Ex Corde’s Effect

CHRONICLE.COM, April 4 — While few theologians have sought the mandatum to teach at Catholic colleges required by the American bishops, Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Ex Corde Ecclesiae has “had a positive effect,” said Father Joseph O’Hare, a former president of Fordham University.

“At a time when many people have been unsure how Catholic their Catholic institutions still were,” observed the Web site of The Chronicle of Higher Education, “the document has provided an impetus for a reinvigoration of a Catholic campus identity.

“Colleges have established institutes of Catholic studies, organized religious speakers’ series, and asked faculty members to reflect on adding Catholic content to the curriculum.”

Academic at Heart

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Even as pope, John Paul remained in many respects an academic, publishing, as is well known, at least 11 books, including two books of poetry.

However, it may surprise some that he also published a total of some 300 articles throughout his life, “most of them in scholarly journals,” according to a tally that was included in the Times obituary of the Holy Father.

A 1978 visitor to the study in his archdiocesan residence in Poland, reported the Times, “found 1,500 books on the shelves, including the works of ancient and modern philosophers, leaders of the church in Greek and Latin … as well as volumes on many subjects in various languages.”

Tuition-free

THE CATHOLIC STANDARD AND TIMES, March 23 — In an era of school closings and consolidations, declining enrollment and skyrocketing costs, St. Andrew the Apostle School in Drexel Hill has made history as the only tuition-free parochial school in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

It’s an achievement the parishioners attribute to trust in God and a parishwide commitment to stewardship, including the tithing of seven percent of their gross household income.

In addition, 700 families committed to attending Mass on Sundays and holy days, and participating in one or more parish ministry.

Academic Dean

FRANCISCAN SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, April 1 — Marist Father Faustino Cruz, a professor of practical theology and education at the Berkeley school since 2000, has been named academic dean of the school.

He succeeds Franciscan Father Joseph Chinnici, who stepped down after nearly five years in the post.

Father Cruz holds master’s degrees from the Franciscan School of Theology and the Graduate Theological Union and a doctorate from Boston College.

Two Aces

ST. LOUIS REVIEW, March 25 — When senior Paul Barker scored a perfect 36 on the ACT Assessment Test last fall, everyone at St. Louis University High School felt pretty proud as only .02% of all students achieve a perfect score.

Then Joel Westwood, a junior at the same school, repeated the feat, scoring 36 on the February ACT. Nobody knows the odds on two students from the same school getting perfect scores.

St. Louis University High, an all-male Jesuit college preparatory school, has an enrollment of 1,050 boys; more than 20% are associated with the National Merit Scholarship Program.