SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS | FAITH UNPACKED Lessons of Faith
By David Dault, PhD
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David hosts the weekly radio show Things Not Seen: Conversations about Culture and Faith. He also cohosts the Francis Effect podcast with Father Dan Horan, OFM. He lives with his family on the South Side of Chicago.
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David Dault, PhD
ast year, around this time, my daughover the situation involving students from ter, Maggie, was preparing for her first Kentucky’s Covington Catholic High School Communion. This year, as I am writing this, at the 2019 March for Life. Though there my son, Beckett, is preparing for his. were many ways of interpreting the viral Neither my wife nor I was raised Catholic. videos that swirled around them, it was clear She grew up Presbyterian, and I was raised that the public was scrutinizing not only the as an atheist. This means that she and I intentions and behavior of the youths, but have been on an adventure with our chilalso those of Covington Catholic itself, as an dren through their formative years. We have institution. watched them learn about saints, prayer, and What concerns me is that, when the the stories of the Bible. spotlight has been shone upon these schools, We are learning about our shared faith serious questions have been raised. Questions together, and our children are leading the way. about their culture, their values, and the kind The Church rightly reminds us that the of Catholics they are helping to produce. first and primary As our children catechists in the lives grow and mature in of children are their the faith, my wife and parents. My wife and I talk about this, and I have a slight advanwe worry. There is so tage, though some much of the Church might consider it a and its culture that handicap, in that we we ourselves do not both have advanced know. We worry degrees in theology. that as Maggie and We do our best each Beckett get older, day to provide examthey also might find “Be a helper, ples, to answer questions, and to themselves in situations that not a hurter. help to guide Maggie and Beckett demand integrity, steadfast witBe a builder, on a proper path. ness, and moral courage. How will not a breaker. But I will be honest with you. they react? Will their school teach And above all, them what they will need in that Because neither of us was raised be kind.” in the faith, we also depend a lot moment? Will we? upon the education our chilSo we do what we can. dren receive in our parish school. Sometimes, it means sitting We greatly appreciate that the school takes down with our children and having conversaseriously the need for moral education and tions about what we are hearing on the news. Christian witness. We have seen this reflected We talk about the behavior of adults, and at every level of the curriculum, and it has even other children, and we explain to Maggie been a great help to us as parents. and Beckett that we expect that they will So I am mindful of how blessed we are, stand up for the “least of these” among us, as especially when I see reports in the media Matthew 25 says. about other Catholic schools. These are But mostly, it boils down to a simple schools that, in one way or another, have phrase, which we say to our children every failed to offer this guidance to young people. day as we drop them off at school. Our hope No matter where each of us stood in regard is that, if the kids hear it enough times, it will to the disputes over the confirmation of work its way down deep into their souls. We Brett Kavanaugh, it was clear that the accusasay: “Be a helper, not a hurter. Be a builder, tions brought against him and his classmates not a breaker. And above all, be kind.” reflected poorly on the culture of his Jesuit We still have so much to learn about our high school. faith. For now, that is the best catechism we’ve More recently, there was the controversy got.
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