Category Archives: Diocesan News

Ospino hears from pastors, lay community

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By Berta Mexidor
PEARL – In an analysis of history and its consequences on today, Dr. Hosffman Ospino exchanged information with priests, seminarians, sisters and lay people who work in the parishes of the diocese during two intensive gatherings. Ospino, assistant professor of theology and religious education at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry, was in Jackson for Faith Formation Day August 25, so the office of Hispanic Ministry invited him to meet with pastors and lay people separately at St. Jude Parish.
Ospino presented several facts about the development of Catholicism in the United States to both groups centered on why in the 21st century the church is adopting ministries designed to alleviate segregation in the parishes. This segregation, once imposed socially and legally, is now self-inflicted.
The current segregation, he said, is a personal attitude to choose segregated life and it is a trend that has been getting worse since the 1960s. “This self-segregation is destroying us,” Ospino noted. Personal experiences and culture are taken to church every Sunday, this can affect the church positively or negatively.
Catholics have struggled to keep and share their faith for centuries. At the beginning, Irish, Germans and Italians created national churches to keep their faith, language and customs.
Blacks, Latinos, Asians and other internationals are converging in Catholicism from different routes and causes. Specifically, for Latinos, in every country, Catholicism has been the main religion, a heritage from the colonization of Spain and Portugal. In terms of major migrations of Spanish speakers to the U.S., one important event was when generations of Mexicans, became U.S. citizens after the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty on 1848. Later, in the 1960s, political and economic instability detonated a migration from Latin American and Caribbean countries, bringing Catholicism with it. Mexicans, Cubans and Puerto Ricans came to be part of established Catholic churches in U.S. This pattern continues until today with the immigration of Venezuelans, Guatemalans, Hondurans and more.
These immigrants share the same language – Spanish, but their children speak English. “Hispanic Ministry needs to use both languages, or even ‘Spanglish’ if necessary, to share the gospel to all,” Ospino joked.
Embracing diversity is the new challenge for Catholic churches. Bringing the best of different societies and cultures will strengthen the Catholic Church. “Latinos are attending church, everywhere they go, to keep their faith” Ospino emphasized, remarking that at the end all “Catholics are called to share and keep their faith.”
Priests, deacons and leaders from more than 20 parishes came to the first gathering. Most of the priests are working in places were the Latino community has an important presence in Mississippi. At the second meeting, Saturday afternoon, more than 70 Latino parishioners shared their hopes and challenges with Ospino. He noted Hispanics have a history in United States with deep roots, and based in that foundation, Latino families need to continue the construction of their identity. This time one of the participants highlighted the fact that parents should have an active participation in school system to support their children’s education, therefore they need to learn English, and understand the American system.
Ospino called their attention to certain figures: in United States’ 196 archdioceses/dioceses with more than 17 thousand churches, 35 million Latinos are Catholics. Two-thirds of Hispanics live in poverty; only 18 percent have a college degree. The average age of Latinos is 19 years, which represents almost 60 percent of the entire Latino population.
These statistics should impel the Catholic Church to first – reach out to the Hispanic youth, second – work with family life and third– create a new context for vocations. Coincidentally, these are the objectives of the main agenda for the V Encuentro, which will be held at the end of September.
The numbers grow every year and “this human tsunami is transforming the Catholic Church,” creating what Ospino considers to be “multicultural churches.”

(Photo by Sister María Elena Mendéz, MGSpS)

Padre Capó visits V Encuentro delegates

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By Sister Maria Elena Mendez, MGSpS
JACKSON – Father Rafael Capó, director of the Pastoral Institute of the Southeast (SEPI), visited on Sep. 5, the Diocese of Jackson’s delegates to the V Encuentro to be held at the end of the month. In this preparatory meeting, Father Capó reminded delegates that they are the representatives of all Mississippi Latinos. He encouraged the team to be prepared intellectually, but also spiritually, studying the documents and assuming the whole task.

Sister Maria Elena Mendez, Brother Ted Dausch, Danna Johnson, Father Rafael Capó, and Mazy Ismar meet to prepare for V Encuentro.

Father Capó explained delegates are not going to participate just in another conference, the V Encuentro is a conclave to work by order of the U.S. Bishops. Despite the small size of the delegation, it showcases the diversity of the community in Mississippi carrying their challenges and hopes.
“You are sent, first by the bishop, but this is also like links in a chain,” Father Capó said, referring to the fact the four delegates also belong to the southeastern regional delegation. The V Encuentro will be held in Grapevine, Texas, from September 20-23. “The V Encuentro is, according to the Pope, a moment of grace” Father Capó concluded.

(Sister Maria Elena Mendez is a coordinator for Hispanic Ministry for the
Diocese of Jackson.)

Accompany young people – invigorate the church

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By Maureen Smith
MADISON – Both keynote speakers at Fall Faith Formation Day had a message for catechists and pastoral leaders: the key to keeping the church in Mississippi vibrant is in empowering young people. Hosffman Ospino, a professor and expert in Hispanic ministry and Robert Feduccia, a national leader in youth ministry bookended a day of information, fellowship and encouragement for more than 200 catechists from across the diocese on Saturday, Aug. 25. The overarching theme for the event, organized by the Office of Faith Formation and hosted at Madison St. Joseph School, was ‘One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.’
Ospino spoke in the morning, offering a history lesson about the church and immigration. He showed how the Church in America was once concentrated in the Northeast thanks to European immigrant families who came and built their cultural churches and schools to serve their communities. Today, the numbers are shifting. The church in the South and West is growing thanks to a different immigrant community, Latinos from Central and South America. Another key statistic: the age difference between these populations. Non-Hispanic, white church members have an average age of 55. Hispanics make up 43 percent of the population with an average age of 28. Youth and young adult ministry are needed to keep these young Catholics in the church.
He said the Diocese of Jackson is in a unique position because existing communities can welcome their new neighbors. “In a sense being small and having been exposed to racial diversity and more recently linguistic diversity with the arrival of Latinos and Catholics who speak other languages, is an opportunity to test ideas. Being a mission diocese as well gives you all the flexibility in the world to imagine ‘what does it mean to be an evangelizing community,’” said Ospino.
He encouraged catechists and pastors to learn some Spanish or identify a member of the Hispanic community who can interpret for them so both communities can better communicate. “It is not two Churches that are merging, it is one and the same church. It is one and the same people of God called from many places and we are called to build the church here, period. We have different journeys different ways of doing things, different languages, cultural traditions, but we are in this together,” he said.
The day closed with a talk from Robert Feduccia. The Brookhaven native has fond memories of Catholic School and parish faith formation in his hometown. He has founded a program for evangelizing teens and has dedicated his life to helping people connect to a younger population. He also spoke about the immigrant population, but warned that they should not be taken for granted.
First generation immigrants, he explained, do practice their faith with their families “… yet the longer they are here their patterns being to resemble what we are already experiencing (with teens who leave the church) so if we are not proactive then even though there is this great invigoration that’s happening from the immigrant church, they will not bring long-lasting vigor any more than the Irish or Italians or anybody else brought long-lasting vigor. There has to be some real intentionality on formation- as Pope Francis says on the ‘encounter and accompaniment’ of us with our young people regardless of ethnic background,” he said.
Between these two speakers, attendees could select from a number of breakout sessions dealing with catechetical issues such as RCIA, adult faith formation, self-care for ministers and how to use the new VIRTUS curriculum for safe environment training. Terri Collins from Jackson Holy Family attended the VIRTUS session. She said she is thrilled with the new lessons and resources. She wants to find ways to share this important information with the whole parish, not just the students and their families. “The biggest question mark for me was what can we do to educate the entire parish so everyone is looking at it (safe environment) now only when we are in the church but also when we leave and are at the mall or when our kids are going to practice and all these other things,” she said. A group of more than a dozen young adults came from Pontotoc St. Christopher to attend the day. Jorge Gonzàles said he was glad to meet other Catholics from around the state and felt challenged to do more for his parish. “I like the Surprise and Joy session (by Feduccia) because it mainly applied to the youth. I learned that the youth start to lose faith around the age of 10; this is why we need to help the youth with their faith,” he said.

(Photos by Maureen Smith)

New St. Gabriel Mercy Center director ready to serve close to home

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By Denise Strub
MOUND BAYOU – If Dr. Shakebra L. Young had a mantra for her life it might be ‘God has a plan,’ as some of the biggest moves and successes in her life were not part of her original plan. Young is the new executive director of St. Gabriel Mercy Center, Inc. in Mound Bayou.
“God led me here to this place. I am blessed to be here and work with well-educated, cross-trained women. I’m pleased to have this opportunity to lead and give back and serve,” she said. Young is the first African-American woman to hold the position of executive director at St. Gabriel Mercy Center.
“I’m very excited to be back,” said Young, who is a native of Cleveland. She is the daughter of Mary Young and Karry Hilley and the mother of two daughters, Bry’Kevia and Jusilynn. She is a 1996 graduate of East Side High School. After high school she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Computer Information Systems and Office Administration from Delta State, where she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
In May 2009, she obtained a Master of Science Degree in Clinical Social Work from The University of Tennessee and shortly afterwards, she enrolled into the doctoral program at Capella University. In May 2012, she earned a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Human Services and later obtained a Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Management from Walden University. She is still an online instructor for Walden. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Business Administration Degree in Human Resource Management from Delta State University. “Delta State is right there. I had to take advantage of it,” she said.
Young said she is devoted to helping others through outreach ministry with a strong passion for youth and single parent families. “I want to make a difference especially with families. I want to help build strong families,” said Young. In July 2014, Young published a memoir, titled, A Single Mother’s Journey from Suffering to Glory: My Testament of Faith. This book enables the reader to witness one woman’s hardships and how life-changing events propelled her to live a life of trust, perseverance and faith. Young has also worked in various positions and settings in the social work profession as an educator, therapist and mentor. Young served as an instructor in the Department of Social Work at The University of Mississippi and an adjunct professor of social work at The University of Memphis.

(Photo courtesy LA PRODUCKTIONS 2K18)

(Photo courtesy LA PRODUCKTIONS 2K18)

She worked as the director of programs at Sacred Heart Southern Missions – a faith-based organization located in northern Mississippi. “I’m very grateful for everything I learned at Scared Heart,” said Young, who added though she is not Catholic, she is familiar with the Catholic atmosphere and looks forward to working within the entire community. St. Gabriel Mercy Center started as a parish and school. It now operates as a community center, offering several programs, including St. Gabriel’s Closet, The Delta Boutique, GED, Learning Lab, Senior Outreach, Parents As Teachers and Emergency Assistance. The Sisters of Mercy and the Fanciscan Sisters of Christian Charity have provided leadership in the past.

(Story reprinted with permission from Bolivar Commercial.)

Vocations born in young adult group

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By Chris Spear
GULFPORT – When Clare Bush and Mike Addis celebrated their wedding Mass on July 28, they were the latest in a remarkably long line of couples to find each other through the Small Faith Communities program at St. Richard Church.
The program, still going strong at the Jackson parish 26 years after its start, has helped generate at least five marriages and ten children in the last decade – and shows no sign of slowing.
In 1992, St. Richard started its Small Faith Communities (SFCs), small groups that meet regularly during the week to pray, discuss a particular faith topic or question, and generally support each other in spiritual growth. In a minority-Catholic area like Jackson (and much of Mississippi), these group meetings are often the only times outside of Mass that parishioners might have to share their faith with other Catholics.
“They’re designed to help you to connect your faith to your everyday life,” said Nancy McGhee, St. Richard’s retired Director of the SFCs. “Scripture-reading and theology are important aspects of SFCs, but we want to primarily focus on topics that catch the attention of the people and help them be everyday disciples.”
Often held at parishioners’ homes, the small groups can be organized by neighborhood, age, or special shared interests – senior citizens, Catholic authors and literature, young parents, and so on. One of the most popular has been the young unmarried adults’ group.
Two dozen young adults, usually post-collegiate but not yet engaged or married, met up weekly at the parish hall to pray together, share their struggles and successes in living their faith, and play air hockey in a casual, close-knit community.
“I loved meeting new people who shared my faith and who quickly became friends,” said Kristen Kulavic Whelan, a former leader of the young adults’ group. “It also provided great social activities to get to know people in the group outside of the normal Tuesday night study.”
Clare Bush agreed. “Each week brought a varied group, and thus varied ideas and ways of looking at Scripture and Catholic teachings,” she said. “Medical school was the first time in my life to attend a non-Catholic school, and I missed my religious education. I truly feel that my faith was deepened through the group discussions and the friendships.”
Through that combination of wine socials and faith-sharing, some young adults found others walking a similar path towards marriage.
In 2011, Kristen Kulavic and Jacob Whelan were married at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, plus Holly Hickman and Armand Scurfield at St. Thomas the Apostle in Long Beach. Chris Spear and Kate Dennis followed at Our Lady of the Gulf in Bay St. Louis in 2012. Eric Williams and Megan Sheets married also at St. Thomas in 2014, and the newly-married Clare Bush and Mike Addis at Villanova University near Philadelphia.
Bush, in particular, found joy in being both matchmaker and match made at St. Richard. She introduced her friends Kate Dennis and Chris Spear to each other through the group in fall 2009, and met her own future husband Mike through the group a year later. In an unusual twist of divine providence, Addis was only in Jackson for a short time doing pro bono legal work between law school and a full-time position in New York City. Their short stint together in Jackson led to a lifelong commitment.
“I had prayed for my future husband ever since attending a retreat in high school,” said Bush. “Strengthening our friendship and talking about our faith from the start at St. Richard definitely helped Mike and me become closer in those early days of dating.”
Jacob Whelan, Kristen’s husband, agreed. “God knew what’s important in a good marriage and what is needed to have a good foundation,” he said, emphasizing that all those needed elements were there in the St. Richard’s group.
“The young adult group at St. Richard was one of the best things I have ever done,” said Clare Bush. “It was truly a blessed time in my life and I miss it.”

(Chris Spear is now a member of Gulfport St. James Parish.)

Nine admitted to candidacy for permanent diaconate

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PEARL – Bishop Joseph Kopacz admitted nine men to candidacy for the permanent diaconate on Saturday, Sept. 8, during a Mass for the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St. Jude Parish. The men and their families have spent a year in what is called aspirancy, spending time together in study, prayer and discernment. Candidacy is the next step in their five-year journey. They will continue with study and formation in hopes of being ordained for the diocese. Permanent deacons dedicate themselves to service to the church. The candidates are (l-r, not all faces visible) Mark Bowden, Dien Hoang, Kayed Jwainat, Wesley Lindsay, John Pham, David Rouch, Anthony Schmidt, and Edwin Wilson. (Photo by Rhonda Bowden)

Reason for hope: Diocese of Jackson’s commitment to our children

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The Diocese of Jackson has a plan and a team in place to prevent and to respond to allegations of sexual abuse against minors. The topic is a fresh wound in our Church since the release of a grand jury report out of Pennsylvania detailing a horrifying pattern of abuse and coverups in six dioceses in that state as well as revelations of years of abuse at the hands of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

Bishop Joseph Kopacz met with the priests, lay ecclesial ministers, permanent deacons and other pastoral leadership of the diocese in August to hear their concerns and yours. Your pastors passed along your anger, devastation, and prayers. We are grateful for all these emotions. Your anger is righteous, your devastation shows the depths of your faith and your prayers are much needed for the Church.
In response to those meetings as well as the many calls, emails and conversations chancery staff and pastors have had with you, the faithful, we want you to know what has been done, what we continue to do and what’s in store for the future. Bishop Kopacz describes this approach as having four aspects: our safe environment program, victims’ assistance, cooperation with law enforcement and transparency.
To start- an assurance of transparency: A handful of bishops across the U.S. are inviting their state Attorneys General to review their files. The Diocese of Jackson did that back in 2002. In response to both the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pending Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, and a contemporary case being presented to the state attorney, diocesan leadership decided the best course of action was to be proactive. A member of the diocesan review board and the vicar general at that time reviewed an accounting of all known cases with staff at the attorney general’s office.
Since that time, all new credible allegations have been turned over to the district attorneys in the counties where the abuse is alleged to have happened.
The bishop has reviewed these cases in-depth in the last few weeks to make sure the diocese has done its due diligence in offering care to victims of abuse, reporting cases to law enforcement and informing local communities about cases. Bishop Kopacz will approach the current Mississippi Attorney General’s Office to offer review of all substantiated cases of the abuse of minors by clergy reported since the 2002 meeting.
Safe Environment:
Anyone who offers to volunteer at any parish, school, or institution affiliated with the Diocese of Jackson will first be asked to submit to a criminal background screening. Some 15,613 employees and volunteers have been vetted in this way since the diocese initiated criminal background screenings in 2004. If the screening is clear, the volunteer or employee will begin to receive training in how to recognize the warning signs of abuse, how to report it and how to protect the children in their care from predators.
The diocese uses a company called VIRTUS for safe environment training. It starts with a live-training session with a VIRTUS facilitator. Ongoing adult training continues every month in the form of an email with an article about the latest research or information on fostering safe environments in the Church, in the home, and in society. VIRTUS has developed both the lessons and the database management program used to show who is continuing to take their training and who is not compliant. There are about 4,600 adults currently active, including clergy, religious and lay employees.
Moreover, children are better informed now than ever before. This year, the diocese has implemented VIRTUS’ curriculum for children in parish religious education programs as well as the Catholic schools. In these lessons, children learn about safe and healthy boundaries and what they can do if someone tries to violate them in Church-sponsored programs, and in their daily lives. During the last fiscal year, 7,602 children received an age-appropriate safe environment lesson.
Vickie Carollo, the safe environment coordinator, and Fran Lavelle, director of faith formation, will visit every parish and school during this fiscal year to audit their participation in the Protection of Children program. Carollo has performed these audits since 2003 because we know that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
The Diocese of Jackson has had a policy to respond to credible allegations of sexual abuse since 1987, long before the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops released the Charter. The early document was less detailed than today’s version but delineated the commitment of the diocese on responding to abuse, removing offenders, assisting victims, and promoting safe environment. The policy was revised in 1994 when an Independent Review Board of lay Catholics was established. This is a consultative body that assesses the credibility of all allegations of sexual abuse against minors and advises the bishop accordingly. This board remains an essential resource for Bishop Kopacz, as it was for Bishop Houck and Bishop Latino. The current board includes two psychologists, a physician and two professional business people.
Victim’s assistance:
When an allegation is made, it triggers a number of responses. First, if the victim is a child – even if the abuse is just a suspicion – the case is turned over to the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services and then to either Carollo’s office or the vicar general’s office.
In the case of an adult who comes forward years later, he or she is offered professional counseling at no cost. A victim does not need to give his or her name to the diocese to receive this service. Valerie McClellan is the victims’ assistance coordinator for the diocese. She can offer counseling based out of Jackson. If the victim lives out of state, she can arrange for a counselor in the victim’s community. The goal is to offer a healing opportunity to the victim and his or her family.
Likewise, McClellan will gather as much information about the abuse as possible and, with the victim’s consent, turn it over to the diocese. The vicar general, through the diocesan attorney, hires a private investigator to begin to look into the case and the accused is removed from active ministry or suspended while the investigator prepares a report for the review board.
The review board meets without the bishop present and votes on what actions to recommend to the bishop. When the allegation is judged to be credible the abuser is removed from ministry as soon as possible.
Cooperation with Law Enforcement:
If a case is deemed credible, the vicar general’s office will inform the district attorney in the county where the abuse happened. The bishop withdraws faculties from an ordained accused abuser at this time.
The vicar general’s office prepares a statement to be read at Masses or other parish gatherings in the communities where the alleged abuser has served. The statement will never name a victim, but will name the alleged perpetrator and encourage other victims to come forward. These statements are now also posted to the diocesan website.
Even if there are no active cases of abuse being investigated, each parish must regularly publish a statement encouraging victims to report abuse. A recent study indicates that it can take an average of 34 years for a victim to report abuse. This means the diocese must constantly offer the invitation for all victims to come forward.
For some perspective, since 2002, the Diocese has received nine credible reports of abuse. In all of these cases, the abuse happened 20 or more years prior to the report. The ministers reported were either deceased or already removed from ministry.

Transparency:
Most importantly, we want you to be assured of the Diocese’s commitment to transparency as we move forward. Since a group of lay journalists in Boston in 2002 exposed a pattern of abuse and cover-ups, the church has undergone a culture shift. In biblical language, this is metanoia which entails repentance and conversion, a change of heart, mind, and practice.
This horrible scandal prompted new social science research into the psychology of abusers and forced bishops to remove priests who were a danger to their flock.
What we now understand about abuse, it’s devastating impacts on individuals, families and whole communities is dramatically different than it was in the 20th century. Dioceses, parishes, and schools have a new paradigm for caring for those placed in their care, especially those most vulnerable to predators. Those same communities have resources for identifying abusers and protocols for removing them from ministry as quickly as possible.
That’s the good news.
The sad truth is there were predators in the Church. Piled on that is the fact that there were leaders in the church who were willing to protect their fellow clergymen rather than expose them or the Church to scandal. The Church must now face yet another reckoning.
The Diocese of Jackson has a team of people who share your anger, sorrow, concern and commitment to our Church and our children. The diocesan policy, including protocols for responding to allegations, is available on the website (link below) and in printed form by emailing Vickie Carollo at Vickie.carollo@jacksondiocese.org.
We are unflinching in our commitment to our promise to protect and pledge to heal as a serious part of our vocation. With the mind and heart of Jesus Christ we echo his words: “Let the children come to me for to such belong the Kingdom of Heaven.:”

Resources:
USCCB Charter:
https://usccb.org/issues-and-action/child-and-youth-protection/charter.cfm.
Office for the Protection of Children:
https://jacksondiocese.org/offices/child-protection/
Valerie McClellan: 601-326-3728

(Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Vicar General Father Kevin Slattery, Chancellor Mary Woodward, Safe Environment Coordinator Vickie Carollo and Director of Communications Maureen Smith collaborated on this statement. It is also posted to the diocesan website under Latest News.)

First day from across the Diocese’s Catholic schools

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COLUMBUS – Joseph Baumann, a second-grader at Annunciation School, August 6, gets right to work on the first day of class. All Catholic schools in the Diocese of Jackson are in session. In this back-to-school special edition, get updates on what's new for schools this year including improved curriculum, Catholic identity, character education in athletics and a service project idea that is still building momentum. Stories start on page 6. (Photo by Katie Fenstermacher)

MERIDIAN – Students in Melanie Pressly’s first grade class at St. Patrick School sing a song on their first day back to class. (Photo Virginia Pressly)

MADISON – St. Anthony students Sam Sosa and Campbell Stringer are happy to see each other the first day of school. (Photo courtesy Michele Warnock)

GREENVILLE – Middle school students work off some energy during the first Day of School at St. Joseph School. (Photo by Craig Mandolini)

MADISON – Sister Paula Blouin shows (l-r) Brandon Giuffria, Olanna Chima, Reed Hardy and Sydney Beard, students at Assisi Early Learning Center how to stir hot cheese grits to cool them off. (Photo courtesy of Sister Paula Blouin)

FLOWOOD – Students at St. Paul Early Learning Center find their faces on a classroom chart. (Photo courtesy Susan Irby)

MADISON – St. Joseph students get right to work. (Photo courtesy of Terry Casserino.)

JACKSON – Suzan Cox washes Alan Garrison’s feet at the St. Richard sixth grade commissioning ceremony. The graduating class hears the gospel where Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. Teachers and administrators wash their feet and send them back to the school as servant leaders. (Photo by Wendi Shearer )

HOLLY SPRINGS – Holy Family principal Clara Isom high-fives students as they head for class with new backpacks. A Tunica business donated backpacks and school supplies to all the students. (Photo courtesy of Sandra Cirilli )

GREENWOOD – Students at St. Francis of Assisi School participated in the first school Mass of the year through liturgical dance and by acting out the gospel with celebrant Father Camillus Janas, OFM. (Photo by Jackie C. Lewis)

VICKSBURG – The Flashettes dance team and cheerleaders greet Kindergartener Kenneth and Pre-K student Allison Grogan as they walk into St Francis Xavier for their first day of school. (Photo by Kristi Smith)

JACKSON – Sister Thea Bowman students got right to work on their first day.(Photo by Deacon Denzil Lobo)

Curriculum review prompts revisions

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By Stephanie Brown
JACKSON – In the world of education, a teacher or professor’s curriculum serves as the road map for what will be taught in the classroom throughout the year. Curriculum standards outline goals for the year and dictate what a student should know and be able to do by the time they leave one grade to move onto the next. In recent years the topic of curriculum standards has gotten more attention with the emergence of Common Core, College and Career Readiness Standards, Next Generation National Science Standards, and several other sets of state and national standards. As the curriculum debate has grown, Catholic schools have been faced with a challenge. These schools need to both utilize standards that will academically prepare students for the future and more importantly develop a roadmap that is infused with Catholic identity, ensuring that Catholic schools are teaching the whole child by cultivating his or her academic, spiritual, emotional and physical growth.
Curriculum review is an ongoing process. And, when state and national standards are revised is prompts the Diocese to take an even closer look and consider if changes are necessary. In following the updates to the state curriculum standards, the Office of Education determined that it was time to revise and enhance the standards currently used in the Diocese of Jackson Catholic schools.
The evaluation of the current curriculum started at the local level last September. Administrators and teachers spent a professional development work day focusing on vertical alignment. A curriculum that is vertically aligned ensures that students are fully prepared to move from one grade to the next. It eliminates gaps or holes in the content covered, and eliminates any redundancies that may waste time unnecessarily repeating skills and topics covered during the previous year. While many skills require a certain amount of practice and maintenance from year to year, diocesan leadership wanted to ensure that the standards and skills continue to build on one another and dive deeper into critical thinking rather than simply implementing rote repetition.
Following this work day, all the information from each school was collected and reviewed. In February, educators from around the diocese came together to closely evaluate several state and national standards, data from students’ performance over the past three years and feedback from the professional development day in September.
Working in groups based on grade level and subjects, teachers made decisions regarding what to implement for students at each grade level. Teachers were given the freedom to look at the standards currently available and determine which standards they felt were both developmentally appropriate and rigorous enough to ensure students’ academic success.
Once an initial draft of curriculum standards was created for each grade and subject, the committees dove deeper into the standards seeking natural connections between the newly written standards and Catholic identity. The committees began identifying concrete ways to integrate Church teachings, scripture and overall spiritual development into other subjects.
The next meeting of the curriculum committees is scheduled for mid-September. The agenda for this meeting includes revisions of the first drafts, continued vertical planning and alignments and an even deeper focus on the integration of Catholic identity. The goal of this process is to provide Catholic school teachers, students and parents with a clear roadmap of learning that not only meets the academic standards of our public-school counterparts but exceeds the rigor of those programs. This roadmap is further enhanced with guidelines for the spiritual and emotional development of students.
Following our curriculum meetings in September, smaller committees will be used to “polish” the standards and begin crafting the final drafts to be used in the 2019-2020 school year. Many teachers have already begun the integration of these standards, and administrators look forward to a seamless transition from the current standards to the enhanced curriculum standards now under construction.
To help aid in this transition and improve the overall experience for our teachers and students, the Office of Education is looking into a variety of professional development opportunities. These events will help teachers fully understand the curriculum and discover fun and new ways to use them in their classrooms.
One initiative in the works is an inaugural STREAM (Science Technology Religion Engineering Art and Mathematics) Academy planned for teachers from across the diocese starting in the summer of 2019 and extending throughout the school year.

(Stephanie Brown is the coordinator for school improvement for the Office of Education.)

Beatitudes anchor Catholic identity for academic year

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By Karla Luke
JACKSON – Educators in the Diocese of Jackson’s Catholic schools and early learning centers, partner with families to form students in their faith. Catholic educators are entrusted by parents and families to provide a rich Catholic Christian environment by developing their own Catholic Identity, as well as, that of students and families. Catholic identity goes deeper than attending to the physical environment of the school or classroom by strategically placing pictures, statues and prayer tables. Don’t misunderstand. Those are extremely important, but they are only part of an ongoing development and formation of students in faith. Catholic educators use the tangible sacramentals (prayer tables, rosaries, holy cards, etc.) and traditions to cultivate the intangible: love for Jesus, love for others and a desire for service.
The Office of Catholic Education supports the development of Catholic identity each year with a theme, days of reflection and support materials. Each school integrates this in a way best suited to each learning community, but maintains the overall unity of the theme across the diocese. In the past, the school community of administrators, faculty and staff have accomplished this by studying Papal documents such as Evangelii Gaudium, the Bull of indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy as well as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Catholic Social Teachings and our the Diocese of Jackson’s Pastoral Priorities.
This year, the Office of Catholic Education has chosen to use the Beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew to explore faith more deeply. The resource material for this study comes from Dan R. Ebener’s Blessings for Leaders: Leadership Wisdom from the Beatitudes (2012) and Pope Francis’s Gaudete et Exsultate. Administrators, teachers and staff explored it at gatherings at each school at which teachers wrote a prayer based on what they learned. The Office of Education will continue to offer support for the theme throughout the year.
The help of the Holy Spirit is essential in living out the Beatitudes because, to be quite honest, at first glance they contradict everything society declares right and desirable. As Christians strive for a deeper understanding, they find that Jesus is teaching what God means when he says in Lev 11:45, “Be holy because I am holy.” Pope Francis writes in Gaudete et Exsultate “The Beatitudes are like a Christian’s identity card. So, if anyone asks: ‘What must one do to be a good Christian?’ The answer is clear. We have to do, each in our own way, what Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount. In the Beatitudes, we find a portrait of the Master, which we are called to reflect in our daily lives.”
The Beatitudes are countercultural. This should not surprise anyone who has looked at Jesus’s life and teachings. He spent time with the poor, sick, lonely and tax collectors rather than hanging out with the “church” crowd. That’s just for starters. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is teaching THE WAY. Where society urges people to spend their time and use their gifts to acquire wealth and power for security, Jesus says security should be in God alone for He alone can give eternal life, [Mt 5:3]. Society rewards ambition and reveres those in authority, but Jesus teaches that meekness and humility are desirable in God’s sight [Mt 5:5]. The world demands people grab short-lived rewards declaring “YOLO” (that’s “you only live once” for non-millennials). This can cause people to run away from problems or to turn a blind eye to sadness and suffering. Jesus teaches his followers to share in each other’s suffering. In this, Christians are able to show compassion, empathy and to comfort their brothers and sisters in Christ [Mt 5:4].
In Blessings for Leaders, Ebener equates each of the Beatitudes with character qualities necessary for good leadership. As principals lead teachers and teachers lead students, the diocesan leadership team thought this would be a meaningful approach to studying the Beatitudes and integrating leadership qualities with the Church’s teachings. Ebener’s book focuses on two major events in Mathew’s gospel: the great invitation and the great commission. In the great invitation, all are invited to become disciples of Christ; to come, see, learn and follow. In the great commission, all are challenged to become apostles of Christ; to go, tell, teach and lead. As teachers of any subject matter, educators must first learn the content before they can lead a class. Teachers are the ‘apostles’ of their classrooms and schools. They must use the knowledge of the Catholic faith, spirituality and faith experiences to call their students and families to a rich faith experience and a deeper relationship with Christ and the Church.

(Karla Luke is the assistant superintendent of Catholic schools for the diocese.)