St. Michael's College School: Do the parents need a lesson in Catholic Education?

[UPDATE: 22-11-2018: After further revelations of sexual and physical criminal activity, St. Michael's College School "postponed" the "A Gift of Glamour" into the new year] 

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St. Michael's College School, as of this writing, is proceeding with its annual "Fashion Show" on November 22nd. Then, an alumni event is planned for the 30th. How is this possible? When are we going to hear that these events are CANCELLED?! 

We are in the midst of a massive sexual abuse crisis! Just what is going on!!?? 

What about addressing the moral climate at the school? We have not heard one apology, not one word about reparation, not one word denouncing the evil as EVIL, and as SIN. 

For those of us who are alumni, this is profoundly disturbing. We are deeply saddened, though not surprised by the angry, heartless response of so many parents, who - based on their interactions with the media - are concerned with only protecting the "brand", and their hefty financial investment in their son's education (?). In all of this we see a pattern of abnegating the Catholic Faith, for a miasmatic pottage of money, secularism and conformity with the  prevailing "culture".

Education is not just about technical proficiency or advanced degrees. These goals, admirable as they are, are secondary. Such were plentiful in Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. Such is plentiful in modern-day Communist China. 

A Catholic education, is therefore, primarily about moulding the soul, the mind and the heart towards Christ, who is the beginning and end of all things. Training students to seek after holiness is the centre of any Catholic education. 

Pope Benedict taught: 

First and foremost every Catholic educational institution is a place to encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming love and truth (cf. Spe Salvi, 4). This relationship elicits a desire to grow in the knowledge and understanding of Christ and his teaching. In this way those who meet him are drawn by the very power of the Gospel to lead a new life characterized by all that is beautiful, good, and true; a life of Christian witness nurtured and strengthened within the community of our Lord’s disciples, the Church....

 Set against personal struggles, moral confusion and fragmentation of knowledge, the noble goals of scholarship and education, founded on the unity of truth and in service of the person and the community, become an especially powerful instrument of hope....
A university or school’s Catholic identity is not simply a question of the number of Catholic students. It is a question of conviction – do we really believe that only in the mystery of the Word made flesh does the mystery of man truly become clear (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 22)? 

Are we ready to commit our entire self – intellect and will, mind and heart – to God? Do we accept the truth Christ reveals? Is the faith tangible in our universities and schools? Is it given fervent expression liturgically, sacramentally, through prayer, acts of charity, a concern for justice, and respect for God’s creation? Only in this way do we really bear witness to the meaning of who we are and what we uphold. From this perspective one can recognize that the contemporary “crisis of truth” is rooted in a “crisis of faith”...

Please let your concerns be known to the Basilians' spokesman, Fr. Thomas Rosica, who can be reached at: 

Father Thomas Rosica, CSB
Phone: 416-879-5766
Email: trosica@basilian.org

His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins may be reached at: 

Phone: 416-934-0606, ext. 609
Email: archbishop@archtoronto.org