SHMS to set benchmark for theological education, says new Rector

Communication is critical to effective leadership, believes Fr. Steven Boguslawski, Sacred Heart's new rector and president. Accordingly, on May 13, two weeks after assuming his new position, he met with the seminary community, members of the Detroit presbyterate and key archdiocesan representatives to outline the goals and aspirations of his administration.

Committed to Detroit

"I came here because I share the yearning of the presbyterate to train men and women, as Vatican Council II instructs us to do, that is with the 'mind of the Church' and the full engagement of culture," Father Boguslawski explained to the gathering. "Our presence at Chicago and Linwood shows that we are committed to the citizens of Detroit. Our people are here. Our cathedral is here. Our churches are here. Our challenges are here.

"Sacred Heart has much to give the people of this city—Catholic, Protestant, Jew or Muslim. And Sacred Heart Major Seminary has much to learn from the peoples of this city."

Forming "Men of Communion"

Father went on to affirm his commitment to Cardinal Maida's charter for action: creating a "signature institution of theological, pastoral, and spiritual formation."

One practical example of this commitment is an upcoming symposium sponsored by Sacred Heart, entitled "The Call to Holiness and Communion: Vatican II on the Church." The symposium, to be held in November at the John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., will feature an international representation of some sixty scholars.

The new rector was unequivocal about the inspiration behind this event. "This symposium grows organically out of the fundamental mission of Sacred Heart Seminary: training individuals to become 'people of Communion.'" He described these individuals of communion as men and women who love the Church and
who pour out their lives caring for the people of God.

Father Boguslawski pledged to uphold this ideal in the formation of ordained and lay ministers by working alongside the seminary community to address the pressing concerns in the Church today. These include cultivating lay spirituality in American culture, forming a healthy, integrated and celibate priesthood, and tending to the needs of the poor and marginalized.

"There can be no New Evangeli-zation without a comprehensive re-tooling of pastoral theology that address concrete human needs," he said.

Degree in the New Evangelization

"Sixteen years of incremental growth find us poised to embrace the challenge to 'cast out into the deep,'" observed Father Boguslawski, referring to an exhortation in Pope John Paul II's encyclical Novo Millennio Ineunte (At the Beginning of the New Millennium). This includes the development of an innovative Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) graduate degree program. It will focus on the New Evangelization and feature:

• A multicultural urban orientation that embraces "culturally rich and ethnically diverse enclaves of Christians, Muslims, and Jews."
• Works of justice and issues of globalization with a preferential option for the urban poor.
• Sophisticated video-conferencing technology put to the service of the gospel.
• Evangelists who are "properly trained and who exhibit faith and social action based upon the interpenetration of doctrine and culture."

New Academic Chairs

Toward this end, Father Boguslawski cited a number of developments to be instituted at the seminary in the near future. First, he announced the establishment of six endowed Chairs, three of which are to be named after "representative Men of Communion" from the Archdiocese of Detroit:

• The Father William "Bill" Cunningham Chair for Catholic Social Analysis and Urban Evangelization
• The Bishop Walter J. Schoenner Chair for Homiletics and Apologetics
• The Edmund Cardinal Szoka Chair for Faculty Development.

Three additional chairs will recognize "People of Communion who have made singular contributions to the Church of Detroit and beyond." The additional and as yet unnamed chairs will specialize in the New Evangelization, Life Ethics and Sacred Scripture.

"Each chair is integral to meeting our present-day challenges," said Father Boguslawski. "We cannot be content to maintain the status quo. We must set the benchmark for theological education in the Midwest."

Some of these milestones to be instituted at the seminary in 2004 include:

• Creating a consortium of seminaries and pro-fessional schools of theology to share library resources and personnel, replacing "a competitive model of recruitment and education with a collaborative paradigm."
• Utilizing innovative teaching techniques, including video-conferencing "smart classroom" technology, to link partner schools and form a strategic alliance with the Intercultural Forum of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center.
• Offering a new graduate degree concentration, both as a specialization within the Master of Arts Program and as a pontifically approved Licentiate in Sacred Theology.

Supporting the Vision

In his closing remarks to the gathering, Father Boguslawski acknowledged the challenges of turning this ambitious ideal into reality.

"To educate one student in the Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies costs almost twenty thousand dollars in tui-tion alone. For seminarians completing the undergraduate and graduate programs, the cost is over ninety thousand dollars in tuition, which represents about a third of the actual cost."

He then challenged the archdiocesan community to embrace and support the developing vision of Sacred Heart. "Without a vision the people perish. Sacred Heart has such a developing vision.

"Won't you make this possible?" he urged in conclusion.