Building the character of faith

January 22, 2004

Dear Friends in Christ,

Each year we set aside a week in January to celebrate our Catholic schools. We know that they are a great gift to us in the Catholic Church of the United States. These schools fulfill a dual role of educating our children and young people in good human formation and in good Catholic formation in the Faith. The building of the character of faith is very crucial. It rests on the fundamental principle of the dignity and worth of the human person. So essential is this principle for Catholic schools that it becomes their hallmark to be "cultures of life." Each day throughout the school year, our schools fix their attention on the face of the Redeemer and there see the basis of the human person: one who is rational and free and an agent of moral life. This affects the school in every facet of teaching, learning and building of community. It also affects the sense of service to Church, the civic community and the world that our schools embody. It is essential that our schools never lose this focus: this is their Catholic identity, the building of the civilization of love and culture of life, so often proclaimed by our Holy Father, Pope John Paul.

I want to celebrate the Catholic Schools of our Diocese for their dedication to this purpose, for their care in educating our young people and for their proclamation of our Catholic Faith. I want to express my gratitude and that of the whole Diocese to all our administrators, teachers, pastors, staff, parents, students and friends of these institutions. They practice great generosity, enthusiasm and self-sacrifice. Their witness and deep commitment to the faith allow our schools to be vital and excellent places of education: the practice and doctrine of our faith are blended with the human achievements of learning, thinking, judging and acting.

This year, as we celebrate Catholic Schools' Week and engage in a wide variety of activities that display the wonderful work they do, I ask us all to thank God for the faithful past of our schools and work for a Faith-filled future for them in this Diocese. May that future be nourished and supported by a Catholic identity of the Civilization of Love and the Culture of Life.

    With every best wish, I am
    Sincerely yours in Christ,
Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo