'Tis the Season to Be. . .Catholic?

Ah yes, Christmas is upon us here at Providence College. And, as the button I received at last Saturday's St. Pius mass states, "It's okay to say MERRY CHRISTMAS." But just a brief week ago, as the undeniably annoying holiday schedule would have it, I returned home to my cozy kitchen, ready for a relaxing extended weekend away from all things PC. (No offense, campus, but no matter how much I'll be wishing for these months in May, this semester has been a long one.)

Sitting down to a bowl of homemade sweet potato soup and an alum father ready to hear tales from the city, I grabbed the stack of mail from the counter and began to peruse, trying to avoid the inevitable, albeit sarcastic, question: "So, how many times did you go to Louie's last week?" Just as a festive L.L. Bean catalogue caught my eye - the perfect distraction - I also noticed the College seal peeking out from behind the inordinate amount of plaid. The letter was addressed to my parents, but as Padre caught sight of the flannel, curiosity struck, and I opened the letter myself.

Had I ignored the desire to see what the college administrators were sharing with those who get the tuition bill, I would not really have any reason to write this column. Had I told my mother to save that letter, I would still have hopes that maybe, just maybe, this Christmas I would get an administration that is working on its communication skills. But the letter, which, in all honesty, got thrown out with the remains of that sweet potato soup, was one that deepened my holiday cynicism even more. It was a letter, signed by Rev. Brian J. Shanley, president of Providence College and endorsed by the Office of Mission and Ministry, that was trying to evangelize me. It may sound a bit intimidating, but that's their term, not mine.

Funny thing is, it's the entire student body the school wants to "evangelize." So, if I'm the one they're focusing on, why was this the first I had heard about yet another "strategic plan?" Now, I wish that I could quote from the letter directly, but unfortunately, it's long gone and hard to find - literally. Yesterday, an afternoon call to the chapel (the place I would think to go to for Mission and Ministry) was greeted heartily and apologetically, as the chaplain who answered the phone could not get me a copy - he had only gotten word of this parental address 10 minutes earlier. As I made it to Harkins Hall at 5:00 p.m. on the nose, I was met by dark offices and locked doors. Unable to find a hard copy, I turned to technology - www.providence.edu. There I did not find a copy of the letter, but I did find "Casting a Broader Net: A Pastoral Plan for Outreach and Evangelization at Providence College," dated 11 months ago, March 2008, and in it, many of the words that made my father say, "They never did this kind of stuff when I was at PC."

I've been trying to figure out which category of Catholic I fall into, Campus Ministers. Am I "disengaged?" I go to mass every week. Am I a "seeker?" I've been on a campus ministry-sponsored retreat. Am I "devout?" I'm actually quite comfortable with my faith this week. These are the three headings under which the Office of Mission and Ministry is pigeonholing its students, and revealed to our parents in this letter. But as a student, I like to know when I'm being pigeonholed. So I continued reading the strategic plan.

To be fair, the goals of this pastoral plan are not all bad - reaching out to students is not something to be angry about, especially after the great alcohol policy debacle of '08. I don't think anyone could argue with better publicity for public service opportunities. Reassigning Mass times to better suit the schedules of students is a great idea. But by classifying students into three distinct groups with distinct solutions to their apparent issues with personal faith, these studies and reports are further alienating those they are trying to reach. As a Catholic reading this plan, I can think of only one way to describe the tone: holier-than thou.

If the plan's primary goal is "building relationships and a stronger sense of community among students, across our campus, and beyond the boundaries of Providence College," perhaps the Office of Mission and Ministry should refocus its efforts on the actual student body. Wasting paper and postage to notify parents of changes that look good in print mean nothing if the general College community is left unaware.

Post-script: As Editor-in-Chief of The Cowl, should I read the weekly Q&A section that we are apparently supposed to publish, directed at the disengaged? Noted in the Executive Summary and Foreword on page three, the Three Levels of Engagement section on page seven, and the Level One catechesis on page eight, the Q&A will demand "minimal commitment of time and religious conviction" in "publishing responses to students' questions on issues of faith and spirituality." As far as questions go, Tiffany and Earl are the only ones around here who handle those. And if I'm a seeker, I don't really think I need anything else.