Archbishop José Gomez heard “catechized questioning” when he met with 75 Catholics at Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills. They and their principals were invited by the Department of Catholic Schools to a third annual event that unites prayer with an open dialogue about best practices and intended results.
After a morning of breakfast, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the school chapel and a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Gomez, the group moved into the school’s Alumni Hall. They heard Archbishop Gomez reinforce his commitment to education, evangelization, and a relationship with the holy Eucharist as no different than when he arrived in Los Angeles 10 years ago.
“My hope is to have schools open, vibrant, and with a real solid Catholic identity,” he said. “What can we do to achieve the goal of making every single young man and woman be a disciple of Jesus Christ?…”
Among the topics raised in the 45-minute session were curriculum conformity, immigration, and “Dreamers,” inclusive messaging, creating opportunities for social justice projects as entry points, and the value of apologetics courses to give students the tools to defend their Faith at an intellectual level.
Billy Gillespie, a theology teacher at St. Monica High School in Santa Monica, emphasized to the gathering that the most powerful way to connect with students is to testify with their personal faith experience.
“I’m one of those kids that once left the Church because I didn’t believe, and I had an encounter with the Holy Spirit that left no doubt of God,” Gillespie said. “We have to share our stories over and over again with our children….
The above comes from a Dec. 11 story in Angeles News.
“Among the topics raised in the 45-minute session were curriculum conformity, immigration, and “Dreamers,” inclusive messaging, creating opportunities for social justice projects as entry points..” Archbishop Gomez’ first priority is immigration, immigration, immigration, and inclusion, by which I mean the despicable religious ed congress inclusiveness of deviance. Billy Gillespie, on the other hand, has as his first priority the Holy Spirit.
Thank you Archbishop Gomez for sticking to the basics, which are still poorly lacking. We can see this from the college surveys on this site. Few stay Catholic when it’s just another social club. St Mother Teresa always reminded her nuns and others they were not social workers, and daily were praying at mass, the rosary and in front of Christ in adoration. Too many adult Catholics make the Church more of a Service Club, and never talk about their faith and rarely pray, and even more rarely go to adoration or even confession.
These teachers need to learn the faith, not chat about their feelings. They cannot pass on the treasures of Catholicism if they themselves don’t know them.
“Intended results” should mean teaching teens to reject sin and embrace truth for the purpose of attaining heaven. Social and political issues are sideshows and best left to be explored elsewhere.
What specifically did the teachers say about curriculum conformity? All the religion teachers I ever knew in Catholic schools hated the bishops’ mandated curriculum because they wanted to teach immigration, inclusion and leftism.