Welcome to Christendom's Alumni E-Zine. If you have information that you would like to share with your fellow alumni, send it to Tom McFadden at tmcfadden@christendom.edu.

The Grapevine Online will be uploaded, depending on the amount of information sent to the editor, every month. It will have a couple of sections (when information is available), namely, Class Notes (your basic information on alumni babies, weddings, jobs, etc.), Calendar of Events, and Links to various recent stories about Christendom College and/or the Alumni of Christendom.

Of course, all comments, suggestions, and information should be sent to tmcfadden@christendom.edu.

July 2003 edition of The Grapevine Online

Class Notes / Calendar of Events / Links to Stories / Prior issues /Old Editions of The Grapevine Print Edition

Class notes (Click here for the NEW Print Edition - for spouses at home to read)

From May issue of The Grapevine Online: [U.S. Marine John O'Brien ('99-??) is still in Iraq. His wife Maria (Gaetano) O'Brien ('02) is still pregnant, due in June. The suspense continues: will John be home for the birth of his first child? Tune in next month for the season finale...] The Saga ended on Monday, June 9, at 1:54 p.m. when John David O'Brien was born to Maria and John O'Brien after 12 hours of labor, at BirthCare maternity center in Alexandria, Va. He weighed 7 pounds and was 19.5 inches long. By nothing short of a miracle, his father was allowed home from Iraq on emergency leave for two weeks and was present for the birth. Thank you to everyone who prayed for this intention! John is now back in Iraq and Maria and John David are doing well. Although thoughts of calling the little one JD have entered their minds, they say that his name will be John.

Katie (Bailey-'02) and Tim Halisky '02 had a baby - little girl, Juliette Marie, 9 lbs, 1 oz, born June 12th. Mother and daughter are doing great.

Don Goodman '03 and Catherine Garrett '03 are planning on getting married on August 2, 2003.

Tommy Bodoh, son of Greg ('94) and Michelle ('93), recently welcomed a new little sister to the family (see photo on the right). Renée Therese was born on June 22nd, the Feast of Corpus Christi. Renée's patron is Saint Rene Goupil, the first of the North American Martyrs. She weighed in at 9 pounds and is as sweet as can be!

Tom and Heather McGraw and their five children are currently homeless, having sold their home of nearly seven years to a very nice Christendom donor. "This is a time for growth in our Faith," says Tom. "Yes." says Heather. They do have some land nearby, and a tent, and so at least until about Mid-November, they should not be in any danger. If you wish to contact them just send letters to Tom and Heather c/o General Delivery, Front Royal, VA.

Ryan Callaghan '02 and Katherine Mirus '02 were wed on Saturday, June 28th, in the Chapel of Christ the King on Christendom's campus.

Pat Haggerty '92-'93 and Susan Lee '99 are engaged to be married.

Nancy Lee '96 married Guy Bauer on May 24, 2003, at St. Bridget's Catholic Church in Cheshire, CT. Attendants in the wedding included many CC alumni: Marcia Lee ('94-'95), Susan Lee '99, and Robyn Lee '01. Maryan (Lee) VanderWoude, wife of Dan VanderWoude '92, sang at the wedding. Nancy and Guy honeymooned in the Outer Banks in NC and are now residing happily ever after in Front Royal: 22 Colonial Drive, Front Royal, VA, 22630.

Hope (Chesanek) Johnson and family are living and working in Mississippi. She remains the only alumna in the entire state, and Mississippi still remains the only state from which no student has come to Christendom! She has been working on that problem, but most of her friends do not have children old enough to come. Keep this work in your prayers! Her son William made his First Holy Communion this year. Marguerite is 11, William is 8, Olivia is 5, and Benjamin is 2. They are all happy, healthy, fun little kids - true blessings in every sense of the word. She hase received permission to begin an atrium for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (Level I, ages 3-6) at their Cathedral this fall, and she could not be more excited! Please remember their work in your prayers.

On June 7th, Tim Coffey and Leah Stephens were married in Angelus, Kansas. Over thrity Christendom Alumni traveled from all over the country to share the day with them. Tim and Leah are now living in Des Moines, Iowa.

Gabriel Young '01 sends his greetings from Bamberg Germany! He had the good fortune of not only being selected for a prestigious legal internship with the US Army (which isn't even't his branch -- Go Air Force!) but also of swinging an assignment in Germany! Work is going well. If anyone wants postcards from anywhere in Germany or in Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Czech, or Hungary (still working on getting their visas for Moscow) where hewill be traveling after the internship finishes at the end of July -- send your mailing address to gmtyoung@yahoo.com. He hopes everyone (all 1200 alumni) is doing well and looks forward to seeing all of them in October at Homecoming 2003.

Kate(Murrell) and Joe Pride are expecting their second baby in early March.

Megan Anderson ('03) has started work as a legal assistant at The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, where she is happy to be combining her interests in the law and religious liberty. If you are ever at Dupont Circle, stop by and see her.

Regina Reninger (class of 1992) is now singing up a storm with her barbershop quartet, the Melody Angels. The quartet has been together a little over a year, and just passed their audition (so they can sing in public now - yeah!) They are all members of the Vienna-Falls Chorus of Sweet Adelines International, and will be competing with the chorus in mid-July at the Harmony Classic Contest (for small and mid-size choruses) in Greenville, SC.

Matt Coffey '03 will be teaching at a Catholic school in Kansas City come fall.

Elizabeth Kish '03 is currently suffering from withdrawals from singing karaoke at the Texas Spirit Saloon in Front Royal and she is teaching a pre-kindergarden class for a summer program at a small Catholic school in Houston. Sometime this month she will head up to Milwaukee, WI for an interview for a teaching position. Begining in the Fall, she hopes to be teaching full time...somewhere....any ideas?

Sr. Mary Immaculate of the Eternal Father - Bernadette Almeter '98 - will be making her solemn profession and veiling on Sunday, July 20th, with the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Buffalo (NY).

Pat Scanlon '03, who you'll read about a little later on, is in need of a decent, non-gas guzzling car. Not too expensive, not too cheap: $3000-$5000. Let him know by emailing him at scanlonpatrick@hotmail.com.

From seminarian Bjorn "Bernardo" Lundberg: "Mexico is great: particularly Queretaro, the historical center of the country so to speak. So far, so good: no Montezuma's revenge. For the Feast of Corpus Christi, we joined a one hour outdoor Mass, followed by a 2.5 hour procession through the streets of the city with five benediction stations. Outstanding! Last weekend we visited the Sierra Gorda mission churches, particularly the first five built by Bl. Junipero Serra. The mountain ranges and views are amazing! Hope you all can come and visit before August 2nd. Adios!"

Doug and Nancy (Popik) Briggs and family are happily expecting child #9 around Christmas. (This has nothing to do with the Beatles, by the way. . . .) Also, they are happily/sadly sending off #1 Monica when she flies the coop for Christendom this fall. Yes, those of you who remember babysitting her when she was little are in fact getting old like the rest of us. And yes, living a mile away at the College does constitute "flying the coop".

Andrew and Sarah Antonio are living happily in Lafayette, IN with their son Christopher. Sarah spends her days chasing after the 11 month old monster and praying that she can survive after the next one is born in October. Andrew is enjoying his new job with WesternSouthern financial group and he loves being a daddy. They are currently buying a home to shelter their rapidly growing family and all prayers in that direction are welcome!

For those that are interested Theodore Schwalm is putting together videos and DVDs of the Ordination (both to the deaconate in '02 and the priesthood in '03) and First Mass of Fr. Thomas Longua, FSSP (Christendom class of '92). Information is available on my web site at http://www.traditionalmass.net/traditionalmass.nsf/VideoPreOrder?OpenForm. The '03 Ordination Mass also has the ordination to the deaconate of the Rev. Mr. Gerard Saguto, FSSP (class of '98).

Dane Weber '03 is working in the admissions office of Christendom College, although he won't be full-time until August. He is also going to start taking summer classes from IPS in July. He will be a full-time student at IPS (Institute for the Psychological Sciences [www.ipsciences.edu]) this August as well. He hopes to pursue a doctorate in counseling psychology, which he should be able to achieve in five years (2 for M.S., 2 more years of coursework for the Psy.D., and a fifth year of 300 hours of supervised clinical work and a doctoral dissertation). IPS is a fairly new and totally Catholic institute. Currently, he is rooming with Pat Scanlon '03 and Michael Baron '03 in the apartments formally called Guardian Angel Academy. Mike is working at Seton Home School and Pat is installing sattelite dishes.

Jennnifer (Knopf, '97 -'00) and Jeremiah Tutwiler are very happy to announce the birth of their first child, Aidan James, born May 7th (a full month early!) He weighed 5lbs. 8oz. and was 19-1/4" long. Andy and Heather (Tutwiler) Hibl are his Godparents and Heather wants to steal him from Jennifer!! He is very healthy, happy and strong -- he has already figured out how to rollover! For those who may be wondering, he is named for St. Aidan of Lindisfarne, abbot and missionary to England. P.S. -- Jen's new email address is tutwiler@shentel.net

And now, DEEP THOUGHTS by Claire Jensen '03, Paul "Koochie Koo" Kucharski '01, and Pete Jensen '99: We wonder how long it will be before Larissa Fedoryka (you all remember her...she's been to Christendom, Steubenville, Ave Maria, and back again) and Marc-Pierre Jansen '02, Christendom's most popular Europhile Bohemians, end up meeting in some obscure cheese shop in Lichtenstein or perhaps at the base camp of K2?

The Grapevine Online was recently blessed to have received communication from the International Man of Leisure, Marc-Pierre Jansen. Apparently, he is in Bavaria (as reported in the last issue), drinking his recommended liter (he's still using the metric system...he's from Canada) of beer each day. After, his Germanic debut, he will wisk himself off ff to Switzerland to attend TASIS (The American School in Switzerland) were he will lead hiking excursions in the Alps and possibly even do some glacier skiing. Yes, a Rileyesque life indeed!

Maria "Nomad" Bissex '02 is slowly coming to grips with the reality of having put over 5000 miles on her car in the last month. She is also still trying to recover from her recent visit to Steubenville . . . ! Otherwise she is very much enjoying her summer, thinking about going to California in August (not in her car), and looking forward to teaching the dear little munchkins again in the fall. She welcomes visitors to her new home in Manassas, especially visitors who bear food of any sort.

And finally, another update from the always interesting Pearse Marschner '02: Pearse Marschner's days of sitting by the pool are over. There is a lot of work to be done in Baghdad and he is deeply grateful and profoundly humbled to be involved in such a cause. The tears of gratitude being shed by women who can finally know the truth about what happened to their murdered husbands for whose return they have been chastely waiting and praying for the last 15 years are worth every US penny spent in coming over here. But don't be deceived. Their deprivation and sufering has not been in vain. There are spiritual virtues in this country, practiced by muslim and Christian alike that would shame the most pious among us. He asks for your prayers for the people of Iraq and for the modern Crusaders who are fighting and dying that others may live in peace.

And here are July's Alumni Happy Birthdays........

David A. Hickin 7/1 Regina M. Reninger 7/1 Marcia Gruessing 7/1 Philip J. O'Herron 7/1 Laura C. Henderson 7/1 Paul J. Jalsevac 7/2 Lorraine K. Overbeck 7/3 Paul A. Moriarty 7/4 Theresa Squire 7/5 Anthony Julio 7/6 Elizabeth Heisler 7/6 Marc-Pierre H. Jansen 7/6 Sr. Teresita Joy 7/7 Daniel P. Fier 7/7 Elizabeth S. Pilon 7/8 Andrew J. Fier 7/8 Kathryn E. Krieger 7/8 Christian S. Madore 7/8 Anne M. Francis 7/9 John A. Adams 7/9 Daniel S. Zwick 7/9 Claire M. Jensen 7/9 Clinton W. Hepler 7/9 Kathleen Jackson 7/10 Patrick J. Dean 7/10 Maire K. Duggan 7/11 Elizabeth A. Calanchini 7/11 Katherine A. Kharouf 7/11 Rita M. Curley 7/12 Michelle Peters 7/12 Peter A. Brown 7/12 Theresa A. Egan 7/13 Emily C. Price 7/13 Gabrielle Tuttle 7/14 Catherine Burch 7/15 Sean P. Garvey 7/15 Jonathan T. Carlson 7/15 Sean. Finnegan 7/16 Jennifer L. Flippen 7/16 Amy K. Wingate 7/17 Fr. Albert Heidecke 7/18 Walter Janaro 7/18 Mary Artis 7/18 Joseph H. Heisler 7/18

Peter E. Heisler 7/18 Gyoparka M. Csizmazia 7/18 Thomas Zepeda 7/18 Amy V. Donahue 7/18 Sr. Mary Michael Fox 7/19 Niall O'Donnell 7/19 Rebecca M. O'Herron 7/19 Sr. Mary Joannes B. Caballes 7/20 Holly E. Carmichael 7/20 Marlena S. Larson 7/20 Aimee Bono 7/20 Beth. Bowes 7/20 Lisa R. Kirchner 7/20 Jeremy Cunney 7/21 Kathryn A. Price 7/21 Maria C. Romero 7/21 Clare Rohan 7/22 Carmen L. McCoy 7/22 Katherine B. McMahon 7/22 Kateryna Cuddeback 7/23 Elizabeth M. Belleville 7/23 Andrew Antonio 7/23 Thomas Kosten 7/24 Michael Summers 7/24 April Ann T. Scatena 7/24 Gerard R. Longtin 7/25 Mary S. Wake 7/25 Patrick G. Haggerty 7/25 Mary V. Price 7/25 Anne-Mary F. Judge 7/26 Melany B. Brown 7/27 Margaret O'Donnell 7/28 Fr. Ben J. Cameron 7/28 Joseph M. Skube 7/29 Cary A. Carey 7/29 Alysha A. Cimprich 7/29 Angela M. Wolfram 7/30 Shalon Spring 7/30 Susan A. Orlowski 7/30 Sofia M. Olkiewicz 7/30 Miguel R. Flores 7/30 John M. Brown 7/31 Marianne Siegmund 7/31

Calendar of events

October 10-11, 2003: Homecoming

October 14-21, 2003: Alumni Pilgrimage to Rome

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Press Releases and Campus News: http://www.christendom.edu/news/releases.shtml

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Stories

Christendom in the News:

Who Teaches with the Church? Georgetown Won´t Tell Parents

-Tim Drake

WASHINGTON - Which Georgetown theology professors teach in communion with the Church?

The question is on parents´ minds after an incident at Georgetown´s graduation this year. When a Vatican cardinal´s words so offended a Georgetown theologian that she walked off the stage in protest.

During the next several months the Register will publish its ongoing investigation of Catholic colleges and universities featured in U.S. News and World Report´s college guide and ask the question: Are parents allowed to know whether those who teach theology even intend to teach in
communion with the Church? Or has the opposite happened - is the canon law mandatum being used to protect dissenters?

Starting in 1983, canon law required that a theologian teaching in a Catholic university receive a mandatum from the local bishop, showing his intention to teach with the Church. When it became clear that Canon 812 was being overlooked by many dioceses, Pope John Paul II in 1990 brought it to the front of the debate again with the apostolic constitution for Catholic colleges and institutions, Ex Corde Ecclesiae (From the Heart of the Church).

Now it´s 2003, and some parents say the mandatum is being used as a way to hide dissenting professors, not expose them.

During his meeting with the U.S. cardinals last year, Pope John Paul II said parents "must know that bishops and priests are totally committed to the fullness of Catholic truth on matters of sexual morality, a truth as essential to the renewal of the priesthood and the episcopate as
it is to the renewal of marriage and family life."

Parents say that many bishops and universities won´t tell them whether or not theologians are committed to Church teaching.

The nation´s oldest Catholic university, Georgetown is ranked 24th among national doctoral universities by U.S. News and World Report´s America´s Best Colleges 2003.

According to Chester Gillis, theology chair at Georgetown, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick met with the 25 full-time theology department members last spring and invited them to apply for the mandatum.

But today, neither the administration, the archbishop nor theology faculty members will say which have received mandatums.

"It´s a confidential matter," Gillis said.

Ex Corde Ecclesiae (From the Heart of the Church) "treats it as a confidential matter between the ordinary and the individual professor," he said.

The situation at Georgetown University is, in this matter, representative of the majority of Catholic colleges and bishops in the United States. Most Catholic colleges and their bishops refuse to tell who has a mandatum. They claim that the mandatum guidelines require that it be a
private matter between the individual theologian and the bishop.

But some bishops disagree.

Omaha, Neb., Archbishop Elden Curtiss told the Register that all 35 theology faculty at both Creighton University and the College of St. Mary in Omaha received the mandatum. He told them he would publicly name those who refused.

Chicago´s Cardinal Francis George told the Register that "A mandatum is a public reality, like getting a degree from a university. It´s a fact that a bishop has given a particular faculty member a mandatum that they are teaching in communion with the Church. That is a public matter.
Whether to publicize it or not is a private matter."

"It´s a personal act," he added, "but personal acts are sometimes public, like receiving a sacrament."

While the U.S. bishops´ guidelines don´t explicitly address the question of whether mandatums should be known to the public or not, they are unequivocal about one thing: Every Catholic theology professor has to have one.

"All Catholics who teach theological disciplines in a Catholic university are required to have a mandatum," it continues.

Canon 812 uses similar language, without specifying Catholics: "It is necessary that those who teach theological disciplines in any institute of higher studies have a mandate from the competent ecclesiastical authority."

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith´s 1990 instruction "The Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian" explains the reason for the mandatum when it says that one who has become a Catholic theologian has "freely and knowingly accepted to teach in the name of the Church" (No.
38).

What´s a Parent to Do?

Asked how a parent or student might be able to determine whether a theology faculty member had received the mandatum, Gillis said it would be at the discretion of the individual professor.

Parents, on the other hand, said such knowledge would be very helpful to them when choosing a college such as Georgetown.

"Our aim is eternal life," said Pat Hain of Wilmington, Del. "We want our children to be rooted in something solid and in truth. I am very aware of the sad reality that at many Catholic universities there is much teaching going on that is not faithful to the magisterium. It´s a difficult decision for any Catholic parent."

Hain´s son, Raymond, was considering Georgetown, the University of Notre Dame and Christendom College.

Lacking the minimum knowledge to help him make a judgment, Raymond said he pored through the college course descriptions to try to help determine which college would be "both challenging and orthodox."

In the end, he and his parents settled on Christendom, a school whose theology professors have all applied for mandatums.

Hain said that whether their son attended a Catholic university that wasn´t detrimental to his faith was "a great concern."

A recent Higher Education Research Institute study conducted by the University of California-Los Angeles showed that Catholic students´ moral views were weaker, rather than stronger, after four years on Catholic college campuses.

The fact that Christendom was upfront about its support of the mandatum played an important role in their decision.

"I don´t know if the Catholic theology professors realize the power that they have to bring unity to the Church - and what a wonderful way to do this, through the mandatum," Hain said.

Students Feel Lost
Knowledge of the mandatum, stated 2002 Georgetown theology and philosophy graduate Stephen Feiler, would have been important to him in his studies.

"I would have appreciated knowing which faculty members did and did not have the mandatum, so that I could have chosen my classes accordingly," he said. "The mandatum does little good if there is no way to differentiate between professors teaching - or not teaching - authentic Catholic
theology."

"In the name of ´academic freedom´ many professors are highly suspicious of any Church involvement," said Feiler, who works as a communications specialist with the Knights of Columbus. "I believe that a small number of faculty members, specifically Jesuits, have requested the mandatum, but I have no way of knowing for certain."

Neither Cardinal McCarrick nor Georgetown President John DeGioia commented on how the mandatum is being implemented at Georgetown.

"Georgetown University´s position is that the mandatum is a personal issue between theologians and the local ordinary," university spokeswoman Gloria Lacap said.

"Cardinal McCarrick is working directly with the theologians on implementation," said Susan Gibbs, director of communications for the Archdiocese of Washington. "He has not released anything publicly but is moving forward on it."

Gibbs suggested that if parents contacted the cardinal´s office they would not be told who has received the mandatum.

"There wouldn´t be a list," Gibbs said. "It would be more appropriate for them to check with the individual professors."

Whether or not a professor has been granted the mandatum appears to make little difference on campus.

"It will not affect their employment at Georgetown," Jesuit Father William McFadden, a theology professor, told the university newspaper The Hoya. "We´re not even allowed to ask if somebody´s Catholic or not."

Students and parents still hold out hope for schools like Georgetown.

"Under President DeGioia´s leadership, Georgetown has made significant strides in enhancing and celebrating its Catholic identity," Feiler said. Still, others think the struggle must be met with prayer.

"Those who see this struggle have a great responsibility to continue to pray," Hain said. "Prayer will unite the Catholic universities that publicly support the Church. There is no shame there. Once the Catholic universities begin to do this, our Church will become stronger and more
united."

Tim Drake writes from St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Reprinted with permission from the National Catholic Register. All rights reserved.

You can find this article at:
http://www.catholic.net/us_catholic_news/template_article.phtml?channel_id=1&article_id=506

Christendom College Alumni Pilgrimage to Rome!
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