Notre Dame classes go online for two weeks amid rising COVID-19 cases

August 21, 2020 CNA Daily News News Briefs 2 Print

Denver Newsroom, Aug 21, 2020 / 04:00 am (CNA).- The University of Notre Dame on Tuesday announced a two-week hiatus from in-person class instruction, amid a growing number of COVID-19 infections on campus. Some alumni, students, and faculty are calling on university president Father John Jenkins to suspend in-person classes altogether and move instruction online for the remainder of the semester.

Classes began at Notre Dame Aug. 10, with more than 12,000 students returning to campus, all of whom were tested for COVID-19. As of Aug. 20, the university was reporting 304 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Erin Hoffman Harding, vice president of student affairs, said Aug. 14 that the “vast majority” of cases reported up to that point had stemmed from a single off-campus party.

Jenkins said in a public address Aug. 18 that if the current outbreak is not contained within the next two weeks, the school will have to send students home.

An online petition, created by two professors at the university, calls for all classes to be made available online for the remainder of the semester to all students, not merely those most at risk for the virus.

“We hope that the University can find a way to make campus life safe again. However, students should not be forced to take more risks until that is achieved. Those who wish to leave should be allowed to leave, and those who wish to stay should have their lives made safer,” the petition reads.

The petition also called for students who return home to subsequently be given a prorated refund of their room and board costs.

As of Aug. 20, the petition had garnered nearly 800 signatures.

A second, anonymous petition related to Notre Dame, entitled “HERE we are thankful,” began circulating online Aug. 20.

“We pledge our commitment to the greater well-being of the university by embracing the safety regulations put forth by the administration, recognizing that an effort of this sort will require the participation and responsibility of all members of the student body and community as a whole,” reads the second petition, which does not list the number of signatories.

“We also recognize the importance of a science-based approach to addressing this pandemic and fully support universal access to testing all members of our community that will both help inform behaviors as well as decisions moving forward.”

Notre Dame was one of the first major universities in the country to announce an in-person return to classes for the fall semester. So far the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Ithaca College, and Michigan State University have already moved all instruction online after initially planning to start the semester in person.

Jenkins said in a May 18 announcement that in addition to social distancing and mask requirements, the plan for the semester will include “comprehensive testing for COVID-19” and “enhanced cleaning of all campus spaces.”

Teachers have been asked to prepare to offer their courses both in person and online, so that students who are sick or quarantined can continue to participate, he continued.

Other Catholic colleges throughout the country are moving ahead with in-person instruction, with reopening plans developed in conjunction with local health authorities and national guidelines.

Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas started the fall semester in person Aug. 19. The school has canceled fall break in order to complete the semester by Nov. 24, with finals week scheduled to be conducted online during the week of Nov. 30-Dec. 4.

Benedictine is requesting that all students quarantine for 14 days before returning to campus. Students arriving from a COVID-19 “Hotspot” as indicated by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), or from a foreign country, are required to complete a quarantine.

“Even though face-to-face instruction is the norm, we must be prepared to accommodate situations that will require students and/or faculty to be out of the classroom for some time,” Benedictine’s reopening plan reads.

Benedictine spokesman Steve Johnson told CNA that while the university is prepared to move online, “for us, that is a worst-case scenario that we are trying to avoid at all costs.”

“We have tested students and so far we are in the range of 2% positive,” he said. “We are getting students off campus and into isolation and quarantine situations quickly to help prevent further spread.”

At The Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington D.C., president John Garvey has announced that only freshmen and transfer students with fewer than 30 college credits would be coming to campus; all other students will be completing the semester online.

Students who planned to live on campus and are no longer eligible to do so will receive a full refund for on-campus room and board, Garvey said.

All students returning to D.C. and residing off campus, regardless of the state in which they live or are coming from, will be asked to return to their District residences by Sunday, August 23 and to remain in quarantine through Sunday, September 6, the university said.

All classes at CUA will be held virtually through Sept. 5, with in-person instruction commencing on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

“We [at CUA] are watching other universities close soon after opening. We begin classes Monday with only freshmen on campus. I ask our community to take all precautions to stop COVID. We can stay open if we work together,” Garvey said in an Aug. 19 tweet.

A spokesman for the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio told CNA that although they hope to complete the entire semester in person, the university has a backup plan in place to move completely online if necessary.

Similar to Benedictine, Franciscan has moved the start of classes ahead to Aug. 24, with fall break canceled and exams set for Dec. 3-8.

 

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New sacrament formation program released in American Sign Language 

January 31, 2020 CNA Daily News 1

West Chester, PA, Jan 31, 2020 / 03:19 am (CNA).- A new sacrament formation program for the deaf and hard of hearing is offering adult catechetical information in American Sign Language.

Designed by Ascension Press, Hands of Grace: The Catholic Sacraments in American Sign Language became available on Jan. 6. It was developed by Father Sean Loomis, the chaplain for the Deaf Apostolate for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Creators of the new project hope the materials, designed specifically for the deaf community, can fill in gaps left by other catechetical programs and address some of the unique challenges faced by the hearing impaired, who may struggle with participating in Mass, Confession, and the Catholic community.

“A huge challenge among the deaf is that they are very uncatechized, and while that is certainly the case with the vast majority of Catholics, that catechesis is impoverished in a significant way” for those who are deaf, Loomis told CNA.

“Most deaf people at this point aren’t even interested. They already feel turned off,” he said. “So like 1% of deaf people even go to church because they feel like the church of any denomination really has nothing to offer them.”

The new project offers three-part videos on each sacrament. Each segment is about 6-10 minutes long, and together they discuss the presence of the sacrament in scripture and tradition, the theology of the sacrament, and the sacrament’s personal significance.

“The first video … [introduces] them to the scriptural defense of where Christ established the sacraments so that they get exposed to the Word of God as well as the writings of the Church fathers…So that they see what the Catholic church believes is not something we fabricated somewhere along the way, but has been the same belief from the very beginning age of the Church all the way until now,” he said.

“The second video for every sacrament … is about the theology of it,” he said. “It’s the catechesis behind it. It’s what’s really going on in the divine plan when this sacrament is received. So it’s sort of the dogmatic approach.”

“The third one is about living the grace. So now that you are a baptized individual, for example, what does that mean about your life? I want them to practice the mental exercise of taking theory and abstract theology and applying it concretely to their very individual and specific life,” he added.

The program also includes a workbook, which offers quotes from saints and the catechism, as well as works of art. Loomis stressed the value of artwork as a visual stimulus for deaf Catholics to pray and learn about Church history.

“I also have Visio Divina,” he said, a type of prayer “where they look at a piece of artwork and learn how to read that Christian art to see what it is that they actually believe. In that way, I’m trying to expose them to the wealth of the Christian artwork that has been part of our heritage.”

“That is specifically something I thought would help them encounter God in a way that’s unique to their culture and their specific needs.”

Fr. Loomis is not deaf, but began learning American Sign Language during seminary, after being asked to consider deaf ministry. He practiced sign language each week with a local deaf man to gain proficiency.

After years of practice, Loomis said he has come to better understand the isolation and misunderstanding that often faces the deaf community. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is particularly challenging, he said.

“They can go to a hearing priest and write their sins down on a sheet of paper, which some will do. And of course, they experience a diminished satisfaction with that since they can’t receive any feedback from the priest…They’re not consoled by the words of absolution because they can’t hear them.”

Under Loomis’ leadership, the Deaf Apostolate for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has been able to designate interpreters for 13 different churches, and to offer a Mass entirely in American Sign Language.

“When I offer Mass, I don’t voice it and then have an interpreter stand nearby. I do the entire thing in American Sign Language so that they can experience the incarnation of Christ who comes to them as they are, in persona Christi, through my priesthood,” he said.

Father Shawn Carey, director and chaplain of the deaf apostolate for the Archdiocese of Boston, understands firsthand the significance of these ministries.

Carey, who was born deaf, told CNA that he faced difficulties in accessing catechetical classes as a child.

Growing up in Massachusetts, Carey’s family had to approach a few Catholic parishes to find a first communion class that would be willing to work with him. Eventually, he said, one pastor decided to hire a private tutor for him instead.

While improvements have been made in some areas, challenges still exist today, including Mass without interpreters and theological videos with captions, he said.

“[However,] we are making progress,” he said. “We do have a good number of deaf priests who’ve been ordained, which is great. So that’s a real positive.”

Progress has been made with additional resources as well, he added, although more remains to be done. Carey has recently been involved in translating the youth catechism YouCat into American Sign Language. A series of weekly videos will be released to discuss YouCat’s 527 questions.

Carey said that as a deaf priest, he has been able to connect with the deaf community and bring them closer to the sacraments and the faith. One of his favorite memories in the ministry was leading deaf Catholics on a pilgrimage for World Youth Day in Krakow. He said it was an opportunity to build bridges between the deaf community and others in the Church.

“I think that for me as a deaf priest, it is really beneficial to be able to minister to people who are deaf, because we have a similar background and shared experiences of struggles growing up … [We have] a lot in common that people who are not deaf wouldn’t necessarily understand.”

 

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