Letters & Articles from Archbishop Weisgerber

Building the Communion of Catholic Schools

From Most Reverend V. James Weisgerber, DD

‘Building Community’ was the theme of a dinner hosted by the Archdiocese of Winnipeg Catholic Schools office on November 16, 2004 for principals, pastors, directors and board members of Archdiocese of Winnipeg Catholic Schools. The keynote address by Archbishop James Weisgerber focused on the role and mandate of the Catholic schools, the Catholic schools office, and their connection to the larger Christian community.

Archbishop Weisgerber highly praised the efforts made and the work done in Catholic schools, recognizing the “difficult and challenging situations” under which they operate. He then explained that the creation of the archdiocesan Catholic education office was to “support the work of Catholic education.” The archbishop noted he has a general responsibility over the parish schools and for the teaching of religion throughout the archdiocese. The teaching of the Faith is the most important part of a Catholic school. The General Directory for Catechesis tells us how catechesis should be presented because we “cannot have just anyone teach catechism,” and to achieve this we must “enable and support our teachers.”

The spirit of the Gospel should permeate the schools. “Catholic schools must be characterized by social justice,” stated the archbishop. This extends to all who attend and work at a school. Everyone “needs to be treated with dignity and justice; to be treated as Jesus would treat them.” This positive treatment includes the working conditions in the schools.

Citing Pope John Paul II’s message from the encyclical Novo Millenium Ineunte (New Millennium), the archbishop explained that Catholic schools need to “live communion.” Theologically, this communion means that through the death and resurrection of Christ and the gift of the spirit at our baptism we have become new. All of our relationships are then new; our relationship with God the father, Jesus and the Spirit. Also, the relationship with one another becomes new. So, the Catholic schools are called to a new relationship, called to “the life of communion that we are called to live; communion within and among the schools.”

This new communion of love springs from the heart of the eternal Father, said the Archbishop. It calls for a real “change of mind, change of attitude, change of heart.” This is not a concept that is “at the fringes of Church thought.” It is the “reason God sent Jesus.” Understanding this communion calls for conversation. Catholic Schools “need to get to know one another.” Deep and genuine friendships need to happen within the school and “within the community of the schools.”

Parochialism is the opposite of what it means to be Catholic, the Archbishop stated. “To be Catholic means to have a broad view. Parochial means to focus on one’s own interest.” Schools “rightly” concentrate on their own issues, on their own situations. However, the Spirit of God is calling us into a larger view, into a Catholic view. This view sees a “deeper dimension of who I truly am when I share.” Its focus is “our brothers and sisters in faith.”

In the encyclical, schools are asked to “bear each other’s burdens” and resist the temptations to promote competition, careerism, mistrust and jealousy. The archbishop warns that unless we follow the path of building communion with one another, then the “external structures of communion” serve very little purpose. They become “mechanisms without a soul.” Catholic schools have no purpose without the vision, desire and need for communion.

The Archdiocesan Advisory Council on Catholic Education (ACCE) helps to “ensure and safeguard communion” within our schools. The archdiocese and the schools need to work together to support and encourage this communion. The schools, and parishes, also need to financially support this communion. Catholic education benefits everyone and so the archdiocese’s role is to help the “whole of the archdiocese recognize that Catholic schools have something to do with them.” The entire archdiocese is part of the “family” of Catholic education and therefore has the responsibility to build up the community spiritually and financially.

The spirituality of communion is not “an optional view of the Church,” concluded Archbishop Weisgerber. It is a view we received from the Vatican II Council, “inspired by the Holy Spirit and supported by the Popes, especially John Paul II.” For this communion to be successful “people need a change of heart and a change of how we see one another.”

Contributed by Carol Seed, Director of Catechetics for the Archdiocese of Winnipeg

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