It never hurts to talk about good news . . . ACE at Notre Dame

My own view is that we are in challenging times for Catholic institutions and the challenge -- but also the need and the importance -- will only grow.  At Distinctly Catholic, Michael Sean Winters has a really good piece up, talking about Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education (A.C.E.) program (for which the brilliant and talented Prof. Nicole Stelle Garnett works, in addition to her Notre Dame Law School gig).   Also, here is a piece I did ("Treasure A.C.E.") on the program, about 5 years ago.  MSW's post opens with this:

On Monday mornings, the staff and faculty associated with Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) gather in a small chapel on the ground floor of Visitation Hall for Mass. This past Monday, Father Timothy Scully, CSC, who started ACE in 1993, was the celebrant when I joined the group for the Mass. The service is simple: guests, including myself, are welcomed, an introductory hymn (2 verses, very RC), a short homily, a song at communion. The passing of the peace takes awhile as these colleagues embrace each other at the beginning of their work week. Afterwards, I threaten to report the group to the Congregation for Divine Worship because I am not sure the passing of the peace was as somber as the CDW thinks it should be. After Mass, everyone heads upstairs for a breakfast together before heading off to their offices to set about their work.

And, what precisely is that work? In shorthand, some people think that ACE is trying to save Catholic parochial schools, the educational equivalent of an architectural preservation firm. This could not be more wrong. During a morning of meetings with different staff members it becomes clear that the group has no interest in maintaining the Church’s nineteenth century infrastructure for its own sake: They are passionate about educating today’s young people in schools that are not surviving but flourishing. . . .