Describes Bishop Hannan High School's (Pennsylvania) retreat program, in which students learn to develop a spiritual element in their lives. Discusses the theme, "The Bread of Life," and how the process of baking bread for communion helped unite and nourish students. Reports that, through a variety of fellowship activities, students gained a sense…

Compares the 2001 and 1992 versions of the Assessment of Catechesis/Religious Education tool, noting specific changes to key concept areas, including: (1) the domain "God" is expanded to "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit"; (2) the domain "Church" names its four main attributes, "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic"; and (3) the new category, Church…

States that schools should be a safe haven for children and urges society to return schools to the safe, secure places they once were. Discusses the need to keep media far away from children in the event of a campus emergency and perform full background checks on all potential school employees. Reports that Catholic schools are providing…

Highlights changes in the Catholic church over the past few decades that have broadened Catholic culture and made it more ambiguous for young Catholics. Describes ways to reach out to youth and involve them in social projects, volunteer ministries, religion teaching, nursing home visits, parish councils, choirs, and liturgical functions. (MAB)

Reviews attitudes toward art in the early Catholic Church, considering the ability of art to influence those who experience it. Highlights the spiritualism of the Russian painter, Wassily Kandinsky. Suggests ways in which today's religious institutions can use art as a form of outreach to bring greater meaning to members of their congregations.…

Explores how, despite various administrative "solutions," the tension experienced by student affairs professionals at Catholic higher education institutions remains because they stand at an uncomfortable practical interface of two epistemological systems, one stemming from the Catholic intellectual tradition and one stemming from the…

Roman Catholic college students (n=277) completed the religious orientation scale and the student alcohol questionnaire. Findings indicated that for females there was a significant inverse relationship between intrinsic religiosity and both alcohol consumption and problems experienced due to drinking. There were no significant relationships…

Reports on the Archdiocese of Louisville's (Kentucky) mentoring program for directors of religious education (DREs), which provides an opportunity to become familiar with the standards for DRE ministry. Examines the five stages of the mentoring process: matchmaking, orientation, monthly meetings, concluding session of prayer and testimony, and…

Challenges assertion in article by the Alexanders that "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" will increase risk that Catholic institutions of higher education will violate the Establishment Clause. Authors argue that recent Establishment Clause decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court have effectively eliminated the wall of separation between church and…

Using data from 1996 National Household Education Survey, reports that a higher percentage of students in private schools, especially Catholic schools, acquire civic engagement skills (voluntary community service, civic skills), have greater political knowledge, and have a higher level of political tolerance than do students in public schools.…

Fr. Luigi Giussani was once asked the following question: "Do you consider yourself an educator?" He replied, "I would certainly like to be one, because a human relationship worthy of its name must include the communication of that truth which has become life experience." The purpose of this article is to examine the writings of Italian…

The challenges of keeping Catholic schools open in working-class neighborhoods were brought home last February 2005, when the Archdiocese of Chicago announced it would close 23 elementary schools and merge or consolidate four others in June 2005. Two weeks earlier, the Diocese of Brooklyn in New York City decided to close 26 elementary schools in…

In 1909, at the height of the woman suffrage controversy and during the golden age of postcards, the Dunston-Weiler Lithograph Company of New York produced a twelve-card set of full-color lithographic cartoon postcards opposing woman suffrage. The postcard images reflect, and depart from, verbal arguments concerning woman suffrage prevalent during…

While the national debates over the accreditation of Catholic schools remain an essential element of understanding Catholic education during the early 20th century, this study examines how individuals, groups, and institutions grappled with the perceived need for standardization and increased articulation of schools. In particular, it examines the…

This article is the author's reflection on forty years as a religious educator. Vocation reveals itself to be the distinctive life and work of an individual in so far as it contributes to the service of others in community and society. Vocation has both an individual and a social meaning; it can be viewed in religious or secular terms. It is…