Catholic Theological Union Coronavirus Statement
March 23, 2020
MEDIA CONTACT:
Kellene Urbaniak, kurbaniak@ctu.edu, 773.371.5416
As we continue to observe the necessary “shelter in place” directive of the Governor, CTU has still been alive and at work! Those of you taking on-line classes know well how your professors are attending to their classes. I would like to thank our great faculty for responding so quickly and so generously to this situation — especially those who were not used to teaching on-line. I am also extremely grateful for the Bernardin Center’s online series “A People of Hope.” Fr. Robin Ryan’s wonderful zoom presentation, “God’s Presence in Suffering” was “sold out” last Tuesday and is still available at Learn@CTU. Next Tuesday, March 31, at 7 pm, CTU professors Richard McCarron and C. Vanessa White will discuss “Practicing our Faith in the Season of COVID-19.” Please plan on joining them!
At the present time all staff is working remotely — the Registrar, Enrollment, Advancement, the Business Office, and the Leadership Council. We are all reachable by email, so if you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Many have commented that the most frustrating aspect of this emergency is not knowing when it will come to an end. If the experience of other countries is any indication, we could be coping with staying at home and social distancing for another 40 to 60 days. This obviously would affect major events in the life of CTU. We have postponed our yearly “Blessed Are the Peacemakers” Trustee Dinner, originally scheduled for April 29, to October.
This crisis also affects events such as graduation. We are in the process of making a determination about whether to hold a graduation ceremony on May 21, postpone commencement for a later date in June, or schedule graduation at the beginning of the next academic year in September. As you know, we decided that all of our May courses would be on-line as well as this year’s Summer@CTU.
The current crisis calls on us to respond in prayer and service to the needs of our sisters and brothers — especially those afflicted with the virus. I’ll close this communication with a prayer attributed to St. Augustine:
Watch, O Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight,
and give your angels and saints charge over those who sleep.
Tend your sick ones, O Lord Christ. Rest your weary ones.
Bless your dying ones.
Soothe your suffering ones.
Pity your afflicted ones.
Shield your joyous ones, and all for your love’s sake. Amen.
Stay safe!
Rev. Mark R. Francis, CSV President
