In his Apostolic Exhortation, Catechesi Tradendae (1979), Pope St. John Paul II noted that the whole Church is responsible for the work of handing on the faith (cf., n. 16). He also noted that pastors have special responsibilities for catechesis: “Because of their charge, pastors have, at differing levels, the chief responsibility for fostering, guiding and coordinating catechesis” (n. 16). Thus, bishops and pastors along with their parochial vicars have the special task of ensuring that the fullness of our faith, with its language and expression, is transmitted to the faithful in order to foster the unity of faith and uphold the communion of the Church.

As you begin a new year of studies, I have you very much on my mind and in my heart. This moment in our history is challenging us to search our souls and to choose between justice and prejudice, violence and peace, reason and emotion. The media have recently been flashing before our eyes the images of angry protests across our nation. When the city officials of Charlottesville, Va., the hometown of Thomas Jefferson, decided to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a downtown park, they ignited a nationwide argument about the propriety of honoring heroes of the South’s confederate past. As a result of this controversy, a statue of Lee no longer towers over the city of New Orleans. And the limestone, almost life-size image of Lee no longer graces the entrance to the Chapel of Duke University in Durham, N.C.

In Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet fall in love. Coming from two warring families, these two “star-cross’d” lovers are doomed from the start. In the famous balcony scene, Juliet tells Romeo, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” This one brief line captures the tragedy of the entire play.

In 1835, French sociologist and political theorist Alexis de Tocqueville published Democracy in America, one of the most influential books of the 19th century. Previously, he had spent nine months traveling through the United States studying our religious, political, and economic character. His findings provide much wisdom concerning life in America. He astutely remarked that “The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.”