Letter from Dr. Claude Sasso, Vice Chancellor / Interim Superintendent
Catholic Schools Week
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring the contributions of Catholic schools to our nation. The resolution came in time for Catholic Schools Week, January 31 - February 6, 2010. It recognizes the academic and moral excellence instilled in students and congratulates Catholic schools for contributing to a brighter, stronger future for the country.
We are thankful for parents who have entrusted their children to our Catholic schools at no small sacrifice to themselves and for our students, whose formation is so vital to what we do. We are thankful for our teachers and the good work they do with children. We recognize their higher calling to serve God in this way. We recognize the important role they play in passing on the faith to the next generation and their genuine efforts to promote the spiritual and intellectual development of every student.
Teachers, you are important role models in the lives of the children entrusted to your care. The time students spend with you represents a great potential for developing Catholic life skills. We recognize you, not only for your dedication and excellence, but for the important role you play in how our students view themselves, their faith and the world in which they live. I know I speak for Bishop Finn, our Shepherd, and the Catholic School Office, when I encourage your continued efforts, recognize your sacrifices, and praise your achievements. I promise you the continued dedication and efforts of the Catholic School office in this transitional period during which I am privileged to serve as the Interim Superintendent of Catholic Schools. As a husband and father, I know the value of a Catholic education, which I, myself, enjoyed. I remember in particular Bishop Finn’s injunction, “Catholic schools exist for a supernatural purpose:” to assist students in developing virtue on their path to ‘eternal salvation.’
As Bishop Finn reminded all of us in a recent statement:
For more than a year we have been engaged in a Comprehensive Planning Study for our Catholic schools.... We want to make sure that our schools are on a firm footing for generations to come. We want to make sure that they are faithful to the very message that Our Lord Himself revealed. They will be excellent in every aspect of their teaching and, perhaps most important, we will continue to examine and intensify the Catholic identity of our schools. The passionate determination to make our schools ‘unashamedly Catholic’ is the unique ingredient that sets us apart, and without which we could never justify the commitment to maintain our own schools.
The area of financial support for our schools is also being carefully examined as school study task forces, which continue to work towards the refinement of the Meitler study recommendations. This task is so vital that it must be completed only after every avenue of support is examined, understood and measured by the needs of all the stakeholders in the vital task of Catholic education.
Please continue your wonderful efforts on behalf of our children. I personally look forward to meeting as many of you as possible in the coming months and working hard to make our schools the best that they can be. You can count on my prayers for your daily efforts and I hope that I can count on yours as we take on the challenges facing our schools in our increasingly secular culture. May God bless all of us in the Catholic school family, may we pray to be docile to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and appeal for the intercession of Mary, Seat of Wisdom, in all that we do.