“This is one of the first collaborations at this time between a major Catholic university and an archdiocese to produce these kinds of online classes, and it’s something that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has been encouraging bishops and universities to do,” said C. Colt Anderson, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education.

The adult faith formation curriculum at Fordham is geared toward employees of the diocese, catechists, and lay leaders who are already working in some capacity with the church or ministry, said Anderson.

The online program consists of six courses— Introduction to Catholicism, Understanding the Creed, Understanding the Holy Scripture, Unveiling the Sacraments, Moral and Social Teaching, and Trinity and Christology—all of which were reviewed and approved by Anderson and the Archdiocese of New York’s Office of Adult Faith Formation. Each course runs for approximately six weeks, but the University plans to offer two courses for the fall, spring, and summer semesters.

“The courses are not just one long, continuous talking head video or audio,” said Anderson. “Instead, each lecture is about 7 to 12 minutes long, which means that students can participate at whatever rate they want. They can choose one lecture a day or do them all at once. It gives them maximum flexibility.”

The program will begin on Feb. 6 with an introductory course on Catholicism that aims to help participants recognize the connection between their lives as Catholics and a God who uses history as a form of communication.

By working with the Archdiocese of New York, the GRE hopes to help the diocese expand its reach and better communicate the teachings of the Catholic Faith to its community.

“It’s part of an initiative to meet the Jesuit mission of serving the local church,” said Anderson. “We’re trying to produce these courses in a way that speaks to the broad range of Catholics in the church around issues like unity, but we’re also making a new effort to communicate matters of faith in a way that postmodern people might be able to hear.”

The daylong conference, which promises to draw more than 500 men from New York City, Staten Island, and upstate New York, is cosponsored by the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education.

New York Catholic Men’s Conference
Saturday, March 21
7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Rose Hill Campus | Fordham University
Bronx, NY

Themed “Men, Be Who You Are!”, the conference will provide an opportunity for men throughout the Archdiocese to examine their spiritual lives. The goal is to help men cultivate a personal spirituality by encouraging participation in Church sacraments and promoting an active prayer life.

Speakers include:

• Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York
• Joe Kleck, former New York Jets defensive lineman
• Damon Owens, executive director and lecturer at the Theology of the Body Institute

Read more on the conference website.

For more information about attending, contact Kim Quatela at 646-794-3198, or by email.

The Fordham community mourns the death of Cardinal Edward M. Egan, Archbishop Emeritus of New York , a steadfast friend of the University and one of the community’s guiding moral authorities.

The cardinal, who passed away on March 5, was a frequent guest at Fordham events, where he offered many invocations at the annual Fordham Founder’s Dinners and presided over Masses on both campuses.

He was the recipient of an honorary doctorate of laws in 2001 and a President’s Medal in 2008.

“Cardinal Egan was a true son of the Church,” said Joseph M. McShane, SJ, president of Fordham. “He was the good shepherd to his flock, the elder statesman to his peers, and the steady leader of his archdiocese.”

“He was passionate about education, and about improving the lives of the most disadvantaged New Yorkers. He was a good friend to the Society of Jesus, and held a special place in his heart for Fordham. He combined great expertise with great humility, and he was one of the kindest men I’ve ever known.”

“He will be sorely missed by the Church and the city that he loved, and by all who were fortunate enough to cross his path,” said Father McShane. “I know the Fordham Family joins me in keeping Cardinal Egan in their thoughts and prayers as we mourn his passing and celebrate his life and works.”

Cardinal Egan was born on April 2, 1932, in Oak Park, Illinois. His was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1957 and was consecrated a bishop in 1985. From 1985 to 1988 he served as Auxiliary Bishop and Vicar for Education of the Archdiocese of New York. In 1988, Pope John Paul II appointed him Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport. In 2000, he was appointed Archbishop of New York and was made a cardinal in 2001. He retired from the post in May of 2009.

The cardinal was the eighth successor to Fordham’s founder, John Hughes. In 2004, Cardinal Egan rededicated the University Church following extensive renovations and blessed the space, tapping his crozier on the church door. In his homily, he recalled Fordham’s tumultuous beginnings and praised the Jesuits who took charge of the school in 1846, calling their work “the finest in higher education.”

He also bemoaned the nation’s pivot from religion, calling on the University to channel the strength of its founder to overcome challenges facing Catholic institutions of higher education.

“Secularism has become the national religion,” Cardinal Egan said. “Religious concerns are to be kept to oneself…to be made little of to ensure that they do not impede [what society perceives as progress].” Equally troubling, he said, is the skepticism that has become part of the world culture, blurring the certainty of knowing right from wrong. Education that realizes divinity, he said, must have a place in society.

“It’s not easy for Catholic universities to stand square with the teachings taught to us by Jesus Christ,” he said. “There will be ridicule, attempts to marginalize and retaliate, but…if we give in to secularism and skepticism, then we have betrayed our foundation.”

Cardinal Egan thanked Fordham for “being a beacon here on a hill.” He said the Catholic Church “couldn’t be here without you,” citing the hundreds of Fordham graduates who are leaders in education and in the church throughout the world.

The cardinal earned his doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and participated fully in the intellectual life of the church, as well as, occasionally, at the University. In 2001 when he received his honorary degree, he delved into the minutia of the natural law at a colloquium on subject.

Natural law is the intuitive law of reason that gives priority to basic human good, he said. It has been defined and redefined in religious, philosophical and moral contexts throughout history.

The cardinal then went on to chronicle the evolution of natural law from the Roman philosopher Cicero, who in poetic verse called it “a true law which is right, where reason is in harmony with nature,” to contemporary political philosopher John Rawls, who in contrast suggested people “set aside religion, philosophical and moral views when determining if a law is valid.”

Today, varying definitions are still batted around and should be carefully considered so as not to strip natural law of its essence as the nature of reason, he said.

“We can make valid judgments…with pure reason,” he said. “These basic principles are part and parcel of Western civilization and shouldn’t be lost.”

Why, she wondered, couldn’t clients of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York also benefit from brightly colored artwork in its facilities?

So in 2013, Bruce, the agency’s director of volunteer services, began soliciting artists’ designs for therapeutic art that could hang in its various facilities.

Artists Olivia Servais and Mackensie Leigh answered the call, and on July 17, members of Fordham’s Office of Development and University Relations (DAUR) paid a visit to Catholic Charities’ offices to help replicate their work. After tracing the outlines of the art on to square wood-and-cloth canvases, DAUR members used watercolors and sharpies to fill in the blues, reds, yellows, and greens of the collages.

Bruce said the canvases will be hung in facilities that are home to Beacon of Hope, an assisted living facility for 400 adults with severe mental illnesses; Catholic Guardian Services, which provides foster care services; and Incarnation Children’s Center, a nursing facility that provides specialized care for children and adolescents living with HIV/AIDS.

Beacon of Hope, she said, was the first to receive art, and the response was so positive that organizers at other programs began asking for pieces as well. In addition to the assembled canvases, Bruce has arranged for traditional outdoor murals to be painted on-site at the Incarnation Children’s Center.

“It’s an easy, fun way for groups to get together and contribute to the program,” she said.

For more information on how to volunteer, visithttp://www.catholiccharitiesny.org/get-involved/volunteer/.

—Patrick Verel