From left, Donald Cardinal Weurl and Bishop William Lori talk with SHU Trustee Father Robert Kinnally before the CAPP Mass in the Chapel.

Donald Cardinal Wuerl, the Archbishop of Washington, D.C., and a widely regarded authority on Catholic education, addressed the third annual CAPP Communion Breakfast at Sacred Heart University on Sunday, March 6th. Following a concelebrated Mass in the University’s Chapel of the Holy Spirit, at which Bridgeport Bishop William E. Lori was the homilist, the Cardinal addressed a capacity audience of 200 Catholic educators from Fairfield County in University Commons. The event was co-sponsored by SHU's Isabelle Farrington School of Education.

CAPP is an organization dedicated to promoting Catholic social teaching. The acronym is short for Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice. Centesimus Annus was written by Pope John Paul II in 1991 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of modern Catholic social teaching, and Pro Pontifice simply means “for the Pope.”

The Cardinal explored Catholic social teaching as a component of what is called the new evangelization. This papal initiative is designed to bring the Gospel to the people of the 21st century in ways that meet their needs and their communication styles. While the tried-and-true methods retain their validity, reaching out to young people who text hundreds of small messages a day, for example, means that other means must be employed as well.

Cardinal Wuerl addressed the crowd during the breakfast.

A priest for more than 45 years, he deplored the level of catechesis – the teaching of the faith – over the past generation and championed a new approach that ensures a maturing of belief over a lifetime. According to a recent survey, he reported, little more than a third of those polled said that living according to the Church’s teaching was very important to them, and modern believers face three powerful challenges from secularism, materialism and individualism – themes developed consistently by both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Wuerl noted that the Gospel’s instructions to feed the hungry and clothe the naked – literally carved into the exterior walls of the University Chapel – were fulfilled in Catholic social teaching that upholds the dignity of the human person. In the Diocese of Bridgeport alone, more than a half-a-million meals are served to the needy each year, and nine million people are reached annually by the country’s network of Catholic Charities organizations.

He closed his remarks with a recollection of Pope John Paul II’s visit with 500,000 young Catholics in Denver a few years ago. Reading from prepared remarks, he urged them, “Do not be ashamed of your faith.” Then, putting aside his notes, he corrected himself, “No, that is not what I mean. Not ‘Do not be ashamed,’ but ‘Be proud of your faith!’” The Cardinal encouraged the educators in the room to be proud of their mission and accomplishments and to spread the good news to others.

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