Updating Cabrini’s Catholic Identity
Faculty, staff and students were invited to attend a luncheon to discuss Cabrini’s Catholic Identity Statement and be a part of the review and revision process. Sister Barbara Staley, general superior of Cabrini’s sponsoring order, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, attended the luncheon and also held a meeting in the library lecture room to hear people’s input and discuss the Cabrinian Charism. The event took place on Tuesday, Sept. 25 in the Mansion dining room.
There has been an ongoing process of examining Cabrini’s Catholic Identity. A task force was formed to review the current statement and possibly update it to modern times. The current statement, that was created in 2000, is the vision for the institution.
“Every aspect of Cabrini University emanates from that statement. It makes us who we are.” Ex Governance Admin Sec Board, Nancy Ollinger said.
Positive Reception
The new revision was greeted with a positive reception from attendees. The draft provides an updated language that was lacking in the current statement. The new version is separated into three distinct categories: faith, reason and advocacy. The new statement is very inclusive and speaks to who we are. The statement calls us to action and represents us as a community.
“I feel it gets the point across a lot better than the previous one did… It also made it more engaging because it being more spread out made it easier to digest,” freshman Brian Kohler said.
The Cabrini Way
Sister Barbara Staley wants to be a part of the conversation about what is happening on Cabrini’s campus. She wants to know that people feel they are a part of the Cabrini family. Sister Staley had visited the campus before and felt she did not achieve what she wanted. She felt that people were looking to her for answers when she really just wanted to hear others perspective and work together.
Cabrini Charism was the main focal point in the discussion. The core definition of Charism is “the gift given by God for service to the world into the church.” Our actions flow from values found in the life and teaching of Jesus, “We strive to respond to others with compassion and to serve with excellence. We seek to communicate God’s personal love in ways that touch hearts, inspire deeper relationships with God and foster the authentic human and spiritual development of ourselves and others.”
“The University is at a bit of a cross road for figuring out its future…we have a chance to really set a course for the future and I think this was a really valuable time to be reminded about who we are as a Cabrini institution, and in that way I think her visit was very valuable,” interim director of the Wolfington Center Ray Ward said.
The faculty discussed how they implement the Cabrini Charism into their life. That God’s mission is the same, but there’s a different feel when you’re at Cabrini.
“For me the Cabrini Charism means that I don’t have to compartmentalize who I am into different boxes for different parts of my life. I get to be who I am in terms of my faith, my heart, my service whether i’m here at work or at home or whether i’m at church,” acting Dean for the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Michelle Filling-Brown said.
