Memorial Mass held in US for victims of Islamic State

Washington D.C., Feb 2, 2018 / 05:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Dr. Tom Burnford, president and CEO of the National Catholic Educational Association, spoke to CNA’s Jonah McKeown during Catholic Schools Week 2018 about his Catholic education  and the evangelizing mission of Catholic schools in the United States.

How did your own Catholic education lead you to work in this field?

I was blessed to attend Catholic primary school in England, where I grew up: St. Joseph’s in Storrington, in Sussex. And then I also went to Catholic high school: Ampleforth College in Yorkshire. My experience was a rigorous academic curriculum, and a study of the Catholic faith with a particular focus on scripture, and also living at the high school, a boarding school, in a community permeated by the gospel spirit. For me, the witness of the teachers, some of whom were Benedictine monks, others were lay people…they witnessed a Catholic faith that made me believe what they said when they talked about their Catholicism and their faith. Secondly, there were rigorous academic expectations, which led me to work hard and grow. And now I love Catholic schools because they integrate faith and knowledge in the life of the student and the adult.

How has the shift toward more lay teachers, rather than teachers who are members of a religious order, changed Catholic education in the U.S.?

Catholic schools in the United States were founded on the work of religious brothers and sisters, and today the staffing of schools, as we know, is predominantly lay teachers, lay faculty, and lay principals. However, it is the same faith that moves teachers today to teach in a Catholic school, and to do this work of integrating knowledge in the life of the student. What can be difficult is that in the past, the sisters were in a religious community setting 24 hours a day, focused on the school. And therefore we seek new and fresh formation opportunities for teachers, particularly as the society around us changes and becomes less faith-filled. So many diocese are doing great work in faith-formation programs, many colleges and universities do great work in helping to form teachers and leaders who can do this critical work of integrating faith and knowledge in education.

Along with an increasingly secular society, what are some of the other challenges that Catholic schools are facing today?

TB: Catholic schools face challenges today in terms of the financing … in the United States, the parental choice legislation is growing, and yet there is still huge need for fixing the injustice of the public school monopoly on tax funds that come from everybody. I think another challenge is helping the general population understand that Catholic schools don’t just teach religion. They form the whole person, with excellent academics and with values that come from and are rooted in a deep Catholic faith. Our research shows that the vast majority of all parents want a values-based education for their children…that’s what Catholic schools do, and so much more. They form young people with solid values as well as providing a great academic education.

It sounds as though you’re really trying to make evangelization an integral part of this. Would you say the whole mission of Catholic schools is one of evangelization?

Absolutely. Catholic schools are instruments of the new evangelization. They are evangelistic communities of faith, that serve as a witness not only to the parents who come to the school, but to the entire parish geography and surrounding neighborhoods.

For someone reading who may not be aware of how Catholic schools benefit the United States, what would you say to that person?

Catholic schools form great citizens. For example, Catholic school graduates vote more than the general population. Our academics are, overall, better than public education. We have higher graduation rates, by far, and higher college success rates. The graduates of Catholic schools are contributing citizens who are formed for success in life and contribution and service to society.

In what ways are the NCEA and Catholic schools in general reaching out to the changing demographics of the Catholic Church in the United States?

A critical opportunity is to collaborate within the Hispanic and Latino community to fully welcome Hispanic and Latino Catholics to Catholic schools, because this is the future of the Church. So, the NCEA is working hard to reach out to Latino organizations around the country to ensure that Catholic schools are available and accessible to the greatest extent possible to all Catholics…particularly to minority students in urban areas. This week we just completed the Many Gifts, One Nation program, and through social media invited all alumni of Catholic schools to contribute, in a 24-hour period, to Catholic schools. We raised $750,000 in 24 hours, our first year. This is a significant initiative of NCEA to help, in a small way, with funding issues at Catholic schools.

Is there anything you’d like to say about this year’s Catholic Schools Week?

I started Catholic Schools Week on Monday morning at the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and I was blessed to be able to pray for Catholic school educators and families in the room where Mother Ann Seton died. This was a great blessing to me, and how appropriate to start this celebration of Catholic schools nationally at the place where, in one sense, it all began with Elizabeth Ann Seton, who was so influential in founding this gift of Catholic schools in the United States.

Are you hopeful for the future of Catholic schools in the U.S.?

Absolutely. Catholic schools have a bright future in the U.S. We have challenges, and we have great successes. These schools work, Catholic schools work, in the formation of the whole person, and they’re such a gift to the country because of the quality of graduates, who then contribute to society and to the Church.

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Detroit, Mich., Nov 18, 2017 / 12:17 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- It’s a Franciscan custom to give food – even if that’s just a simple sandwich – to anyone who comes to the door hungry.

Beloved Capuchin friar and doorkeeper Father Solanus Casey, set to be beatified Nov. 18, knew the custom well, and had a desire to feed anyone who came to the door of St. Bonaventure monastery in Detroit.

“They are hungry; get them some soup and sandwiches,” Fr. Solanus would often tell his fellow friars.

The need became especially great in 1929 at the start of the Great Depression. That’s when Fr. Solanus had the idea to start a soup kitchen down the street from the monastery, where he could send anyone who came to the door looking for food.

“In time the lines grew to more than 2,000 people waiting for their single meal of the day. The friars knew they had to do more,” the Capuchins explain on their soup kitchen website.

To expand their ability to feed and serve people, the friars turned to the Secular Franciscans in their community. Together, they worked to gather, cook and serve meals at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, which is still operating out of multiple locations in Detroit today.

The soup kitchen just down the street from the monastery is a rebuilt version of the original site founded by Fr. Solanus Casey.

Today, Alison Costello is the head chef at the soup kitchen, and she runs a tight ship. Friday, November 17 may have been the day before Fr. Solanus’ beatification, but it was a bustling day at the soup kitchen just like any other.

Coney dogs were on the menu, along with mixed green salad and roasted potatoes. Once Chef Alison got a breather, she sat down with CNA to talk about her philosophy as the head chef.

“This is a holy place, you have to treat it like a church,” Costello told CNA. So there are some rules: Don’t cuss. Dress modestly. Recycle.

A practicing Catholic herself, Costello came onto the staff of the soup kitchen about 17 years ago, “burned out” from the hectic hours of the regular restaurant industry. She was familiar with the Capuchins and saw the soup kitchen chef role as an opportunity to serve those in need.

“I knew I had to boost up the nutrition levels of the food here because most of our folks have a compromised immune system,” she said, “and I have to be culturally sensitive at the same time.”
 
While the guests at the soup kitchen are a diverse crowd, the majority at this particular location are African Americans, who tend to have similar genetic health problems and nutritional concerns.

“So when I started, I knew I couldn’t’ just serve brown rice, I had to serve white rice as well. Or our salad couldn’t be just iceberg, it turns out that our guests really liked the bitter greens, and so I brought in spring mix salad. Our soups started to be made from scratch, and I make purees, which they had never seen, like I make a roasted red pepper puree,” Costello said. Her puree is very popular with the guests.

She has told other chefs that it doesn’t matter “if people are paying customers or they’re sitting there smelling (badly), they deserve to eat well.”

Talk to almost anyone at the Capuchin soup kitchen, and they’ll tell you the reason they continue to come there, whether as a guest or as a volunteer, is because of the community atmosphere.

Frank Shorter, who was pouring water into vases on Friday, said he originally started volunteering at the soup kitchen as part of a probation program, but he stayed because he got “addicted to helping people” and enjoyed the friendly environment at the kitchen.

Margie Coleman is a longtime volunteer with the soup kitchen, whose husband is a parishioner at Sacred Heart parish in Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit.

“I love working with the people, it’s always a good time, I’m having a blast,” Coleman told CNA.

“You never know what you’re going to run into here, and I keep learning new tips and tricks for cooking, and I’m just having a good time. It’s all about service and giving back to the people,” she added. “Fr. Solanus was all about helping his fellow man, and I feel the same way.”

Margie’s husband Mark often works right alongside her in the kitchen. He said Fr. Solanus’ example teaches us that you don’t have to be academically smart to make a difference in the world.

“I got the sense that he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the closet,” because he struggled with seminary classes, Mark said. “But he actually was a much more powerful light, once you kind of dug into him, which I think is a real testament to him as an individual. Just because you’re not the brightest person in the world doesn’t mean you can’t have a wonderful impact on the world.”

Today, the Capuchin soup kitchen not only serves food, it also provides showers to those who need them, as well as social services. It is connected to a Capuchin-run urban farm, which provides much of the produce for the kitchen.

“People should come experience it for themselves,” Costello said, “and what a community this is and what a witness the friars are. I have enjoyed every day…that I’ve been here, the camaraderie, the family, we have our family here,” she said, thinking of guests or volunteers that they’ve grown close to over the years.

Costello added that she was “honored” to follow in Fr. Solanus’ footsteps at the kitchen. The quality she most admires in the friar’s legacy is his humility.

“I think Solanus would want people to know you can be an extraordinary person by doing ordinary things,” she said.

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Fort Wayne, Ind., Sep 19, 2019 / 03:45 pm (CNA).- The Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend offered Thursday the use of a Catholic cemetery to bury the more than 2,000 remains of aborted children that were discovered in the garage of a recently-deceased former abortionist, as authorities in one state close their investigation into the discovery.

“I join my voice to the many people who have expressed their horror and disgust at the discovery of 2,246 medically preserved remains of unborn babies in the Illinois home of Ulrich Klopfer, who performed thousands of abortions in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend,” Rhoades said Sept. 19.

“I strongly support the investigation being carried out by the attorneys general of Illinois and Indiana. I also offer any assistance, including the use of our Catholic Cemetery in Fort Wayne, for the proper and dignified burial of the remains of these unborn children.”

At a press conference Thursday, the Will County Sheriff’s Office announced that they will not pursue criminal charges related to the discovery of 2,246 “medically preserved fetal remains” in the Klopfer’s garage. The remains were discovered by Klopfer’s family members Sept. 12, nine days after his death at age 75.

According to the sheriff’s office, the remains were discovered in more than 70 cardboard boxes that were stacked nearly up to the ceiling of the garage. He said Klopfer’s family has been cooperating with the investigation.

“The remains discovered were inside small sealed plastic bags, which contained formalin, a chemical used to preserve biological material,” said a joint statement from the Will County Sheriff’s Office, Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Will County Coroner’s Office. The statement said that these boxes were mixed with boxes that contained “various personal property” of Klopfer.

The statement said that the boxes were dated 2000-2002. During those years, Klopfer owned and operated three abortion clinics in Indiana. These clinics, which were located in South Bend, Fort Wayne, and Gary, were all shuttered by the end of 2015 after numerous complaints against Klopfer’s practices.

In 2016, Klopfer’s medical license was suspended after he admitted that he performed abortions on two 13-year-old girls, and did not report them to the state in a timely manner. He also admitted that he did not give pain medication to adult patients unless they paid extra, and his clinic in Fort Wayne was described as dirty and unkempt, with broken equipment.

Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley said at the press conference that Klopfer left no documentation as to why he chose to store the remains in his garage.

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow said that he was working with the Indiana Attorney General’s office to transfer the fetal remains to Indiana authorities, where the investigation will continue. He said that there will be an investigation into Klopfer’s admission that he performed an abortion on a 10-year-old rape survivor, who was then returned to her family without reporting the act.

Glasgow declined to state the estimated gestational age of the fetal remains, and did not elaborate as to how the bags were labeled. He said that once the remains are transferred to Indiana, the attorney general will ask women who were Klopfer’s patients at that time to contact the agency with any additional information that they may have.

While Klopfer cannot be charged with anything as he is deceased, the presence of fetal remains in his home suggests he violated Indiana law regarding the disposal of medical waste, as well as a law regarding records keeping. Authorities in Indiana will investigate whether Klopfer had an accomplice who helped him transport the remains to his home in Illinois. That person may be charged, although the age of the remains could be past the statute of limitations.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is running for the Democratic nomination for president, said that he found the discovery to be “extremely disturbing,” and he supported an investigation. He also said that he hopes it is not used to further restrict abortion rights.

“I hope that it doesn’t get caught up in politics at a time when women need access to healthcare,” he added.

As mayor, Buttigieg attempted to block the construction of a pregnancy center in South Bend, and supported the operation of Whole Women’s Health, an abortion clinic. Whole Women’s Health currently is operating without a license, and is administered by a former employee of Klopfer.

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