Message From The Department Chair
Greetings and welcome to the Religious Studies Department section of the ND webpage!
The primary purpose of the Religious Studies Department at Notre Dame is to educate students about the Catholic faith, what it means to be a Catholic and how one should live their baptismal promises. This year we have added the sophomore level of the core curriculum spelled out by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in the document Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework for the Development of Catechetical Materials for Young People of High School Age. We are using the Credo Series from the Veritas publishing company. The introduction to the texts in the series states, “…in each book of the Credo series we invite young people to: attend and reflect on their lives; hear the story of God’s love for them; see the vision of what God wants for them; think about what this means; and finally, having encountered the Word of God in Scripture, in the teaching of the Church and in the experience of Christians through the ages, judge how it might apply to their lives and make a decision to act according to God’s will and as disciples of Jesus.” I am excited by the philosophy and goals of the Credo series, and believe them to be appropriate for our students.
We recognize that many students at Notre Dame come from non-Catholic, and in some cases non-Christian, backgrounds. We regard this diversity as a source of strength, and view our role as affirming their religious heritage while presenting and teaching the tenets of Catholicism in an academic and college-prep environment. By this we hope to encourage all students in their spiritual development. We see our mission of presenting Catholic tradition as fully compatible with this objective, since Vatican II urged Catholics to “acknowledge, preserve, and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among non-Catholics.” (Nostra Aetate) We invite all students to learn about our Catholic faith, how we live our faith, our Church and practices.
May God bless you and your families!
Roger M. De Silva
Religious Studies Department Chair
Director of Christian Service
News
In August freshman Religious Studies teacher, Mrs. Sharon Caron, and her husband welcomed the arrival of their son William. Mother and son are doing well. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Caron!
We welcome Joanna Cecilio (class of 2007) back to our ND community. Joanna teaches three classes of Christian Lifestyles and is the Director of the Kairos retreats. We are so happy Joanna has returned to share her gifts with us.
We are also excited about the new work space we have for the department. For those of you who have been associated with Notre Dame for more than two years you will remember where the Receptionist’s office was located on the corner of Woodman and Riverside. It is now the work space for the Religious Studies Department teachers. In that corridor you will find the offices for the Religious Studies Department Chair, the Director of Christian Service, the Kairos Director, the Campus Minister and Assistant Campus Minister. What was the Principal’s office is now the Campus Ministry Student Center.
We have been blessed in so many ways!