CISC Conference How to Survive Leadership in a Catholic School

Keepers of the Vision

The worship of the golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly human goal. Pope Francis

Who we are Why we are here Where we are going

Challenge Change Transformation

Let us all remember this: one cannot proclaim the Gospel of Jesus without the tangible witness of one's life. Pope Francis

The Mission To continue to create a world fit for God’s Children

Called to Service - Transformation True followers of Christ were meant to be at odds with the world: The pure of heart will be laughed at by the Freudians; the meek will be scorned by the Marxists; the humble will be walked on by the go-getters; the liberal Sadducees will call them reactionaries; the reactionary Pharisees will call them liberals. (Archbishop Fulton Sheen)

I have a dream that the Church is a Mother and a Shepherdess Pope Francis

Find new ways to spread the Word of God to every corner of the world Pope Francis

…“to seek new forms of non- conventional education according to ‘the needs of the places, times, and persons’. Pope Francis

I ask you, instead, to be revolutionaries, to swim against the tide Pope Francis

Do not become, says the Pope, “too polite, who speak of theology calmly over tea. We have to become courageous Christians and seek out those who are the flesh of Christ.” Pope Francis

"The function exercised by the school in society has no substitute; it is the most important institution that society has so far developed to respond to the right of each individual to an education and, therefore, to full personal development; it is one of the decisive elements in the structuring and the life of society itself." (Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 1982, #13)

The sacred Synod earnestly exhorts the pastors of the Church and all the faithful to spare no sacrifice in helping Catholic schools to become increasingly effective, especially in caring for the poor, for those who are without the help and affection of family, and those who do not have the Faith. (Declaration on Christian Education, 1965, #9)

God calls you Potential Gift

Don’t give up! The power to shape the future is earned through persistence. No other quality is as essential to success. It is the sandpaper that breaks down all resistance and sweeps away obstacles. It is the ability to move mountains one grain at a time.

Leaders who survive have the capacity to translate vision into reality one step at a time

No one said it would be easy !

A joyful mission..... This is the true joy in life - being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. ~George Bernard Shaw

Pope Francis asks us The question of “How to give them the legacy of a world worthy of human life; and how to awaken in them their greatest potential as builders of their own destiny, sharing responsibility for the future of everyone”

The absence of the Catholic school would be a great loss for civilization and for the natural and supernatural destiny of man. (The Catholic Schools, 1977, #15)

Upon Jesus’ arrival in heaven, a vast host of angels greeted him. After the formalities, they asked him whom he had left behind on earth to finish the work he had begun. Jesus replied, “Just a small group of men and women who love me.” “That’s all?” asked the angels, astonished. “What if this tiny group should fail?” Jesus replied, “I have no other plans.”