The Catholic Women's League of Canada has three main areas of focus, also known as the Three Pillars: Faith, Service and Social Justice. Many Councils have chosen to structure themselves with Standing Committees to align with these pillars. The committees should work in collaboration to meet the goals and priorities of the Council.
In a Three Pillars workshop at the 2024 Diocesan Fall Meeting, the Diocesan Council used our long standing commitment to the CWL Chair for Catholic Studies at St. Mary’s University to illustrate how a common issue can be addressed by each committee. A question from the perspective of each of the pillars was presented at table discussions; the responses to these questions have been summarized below.
Faith Question: Why is higher Catholic education, specifically St. Mary’s University, important to our Diocese and Province? How can we prayerfully support St Mary’s?
- It fills a gap in the education system, especially for our prospective Catholic School teachers. Difficult to find Catholic teachers so to have a local university will help to alleviate this, keep our faith alive and vibrant.
- StMU is the only Catholic University in the province! If we want Catholic Education to be here we need to have the people at the front of the class to be presenting Catholic values, principles, don’t have such a large secular influence
- Educating students with Catholic principles fosters students – furthers adults with faith principles – makes better people to make a better province.
- Making Catholic Education institutions visible and accessible gives the public a choice that they can consciously choose.
- Often graduates from a Catholic University receive recognition and move south. (Problem: Many of us feel the political stance in our province does not support this, so we need to align our votes accordingly.)
- Develop professionals in every sector of our society. Bring catholic faith to their life & career and continue to be involved with the church.
- There is a mentorship element at St. Mary’s and every student matters.
- Alberta still has publicly funded Catholic Education – so a place of higher education will continue this. Higher Catholic Education important – retain their catholic faith,
- To evangelize and to promote Catholic Faith
- To maintain and support Catholic teachers throughout the Diocese and beyond, keep our faith alive and vibrant.
- Faith based – faith opportunity. Understanding of our Faith – share with students
- Ambassadors throughout our Dioceses, small campus, good place to start.
- It is important because we could be a recognized presence promoting Catholic Education.
- It is a higher presence that not only does it promote higher education through spirituality.
How can we prayerfully support St Mary’s?
- What can we do? Pray for Catholic Education, Fundraise – e.g. collect $1 per week per member, Advertise their courses at our parishes
- pray specifically for St. Mary’s, rosary, Adoration, offer Mass intentions, novenas, prayer circles
- Lobby Government – letter writing
- Students as speakers to promote
- Funding to be able to have programs for all students
- Focus on the Youth
- Share to the Parish the information about St. Mary’s, and going to Catholic High Schools,
- Guidance counsellors made aware of St. Mary’s. Promote the fact that there is a Catholic University at High Schools and at churches.
- Sponsor a scholarship
- Express ideas at Regional Meetings for fund raising support.
- Scholarships earned by having a volunteer position with the CWL and the Church.
- Maybe donate through our Church information
- Fundraising or commitment in our local budgets to St. Mary’s
Service Question: Now that we have successfully achieved the $2 million threshold for the CWL Chair for Catholic Studies, how else can we serve St Mary’s? Why is this important?
- Fundraising for new education buildings. Promote building of dormitories housing the students. If they need to add to campus buildings we could do additional fundraising
- We should continue our monetary support and pray for them . In the volatile market 2 million may not be enough. Donate to fund raising campaigns for a specific need. Financial – in will (legacy)
- Fundraise for support staff – mental health
- Partnership between Diocesan and CWL Council @ St. Mary’s University. Diocesan Council (or parish councils close to St Mary’s) work with StMU to establish a CWL Council on campus. Students would learn about CWL, develop leadership skills, plan and implement activities on campus, etc. It would be reasonable for St Mary’s Chair for Catholic Studies to teach students about lay ministries and to support the establishment and maintenance of lay groups such as CWL, KC, SSVP – and to encourage them to work together on projects the same as we do at the parish level. It might even be possible to have support from the vocations office, the same as we want lay ministries and the priests / deacons to work together at the parish and diocesan level. The same could be done on other campuses: U of C, Mt Royal, Lethbridge, etc.
- Why is this important? The students would minister to others on campus, and gain knowledge and skills to carry with them after they graduate. Hopefully, when they start working, the young women would join CWL in their new parish (where ever they are living), apply the skills they learned at STMU, help rejuvenate / grow the parish council and, through that, the parish itself. That way the benefits spread throughout the Diocese and even outside the Diocese.
- Support by attending lecture series – wear scarves to represent CWL. Talk to others about St. Mary’s – promote it as an option for post-secondary studies. Ie. Smaller, more intimate, Catholic values. We should encourage our local high school students to attend a Catholic University. We need to ensure students, and their families are kept informed well before grade 12.
- Open the bursary/scholarship eligibility to CWL members, that way could attract younger (university attending) women to join CWL. We can pray and encourage people to attend this university. Support a bursary/scholarship that could influence a student’s choice to attend St. Mary’s
- We need to learn more about the St. Mary’s University and what programs they offer. What GPA standard is St. Mary’s for entry? Overall average of 65 % or higher on five 30-level subjects.
- Funding lobbying. Letter writing campaign to government. Contact MLA with letters from Diocesan that we can base our letters on.
Why is this important?
- It is important for the health and growth of the university which promotes our values.
- Important to continue to grow “missionary disciples”
- City of Calgary knows that there is a visible Catholic presence.
- For continuity
- To promote and expand knowledge
- To increase enrollment resulting more recognized
- Identify successful entrepreneurs/established businesses.
- To retain the student’s Catholic Faith
- If you don’t acknowledge its presence, it will be forgotten.
- It is a positive cycle for CWL to recruit Catholic students to attend Catholic institutions to stay Catholic, raise Catholic children, women who join CWL and repeat.
- To further Catholic Education. to promote the Catholic teachings.
Social Justice Question: How can we advocate for more equitable funding from our government for St. Mary’s University? Why is this important?
Why is this important?