
    Will the report have recommendations for closing or consolidating some schools?
    There will be recommendations for school consolidations and closings, and I know we will have to seriously consider those recommendations and decide whether or not we think this is the best thing to do for our archdiocesan family of schools. When you talk about consolidation and closing, it’s never simply about what is best for one school. It’s what is best for the family of schools and how we will make the family stronger. I’m not looking forward to those decisions, but in order to be a leader with integrity and vision, I realize I have to bite the bullet and ask the tough questions. The strategic planning committee also will give us a second list of schools that need to be carefully monitored as to whether their future is solid. So we will embrace all of these recommendations, discern what is best and embark on that new journey with God’s help and, hopefully, with the understanding and support of the people of the archdiocese, especially those involved in Catholic education.
    Would you have a timetable for announcing any school consolidations?
    I would expect that any consolidations would have to be announced in the fall semester in order to do an adequate plan. Also, we do not have firm figures on enrollment for this year, and we also know that the state’s scholarship program will assist some schools in their enrollment. The current recommendations from the committee and the consultors are based on last year’s figures, so those enrollment figures would have to be updated in order to make current decisions. The expanded scholarship program was not really figured into the plan because we didn’t know if it would become a reality.
    You also attended the National Black Catholic Congress in Indianapolis last month. How was that event?
    It was very faith filled and energizing. There were more than 2,000 people there. I was very proud that we had more than 120 participants in the congress from the archdiocese. Our own Ansel Augustine was the main emcee for the group sessions. I had the opportunity to spend time with them, and I think all of the participants came away with new insights and certainly were touched in their faith. We had a good representation of priests, religious sisters and lay leaders, and Bishop Fabre and Bishop Carmon also attended. I truly was impressed that the congress adopted a pastoral plan that gives suggestions and ideas to dioceses, parishes, families and to the entire church for how best to evangelize the black community. That will have to be fleshed out, but it certainly embraces what Pope Benedict XVI has been talking about in terms of the new evangelization. As the Holy Father has said, evangelization in the church is not new – it goes back thousands of years and certainly was what Jesus did when he sent the apostles and the disciples forth. We call it “new” because we have to do it in a new way that addresses the needs and the signs of the times. The new evangelization may differ from parish to parish, community to community and ethnic group to ethnic group. I applaud the congress for coming up with some very specific recommendations for evangelization.