Cardinal Wuerl prays for unity at Inaugural Prayer Service

Louisville, Ky., Feb 2, 2018 / 03:47 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Students with Down syndrome study Latin and logic alongside their classmates at Immaculata Classical Academy, a Catholic school in Louisville, Ky., that integrates students with special needs into each of their pre-K through 12 classrooms.

The school emphasizes “education of the heart,” along with an educational philosophy tailored to the abilities of each student. About 15 percent of student at Immaculata have special needs.

“When you look at these students with Down syndrome in a classical setting, it is truly what a classical education is all about — what it truly means to be human,” the school’s founder, Michael Michalak, told CNA.

“You can’t learn compassion in a book,” Michalak explained.  He said the students at Immaculata are gaining “the ability to give of yourself to help others” through mutual mentoring constantly taking place in the classrooms.  

Michalek founded the academy along with his wife, Penny, in 2010. The couple saw a need for a Catholic school in which students like their daughter, Elena, who has Down syndrome, would not be segregated from their siblings. They wanted to keep their children together without compromising educational quality or spiritual formation.

“A classical education is, I think, the best education for a child with special needs because it is an education in everything that is beautiful, true, and good. It is perfect for these children,” Penny told CNA.

The school’s course schedule is configured so that students can move up or down grade levels by subject at each class hour, according to individual needs. “A second-grader might go to third grade math class and a child with Down syndrome in second grade might go over to first grade or might stay in 2nd grade,” Michael Michalak explained. “Nobody is looking around and saying, ‘Oh, they are going to special classroom.’ They are just going where they need to be.”

“In the midst of all of this we are not leaving students behind,” Penny added, “We keep our high academic standards while integrating students with special needs.”

Since its founding, the independent Catholic school has grown to a student body of 160. Other Catholic schools across the country have begun looking to Immaculata as a model, the Michalaks say.

“Whenever anyone visits our school, they always say, ‘Oh my goodness the joy of this place!’” Penny told CNA.

The couple attributes the school’s sense of joy to the Holy Spirit and “the joy of belonging.” “Inclusion is more of a buzzword these days, but it is true that we all want to belong and we all want to be loved,” said Michael Michalek.

“Prayer is the air that we breathe. We start the day with prayer. Every class starts with a prayer and ends in a prayer,” said Penny, who entrusted the school to our Our Lady at the school’s founding with St. Maximilian Kolbe as its patron.

“Our whole philosophy is to teach every child as if we were teaching the Christ child, so that is how we handle each and every student,” Penny continued.

A developing religious community, the Sisters of the Fiat, also teach at Immaculata. The sisters take an additional vow to serve those with with special needs, along with the traditional vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

The school’s founders say they are aware of their unique witness and role in a world where many children with Down syndrome are aborted. The estimated termination rate for children prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome in the United States is 67 percent; 77 percent in France; and Denmark, 98 percent, according to CBS News.

At the annual March for Life in Washington, DC, students from Immaculata Classical Academy hold signs that read, “Abortion is not the cure for Down syndrome.” The students are united in mission as “a pro-life school” and pray together for an end to abortion for their brothers and sisters with Down syndrome around the world, Michalak said.

The Michalaks have also adopted three children with Down syndrome.

Michael sees the founding of a school like Immaculata as the natural Catholic response at a moment in history when children with Down syndrome are especially at risk.

“Look at what the Catholic Church has done throughout history: We see orphans; we build orphanages. We see sick people; we build hospitals. It is in this particular time and place that we saw the need to take the lead on this and to start a school that incorporates the whole family.”

His wife adds, “When you are doing something that you feel called by God to do, it is a vocation, it is a mission, it is a calling…how can you not be full of joy when you know that this is the will of God. It is very rewarding.”

[…]

Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2020. He was the head coach of Auburn University’s football team from 1999 to 2008. / Sen. Tommy Tuberville Facebook page.

Washington D.C., Apr 3, 2023 / 10:00 am (CNA).

The nationwide debate over abortion has spilled over into the Senate’s confirmation of military appointments, which has turned a usually simple and routine process into a battleground over the rights of unborn children. 

Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, has blocked 184 promotions for generals and officers, which the Department of Defense (DOD) has asked the Senate to confirm. Tuberville refused to allow their confirmations by unanimous consent of the Senate, which would force Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, to bring every nominee up for a vote individually if Tuberville remains firm.

Although these confirmations are usually approved by unanimous consent on the first vote, the politicization of the DOD has shaken up the process. Tuberville stood against their confirmations because of a DOD policy that uses taxpayer money to fund travel and paid time off needed for an employee to procure an abortion. The policy also provides funds for an employee’s spouse or an employee’s dependents who are seeking an abortion. 

“Let’s be clear about what we’re talking about,” Tuberville said on the Senate floor. “We’re not talking about access to abortion. We’re talking about taxpayer funding for travel and extra pay time to get elective abortions.”

“This policy includes spouses and dependents,” the senator continued. “We’re talking about taxpayer funding for somebody’s kids to get an abortion in another state. This has never been in the policy until now because Congress has ensured that the Pentagon cannot perform or facilitate abortions, except in legal circumstances and limited.” 

Current law prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion in most cases under the Hyde Amendment, which has been in effect since 1980. However, the Hyde Amendment does not explicitly prohibit the federal government from using taxpayer funds to support an employee’s travel expenses or time off for an abortion. Although Republicans have introduced bills that would block federal funding for this purpose, those proposals have been rejected by Democratic lawmakers.

Tuberville’s decision to hold up military appointments has led to attacks from Schumer and other Democrats who have urged everyone in the Senate to support unanimous consent.

“The senator from Alabama continues his hold on more than 180 … military promotions, blatantly ignoring many warnings of the harm he is causing to our national security,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “It’s reckless; it’s just reckless.”

Schumer quoted Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who said that holding up the nominations “actually creates a ripple effect through the force that makes us far less ready than we need to be.”

Tuberville has rejected those claims, stating on the Senate floor that “this entire line of attack on me is absolutely false” and argued that the military suffers from a shortage of recruits but not a shortage of generals. He added that Democrats can hold individual votes on each nominee if they want to do so.

“Every single one of these nominees can receive a vote if Sen. Schumer wants it,” Tuberville said. “… If Democrats are so worried about these nominations, let’s vote. If we’re not going to vote on taxpayer-funded abortion, then let’s vote on these nominees. Voting is our job. It’s not much to ask of the United States Senate to do our job to vote.” 

The senator also said his refusal to allow these nominations to go through with unanimous consent is not unprecedented. 

“My hold is far from unprecedented,” Tuberville said. “In fact, Sen. [Michael] Bennet himself threatened to do this exact same thing just a few months ago. … Two years ago, we had a senator from Illinois put a hold on 1,000 nominees over the promotion of one single officer.”

After he took his stand, some Republican lawmakers have come out to support Tuberville. 

“Until these policies are rescinded, I’m going to also have to consider holds against DOD nominees in solidarity with my colleagues,” Sen. Ted Budd, R-North Carolina, told Austin during a hearing. “Mr. Secretary, you can fix this … in nearly an instant. I would encourage that.”

Others, such as Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, also came to his aid. 

“I think he’s right in his concern for what the department is doing because we have never agreed to fund abortions in the past, and on this particular case, it’s a pretty fine line when you’re funding to get them someplace to get an abortion,” Rounds told The Hill. 

As the Senate enters into recess for Easter, Tuberville intends to stand firm in his approach. 

“The Democrats are in panic over the idea of taking more votes,” the senator said. “I don’t mind working a full week; I worked all my life. I’ve had a full-time job. I’ll stay here until hell freezes over. I’m not going to be intimidated by a campaign of selective outrage.” 

[…]

CNA Staff, Oct 22, 2020 / 04:15 pm (CNA).- Several religious statues— including two of Mary and one of Christ— outside Catholic churches were damaged in overnight attacks earlier this week, the latest of numerous acts of vandalism on Cathol… […]