It was supposed to be my day off, instead, there I was again, in uniform, on duty because a fellow soldier had fallen ill, waiting for a group of pilgrims who had come to meet the Holy Father. I was upset. My dreams of a day off spent wandering around the Eternal City were spoiled and now I found myself standing guard in the middle of the shining marble floors of the Apostolic Palace, unaware that I would soon be witness to yet another life-transforming episode during my time as a Swiss Guard.
During his address to the group, composed mainly of priests and religious, St. John Paul II said that to be a priest means to be a man for others. That phrase was inscribed upon my heart and became a maxim for my life. Since that day my desire to serve our priests as they serve the Church and the faithful has grown. Here at The Bush School of Business and Economics this aspiration of mine will now be realized in an exciting new way.
Coming this summer a Master of Science in Ecclesial Administration and Management (MEAM), a professional degree that prepares clergy for effective parish leadership, will be offered to the inaugural class. The program will take inspiration from proven best practices and provide clergy with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to manage the day-to-day administrative responsibilities and challenges of today’s parishes.
Special emphasis will be given to fundraising, the transparent management of financial resources, the good organization and management of employees, and effective communication strategies. The degree promotes the dual aims of emphasizing faithful stewardship and fostering growth through evangelization.
The program recognizes the “managerial” role of the priest as implicit in his vocational responsibilities and seeks to impart a proper understanding of a managerial leadership which supports the priest’s call to live as both shepherd and servant.
Coping well with human and economic capital is not a simple matter, especially for those men whose pastoral ministry places them on the frontlines of the administration of the Church. The program is founded upon an appreciation of the primacy of the missionary nature of the Church and a recognition of the necessity for a certain facility with the more secular, technical expertise in finance and management.
Fully faithful to the Gospel and the Magisterium, and under St. John Paul II’s patronage, we will offer the necessary tools to support those responsible for serving the primary activity of the Church, especially in these times marked by increasingly scarce resources and ever-changing rules and structures.
Tell your pastor or priest friends about this new opportunity and please pray for our future students and our efforts to assist them.
Pope St. John Paul II, pray for us.
Mario Enzler, Professor of Finance and Director of the MEAM Program
from Business@CUA http://ift.tt/2oZAUTC
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