Current Topics in the Sponsorship of Schools for Religious Congregations

1. Current Topics in the Sponsorship of Schools for Religious Congregations Alice I. Hession Director of Formation

2. Sponsorship Relationships Canon Law Recognize entity as ministry of the Church Faithful administration of the ministry Preservation of ecclesiastical goods Civil Law The way in which the canonical reality is expressed in civil law. Typically, through reserve powers that control mission, appointment of directors/trustees, alienation of property Sponsorship is a new term in the Church - 30 years or so. Sponsorship is a new term in the Church - 30 years or so.

3. Defining Sponsorship �Sponsorship is a reservation of canonical control by the juridic person that founded and/or sustains an incorporated apostolate that remains canonically part of the church entity. This retention of control need not be such as to create civil law liability on the part of the sponsor for corporate acts or omissions but should be enough for the canonical stewards of the sponsoring organization to meet their canonical obligations of faith and administration regarding the activities of the incorporated apostolate.� Jordan Hite, TOR

4. Defining Sponsorship Sponsorship of an apostolate or ministry is a formal relationship between a recognized Catholic organization and a legally formed entity entered into for the sake of promoting and sustaining the Church�s mission in the world. Francis G. Morrisey, OMI

5. Sponsorship Myths Sponsorship, as we know it, has worked fine It is important that all parties are �on board� Sponsorship is just a mode of governance A good board member makes a good sponsor.

6. Some definitions � A spectrum of relationships between the province leadership and various institutions (very different from place to place). Basically a North American issue. (Holy Cross brothers and priests) As we do these definitions, make a list of what you see as the focus of the definition. - What is the religious order giving emphasis to - How is it �defining sponsorship�As we do these definitions, make a list of what you see as the focus of the definition. - What is the religious order giving emphasis to - How is it �defining sponsorship�

7. Some definitions �

8. Some definitions � Xaverian Sponsorship is a complex of guiding principles, governance structures, formational programs and networking opportunities through which the Xaverian Brothers and their lay collaborators have come to ensure that the schools that carry the name Xaverian live up to their mission �to serve the Church in its work of evangelization, particularly through the ministry of education.� (Xaverian Brothers)

9. �Frequently the remark is heard that if we have encountered one model of sponsorship we are knowledgeable of just that: one model. In light of its evolutionary nature no single snapshot of sponsorship actually exists; rather the concept can be imaged as a collage or scrapbook containing various representations and continually in the process of being fashioned. � - Patricia Smith, OSF

10. The Evolutionary Waves of Sponsorship Family Business Model Franchise Model Partnership Model The Next Generation Family - Keys Kitchen Privileges Privileged Information Franchise Trusted co-workers given �selective� influence Introduction of new legal structures and governance Partnership - Greater lay involvement Attempts to integrate laity with the religious congregation Beginnings of deliberate lay leadership formation in mission Networking Family - Keys Kitchen Privileges Privileged Information Franchise Trusted co-workers given �selective� influence Introduction of new legal structures and governance Partnership - Greater lay involvement Attempts to integrate laity with the religious congregation Beginnings of deliberate lay leadership formation in mission Networking

11. Questions for Discussion How do the images of keys, kitchen privileges and privileged information fit your experience? To what extent do we still operate in the mode of �family business� or �franchise�? In your opinion, what does it mean to �sponsor� today?

12. Movements in Sponsorship [In the 90�s,] the question was no longer �should we sponsor,� but �how can we effectively sponsor with limited personnel and resources� and �how can we leverage sufficient control within collaboration to assure our meaning and mission?� Helen Marie Burns, RSM

13. Effects of Sponsorship

14. Some additional questions Whether and how we can make sponsorship the sort of force in our works that can hold them to their purpose � Whether and how sponsorship can provide for our works stability but not rigidity--that is, just enough structural shape to hold up through chaotic times but not so much as to hasten their obsolescence � Whether and how the institution of sponsorship is for us an enabler of life and progress � Whether and how the sponsoring of works is for us a source of both organizational coherence and flexibility and adaptability � Whether and how the sponsoring of works (and not just the works themselves) gives a sense and purpose to the lives of our members and to our life as an institute�

15. Movements in Sponsorship [In the 90�s,] the question was no longer �should we sponsor,� but �how can we effectively sponsor with limited personnel and resources� and �how can we leverage sufficient control within collaboration to assure our meaning and mission?� Helen Marie Burns, RSM

17. The Next Generation

18. Formation for the Next Generation

19. Theology of Sponsorship Built on theology of stewardship Built on theology of Baptism Vatican II theology � Decree on the Laity � Body of Christ Vatican II theology � Decree on the Laity � Body of Christ

20. Stewardship

23. Competencies for Sponsors

24. �The laity will be the arbiters of whether congregational identity survives�. Brother Stephen Walsh, CSC

25. Trends Move by dioceses to limit exposure by creating new juridic entities (public/private juridic persons) Move by Religious Communities to retain fewer reserve powers in corporations Creation of Sponsorship boards or councils who share some of the reserve powers of Religious Community leadership over sponsored institutions Reconfiguration of Religious Communities (through merging of provinces, creation of new national/regional structures) and attempt to develop national models Use of Sponsorship model (as it has been developed by Religious Communities) for bringing together other types of independent Catholic schools Attempt by schools once staffed or administered by Religious Communities to seek affiliation and/or sponsorship Religious Communities looking at various types of relationships: sponsorship, ownership, co-sponsorship; endorsement

26. Questions Raised Fear of the future On the part of Religious Communities On the part of trusted and long term collaborators (faculty, administrators, board members) Is Sponsorship a �stop gap� measure? Sponsorship means we are no longer subsidized by the Religious Community � feelings of abandonment Challenges of developing sponsorship models with diverse ministries (elementary & secondary education, higher ed, social services) Can we really ensure mission? 1) Fear - Leadership in Religious communities changes � New General Superior 1) Fear - Leadership in Religious communities changes � New General Superior

27. Future Issues Increased collaboration among diocese and religious communities in meeting the demands of the Church�s mission of evangelization Continued and further development of lay sponsorship, forming lay women and men to claim their own role in the Church and to share in the stewardship responsibilities. Increased networking among institutions � moving away from competition toward collaboration. Creation of sponsorship academies for education, social ministry, spiritual development that can assist people to be formed in the full range of roles and responsibilities of sponsors

28. Civil and Canonical Realities Civil Realities Changing climate for non-profits Liability issues Canonical Realities Attempt by Vatican congregations to understand Sponsorship in US context - 1983 Code does not envision issues in US today Effort to define and reign in sponsorship

29. Is it Effective? �The purpose of this paper is to suggest that such well-developed models exist and that they are highly appropriate to the needs of those education reformers wishing to generalize their insights and models beyond single effective schools. These models are found in the multischool networks founded and conducted by orders of religious men and women (brothers, priests, sisters) in the Catholic Church. These networks provide excellent models for effective linkage of schools serving students of different socioeconomic and cultural groups in widely separated locations.� In a working paper published by the Univ. of Washington, Graduate School of Public Affairs entitled �Building and Maintain Multischool Networks: Lessons to be Learned from the Catholic Schools� the author Mary Beth Celio uses the model of religious community sponsored school networks to address the issue of educational reform and the study of effective schools.In a working paper published by the Univ. of Washington, Graduate School of Public Affairs entitled �Building and Maintain Multischool Networks: Lessons to be Learned from the Catholic Schools� the author Mary Beth Celio uses the model of religious community sponsored school networks to address the issue of educational reform and the study of effective schools.

30. 6 Characteristics of Effective Schools 1.��A clear vision of their purpose, their mission. 2.��The leader of the individual school is fully formed (indoctrinated) into the central vision of the schools/network. 3.��Teachers and other staff form a community; they have become a faculty. 4.��There is a governance system appropriate to the ownership or control of the school. 5.��Some central services are provided consistent with the overall vision/mission of the school, but decisions are made at the lowest appropriate level. 6. There is an accountability system appropriate to an essentially site-managed system. In general, what the religious order networks can offer are examples of how a network of private schools has been able to work together without a cumbersome centralized bureaucracy. With very few central staff members, and very little interference in the day-to-day operation of their schools, the Jesuits, the Religious of the Sacred Heart, the Society of the Holy Child, and the other religious orders have been able to create and then maintain a network of schools. Although the schools within each of the networks are quite different from each other, in keeping with their �market� orientation, they share a common vision, a common history, and a set of services from the order itself which can assist in meeting the goals of the schools. In general, what the religious order networks can offer are examples of how a network of private schools has been able to work together without a cumbersome centralized bureaucracy. With very few central staff members, and very little interference in the day-to-day operation of their schools, the Jesuits, the Religious of the Sacred Heart, the Society of the Holy Child, and the other religious orders have been able to create and then maintain a network of schools. Although the schools within each of the networks are quite different from each other, in keeping with their �market� orientation, they share a common vision, a common history, and a set of services from the order itself which can assist in meeting the goals of the schools.

31. Challenges Expectations become crucial Clarity of roles Evolution � �What do the sisters want? - �What would the sisters do� - What should we do? �Is it a �certifier� of the philosophy and tradition? An evaluating body? �Is it a hierarchical structure that ensures common requirements? �Is it a service agency that provides needed programs, retreat, training? �Is it a network or a system? �When �push comes to shove� are the Brothers, Sisters, Priests still �in charge?� Expectations become crucial Clarity of roles Evolution � �What do the sisters want? - �What would the sisters do� - What should we do? �Is it a �certifier� of the philosophy and tradition? An evaluating body? �Is it a hierarchical structure that ensures common requirements? �Is it a service agency that provides needed programs, retreat, training? �Is it a network or a system? �When �push comes to shove� are the Brothers, Sisters, Priests still �in charge?�

33. Discussion What do you see as the role of Sponsorship structures in the future? What is the role of laity in these structures? What do you see as the most pressing challenges of co-creation in the future?