Catholic san Francisco
Army town mourns rising war deaths
Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — At the July 21 Eagle Remembrance Ceremony for nine fallen Fort Campbell soldiers, families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice paused in front of portraits of their loved ones to embrace and wipe away tears. People in the standing room only crowd did the same. “It’s really hard to even imagine what they’re going through,” Lt. Col. Joel Hamby said. “There aren’t any words. I’ve never been able to find the right words to say in something like that. The words are just inadequate.” Hamby, who has lost several friends during the United States’ nine-year war in Afghanistan, said the sacrifices become much more real “when you can actually put a face to it.” “These are our friends. These are the people we raise our kids with,” he said. The remembrance ceremony was the largest since the Screaming Eagles of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division returned to Afghanistan in January. “It’s been a rough couple of months,” said Hamby, an officer with the division’s rear detachment, and “it’s only going to get worse” as more Fort Campbell troops are set to deploy. Since March, 36 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division have been killed. Five of the nine men remembered July 21 were from Capt. John Peters’ battalion. While the loss of any life is devastating, he said, the soldiers “know the dangers of the profession and most wouldn’t rather be doing anything else.” But it is the families, he said, who must “carry the burden of their sacrifice,” he said. “They didn’t sign up for the Army, but they still have to deal with the consequences.” The families of the fallen, Peters said, are not so concerned with the geopolitical picture. They just want to know “what happened on the ground when their loved one was killed.” Deacon Dominick Azzara of Immaculate Conception Parish in Clarksville, located just down the road from Fort Campbell, said news about the record number of coalition troops killed in Afghanistan this summer “is very personal because it involves the local division and local people.” “Anything that affects the 101st does affect the city and the parish,” said Deacon Azzara, a retired Army officer. For more on this story, see catholic-sf.org
(PHOTO BY) FRANCIS DA SILVA
By Theresa Laurence Catholic News Service
Novato residents Joe and Nicole Engler and their four children gather in front of St. Mary Church in Nicasio, where they have been members since discovering the rural church on a Sunday drive four years ago. From left, Engler with Joey, 18 months; Analiese, 4; Keira, 6; Isabella, 8; and Nicole. Two of the Engler children were baptized at St. Mary, and Isabella received Holy Communion at the church this year. Photographer Francis da Silva met the Englers on a reporting assignment to visit the Archdiocese’s rural and mission churches. St. Mary is administered by St. Cecilia Parish in Lagunitas, under pastor Father Cyril O’Sullivan. For more of da Silva’s work on St. Mary, see catholic-sf.org.
Schools must meet new standards to comply with Church teaching By Valerie Schmalz Catholic elementary and secondary schools will be required to meet new and more detailed standards showing they are educating students in the Catholic faith and tradition, as well as nurturing the faith of the total school community. The standards, written by Catholic bishops in nine states and Guam in 2008, took effect this year. Schools must adhere to them in order to be accredited by the Western Catholic Education Association. This is the first time specific standards to measure Catholic identity will be part of the accreditation process for Catholic schools. “The Catholic schools will only survive if we stick true to the mission of our faith,” said Christian Brother William Carriere, WCEA executive director and former schools superintendent for the Diocese of Orange. “I think this will go a long way toward getting Catholicism taught across the curriculum and not just relegated to theology classes,” Marin Catholic High School theology chair Joe Tassone said.
WCEA accredits Catholic schools in 26 dioceses in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Hawaii, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and the Territory of Guam, encompassing about 308,000 students in 1,000 grade schools and high schools. A concern that some Catholic schools were losing sight of their Catholic identity motivated the bishops of the 26 dioceses that comprise the WCEA to formulate the eight standards in 2008, Brother Carriere said. The seven-member board of directors of WCEA has approved the final version for elementary schools and began working on a final version for high schools this year. Brother Carriere said he expects the final document for high schools to take about two years to complete. Maintaining Catholic identity of high schools is more challenging than at elementary schools because some high school teachers tend to think of themselves as “mini-college professors” in terms of academic freedom, losing sight of their obligation to teach the Catholic faith, Brother Carriere said. “We have to stick to what we believe …our Catholic teachings, and our Catholic values and Catholic per-
spectives, otherwise there’s no point in having Catholic schools,” Brother Carriere said. “We don’t want to be just an academic center. That has happened to some places.” The new norms for accreditation include a “Catholic Identity Factor” stating that the school is Catholic and approved by the local bishop. The school also must provide authentic Catholic teaching, opportunities for community worship and participation in the sacraments, and promote evangelization and service to the community. “It is very good that Catholic schools should be accountable for their Catholic content,” said Jesuit Father John J. Piderit, president of the Catholic Education Institute, headquartered in New York. The Institute focuses on helping schools practically enhance Catholic faith and intellectual tradition. “Most Catholic high schools do a good job on campus ministry and involvement in social justice. The more challenging area is Catholic intellectual content beyond the area of religious studies,” Father Piderit said. “You’re not a Catholic high school unless you are teaching the Catholic faith in religion classes. A good Catholic high CATHOLIC SCHOOLS, page 9
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION News in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Monsignors honored . . . . . . 8 Bloody Sunday apology . . . 12 Saying yes to silence . . . . . . 13 Scripture & reflection . . . . 14
Assumption feast events at SMC ~ Page 3 ~ July 30, 2010
Blessed Kateri’s sainthood cause ~ Page 7 ~
Married again – for the first time ~ Pages 10-11 ~
ONE DOLLAR
Datebook of events . . . . . . . 17 Classified ads, services . 18-19
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