•?
The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
of the Diocese
VII
Council
, is a list of the cur-
i
sville
Evansville
1 Franklin, Evansville
Petersburg
ll
Boonville
Hedinger, O.S.B.,
St., Jasper
anta Claus
Sullivan
Evans-
file
Schroering, Haub-
A, Gettelfinger
Knapp, Evans-
Borkowski,
the DPC
SUpporting bodies, both
and schools, as well as
m the civic community.
devotional and support
multiple areas of lay
.SOme are formal as is the
and some are less for-
tic and h'ospital
innumerable vol-
nerable services
COaching grade-school
serve the Church
0fens parish. We
1 the interparochial ven-
m our educational
Vincennes, and
Side Consolidated
are tile fbrmal diocesan
Consider again the
1 the ....
vcrson-hours
School
up in diocese
°f Evansville, there
elementary schools --
relic Consoli-
has classrooms
at three Evans-
r. mterparochial high
Mater Dei and
Washington
and Rivet in
Catholic Schools
two parishes
operated as ele-
serve the
and surrounding
one for pre-
grade five and the
12.
in the diocese
Acade-
by the
at Ferdinand.
reports
)el enrollment at
5,577 the year
spent in service of our diocese through
the following groups alone: The Dioce-
san Pastoral Council; the Diocesan
Priests' Council; the Diocesan Finance
Council; the Diocesan Priests' Personnel
Board; the Diocesan Building Commis-
sion; the Catholic Foundation of South-
western Indiana; the Deans of our seven
deaneries; the Board of Trustees of the
Diocese of Evansville Retirement Trust
Agreement and Plan for Priests.
Notice that these do not touch the
myriad other volunteer bodies within
our diocese. There are more parochial,
interparochial, civic and community
groups whose members share of them-
selves for the good of the church than we
can enumerate here.
There are those who serve beyond our
boundaries who represent us to the larg-
er church. These include the members
of the Board of Directors of the Indiana
Catholic Conference and the members
of its Advisory Council. We are also
members in the Indiana Non-Public
Education Association as well as the
Indiana Federation of Catholic School
Families.
We also have the honor of having one
of our members serving as President of
the National Advisory Council to the
National Conference of Catholic Bish-
ops. Helen Boettcher of St. Mary's
Parish, Evansville, is a representative
of the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops for Region VII, which encom-
passes Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.
We should be most proud of her gift to
the larger church. There is no question
that you have your own list of most faith-
ful stewards ef God's gifts.
Evangelization
I don't know about you, but I have
great trouble with this word. I have to
Donald Braden Jr. and Kelly Deweese were catechumens called forward to
be among the "Elect" at diocesan ceremonies held last February at St.
Benedict Church, Evansville.
place it with "motherhood" and "the
flag." Yet, we must acknowledge that
there is an enormous effort in our dio-
cese to share the Gospel with others, a
mandate Jesus gave to each of us.
Consider all that is done in our formal
education programs, be they in out-of-
school or in-school programs. There is no
way to quantify this endeavor except
through the numbers which are annual-
ly reported in the Diocesan Yearbook.
Last year alone there were 10,071 chil-
dren and young people enrolled in parish
religious education programs. There
were also 7,568 children and young peo-
ple enrolled in pre-kindergarten through
twelfth grade in our Catholic schools.
We do know that there has been a
gradual, but significant, increase in the
number of our children attending
Catholic elementary and secondary
schools in our diocese. There has been a
13.06 percent increase in enrollment in
pro-kindergarten through twelfth grade
since 1992.
In this past year, through the Rite of
Christian Initiation of Adults, there re
122 baptized into the faith: We ha also
. ?., .
Campus Ministry.
AIIow=ng students to achieve a deep understanding of their faith
• By JOE COOK AND
CHRIS HOEHN
Newman Center Directors
In our last article, we addressed the
first aspect of campus ministry: creat-
ing a Christian community on campus.
In the U.S. Bishops' pastoral letter,
"Empowered by the Spirit: Campus
Ministry Faces the Future," the second
aspect of campus ministry is to appro-
priate the Catholic faith to its believers.
Campus ministers are called to form the
best possible learning community in
which members of the university can
achieve a deep understanding of their
faith.
For many young Catholics, the first
real "challenge" to their faith comes
when they leave home for college. Chal-
lenges hit the students in the classroom
where they are taught to question tra-
ditional assumptions and to tolerate
diverse opinions, Some professors may
present a world view that is devoid of
faith and religion. Some professors
might even suppose that "higher educa-
tion" necessarily implies leaving behind
the "naivete" of childhood religious
beliefs.
Challenges hit students outside of the
classroom as well. Catholic students
may be drawn to other Christian
denominations, which attract them
away from their religious heritage. They
experience a new freedom that living
away from their home and family pro-
vides. Some Catholics simply drift away
from their faith, Many students talk
about their frustration with not being
able to explain or defend their faith,
If a students does not know and
understand the tenets of her faith, she
will miss out on an important aspect of
her'lifo. A tory.about my,friend learn
ing to play cards illustrates this point.
The other day I was teaching a friend
how to play euchre. Although he has
knowledge of many things, he was
neglected his education in this particu-
lar card game. Now in college, my friend
is experiencing a painful separation
from his peers because he can't share in
his fi-iends' favorite pastime, His igno-
rance concerning euchre effects his abil-
ity to share in his fi'iends' fun.
This is very similar to our faith lives.
If we are unable to explain our beliefs as
Catholics, we are unable to add much
to the conversations going on around us,
Those conversations are taking place in
the ccllege residence halls, the class-
rooms, and the workplaces of students.
People are continually discussing vari-
ous facets of what it means to be Chris-
tian. Many are curious about the
Catholic faith. Unfortunately, many
Catholics know very little about their
beliefs and their history.
One way in which campus ministry at
the University of Evansville addresses
this area is to offer discussion groups on
Church history and theology at a time in
the student's curriculum that deals with
the Reformation. A topic like this can be
presented in many different ways based
upon the direction of the professor.
Campus ministry offers an approach
that tries to deal with the subject hon-
estly while presenting another point of
view. In such an instance, campus min-
istry works to find the best way to be
faithful to the teachings of the Church
while addressing and applying those
teachings to the contemporary situation.
At the University of Southern Indi-
ana. in addition to discussion opportu-
nities that are provided for students to
tion on issues that are current to their
class work. Many students come to
question their assumptions on Catholic
teachings through a variety of class
room situations.
Our office has provided nmterials to
more than one student researching a
topic for a speech or class concerned
with current issues where the Catholic
church has taken a stand. We are also
veD' fortunate at Catholic Campus Min-
istry to have Father Don Dilger as a
weekly Sunday homilist and educator
on the scripture.
Our Catholic faith is not faith in a
vacuum, it grows and is developed
through the scripture and tradition. V
are very blessed to have Father Dilger
break open the word and share of our
rich tradition.
Throughout the year we invite
Catholic faculty, staff and students to
come together in prayer and play.
Through cookouts, Masses, and shared
times ofreflection and renewal, students
see modeled a live and active Catholic
faith. These encounters enrich all and
provide ongoing mentoring for students.
For the college student, owning one's
faith is crucial to living out that faith.
Becoming a good accountant requires a
student to understand and apply the
principles of that particular field. Grow-
ing into a mature Christian requires a
young adult to understand and apply
the principles of the Catholic faith to his
or her life and its particular circum.
stances.
This is the third article in a Campus
Ministry ries written by Joe Cook and
Chris H('hn, University of Etnsville
grow in knowledge and awareness of and University of Southern Indiana
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