Evading Catholic Identity

May 23, 2008

Dear Students and Parents,

Grace and peace to you through Jesus Christ! Here at Bishop Carroll we are blessed to have a strong Catholic culture. It is because of this culture, with its emphasis on the Eucharist, the call to love and the formation in virtue that we are able to claim success. We have this culture precisely because the large majority of the student body is open to being, as we say, "Catholic Out loud." We see this reflected in our daily Mass attendance, in our regular confessions, in the frequent chapel visits before school and during lunch as well as in our teacher’s dedication to faith in the classroom.

There are, unfortunately, some students and parents who have consistently avoided the spiritual and liturgical traditions of our Catholic identity. Some families do not make Sunday Mass a priority and several students have regularly avoided all-school Mass days, mandatory class Masses and mandatory retreat days. At times, some parents have even called in illegitimate excuses to allow their child to do this. This boggles me! It is an abuse of one’s parish’s stewardship to receive generosity for a Catholic education and then insult that generosity by evading the school’s Catholic identity. Why would a student or a parent freely choose to attend a Catholic school and yet purposely avoid the Catholic practices within that school?

If you are of this mindset, I am asking you to change your mind and heart and be joyfully open to the rich Catholic culture of our school. Bishop Carroll exists to form persons into Disciples of Christ. I am not saying that anyone needs to be "holier than thou," we all need conversion. I am saying that if a person is opposed to our Catholic identity and practices then perhaps Bishop Carroll is not the school that person desires to attend.

Each and every one of us, myself included, can deepen our resolve to increase the Catholic atmosphere of our school. I do want to express my appreciation to all those persons who have shown their deep commitment to the Catholic identity of this school and to the stewardship of their parish. Please continue to pray for all who are involved at BCCHS and for our continued success in the mission of the salvation of souls.

In Christ,

Rev. C. Jarrod Lies

Director of Pastoral Care