Discusses a court ruling that Charles E. Curran, a tenured Professor of Theology at the Catholic University of America, had no right to continue to teach theology courses in the face of a definitive judgment by the Roman Catholic Church. (MLF)

The declining number of priests and nuns as teachers in Catholic schools, combined with the increasing emphasis placed on the role of the laity is shifting responsibility for leadership in Catholic schools to lay persons. The impact of this shift is being experienced in three areas: a new vision of the "ministry of teaching" which places lay…

Describes the incorporation of family-systems theory into the catechetical process by Blessed Sacrament/St. Charles Borromeo Church. This approach recognizes the role of the family in this area. Faith formation is holistic and simultaneously addresses the main areas of faith development and the context of an individual's life. Thus, family…

Recounts the discussions at the five-day Bishop's Institute for Social Communication in September 1999 held in Bangkok, Thailand to study and reflect on the impact of new communication technologies for "Being Church" in the 21st century. Describes the passion with which the local Church in Asia embraces of the countless possibilities…

The second in a set of five publications on the educational "ministry," this document is a plan book intended to help Catholic school teachers in their dual role of educating students in academic matters and increasing students' faith in the Catholic doctrine. A brief paper, "The Teacher as Minister," by Dr. Elinor Ford, is presented that claims…

The first in a set of five publications on the educational "ministry" begins with the title essay by Sister Rose Marie Hennessy. Citing Old and New Testament passages, the essay suggests that the Catholic School principal lives out a form of prophetic leadership in the church: to serve a given community in its relationship to God. "Guidelines for…

The silencing of theologian Charles Curran raises disturbing questions about American Catholic colleges' right to determine what is taught--or who teaches--in their classrooms. The right to dissent, freedom versus obedience, sacrificing credibility, threat to scholarship, and endangering federal funding are discussed. (MLW)

Finds that the life and writings of Thomas Merton can be quite appealing to high school and college students because he embodies and articulates the dynamic activity of God's call in his life. Merton gives voice to students' struggles to find meaning and to their difficulties in expressing their experiences of grace in their lives. (VWC)

The culture of Catholic education is based on profoundly human qualities animated by freedom and by faith. Because all aspects of Catholic education are intrinsically religious acts, teachers are free to teach all subjects for their own sake. Educators have the freedom to insist that everything in Catholic education be first rate, including…

The legal aspects and policy implications of Catholic University's withdrawal of a tenured faculty priest's ecclesiastical license to teach theology, in response to a Vatican judgment, are examined. (MSE)