Archbishop: Future of schools may be different but no less glorious

Published: 2006-04-19

ATLANTA (CNS) -- Catholic schools have a precedent from which they can learn how to break through when things look rough, according to Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta. "The church of Jesus Christ was born in challenging times!" he said, echoing the theme of the National Catholic Educational Association's 103rd annual convention, "Charting the Future in Challenging Times." "From our very beginnings, we have faced difficulties that would have overwhelmed ordinary people," Archbishop Gregory said in his homily at the NCEA convention's opening Mass April 18. The convention was relocated to Atlanta after the original site, New Orleans, became unsuitable following Hurricane Katrina last summer. "Catholic educators are the heirs to the legacy of faith that was born in those challenging times," the archbishop said, alluding to the Gospel reading for the Mass, in which the apostles knew that Jesus was dead -- but did not yet know that he had risen. He called it a "temptation" within the church "to believe that yesterday was the zenith of our lives."

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