Graduates of the program will be pioneering new ways for
the Church to educate her leaders to carry out her mission.
Priests studying for their Licentiate in
Sacred Theology are joined by Archbishop
Allen Vigneron, center with pectoral cross,
during a break in their five-week summer
residency at the seminary.
collegiality, as priest-students share meals
together, celebrate Mass together, and sup-
port each other in their studies.
Exchanging Ideas
Fr. Casey Jones summarizes the reward-
ing educational and communal experience
the priests encounter in the program. The
priest of the Diocese of Venice (Florida) is
active in youth and young adult ministry
as a high school and college chaplain.
Because most of the courses are taken
online, he says, “The blended STL has al-
lowed me to be a present and active priest
in my ministry, so I am actually able to im-
plement the things which I am learning.”
Father cites as an example being able to ap-
ply what he is learning into his homilies.
“It’s very advantageous to not have to
travel abroad or go away for several years,”
in order to earn the degree, he adds.
Father praises the “absolutely outstand-
ing professors” who teach the summer
session courses. He also enjoys the inter-
action among fellow priest-students. “We
pray with each other, talk with each other,
and exchange ideas with each other. I see
what other priests are doing to advance
the new evangelization.
“There is a lot of networking and ex-
changing of ideas after hours,” Father
Casey says. “That has been just as benefi-
cial as the courses.”
“The main thing is that we’re not
alone,” concurs Fr. Joseph Kim. The voca-
tions director for the Diocese of San Jose
is part of cohort four, having completed
four years of classroom work for the STL
degree this summer. “A unique part of this
program is that priests come from so many
different ministries and areas of Church
life, all continuing to reflect in the same
way on this new evangelization.
“I’ve got brothers from Peoria, Illinois,
from Florida, New York, and all these plac-
es that largely have similar situations — low
church attendance, weakened faith. All of
us being able to come together has been
a huge encouragement to me as a priest.”
Sacred Heart’s instructors enjoy the
summer session experience just as the stu-
dents do. Dr. Mark Latkovic, professor of
moral and systematic theology, has been
teaching during the summer for the past
three years.
“I find it a time to explore areas of our
program that we don’t always have an op-
portunity to—in my case, for example, the
seminar on technology and the New Evan-
gelization,” Dr. Latkovic says, adding that
the students teach the instructors a thing
or two, as well.
“I learn from their diverse experiences
in parishes across our country or in other
countries. I admire their desire to find
ever new ways to preach the gospel in a
culture often hostile to it.”
Dr. Patricia Cooney taught a course on
Vatican Council II this summer. The pro-
fessor of spirituality and systematic theol-
ogy says she learned a great deal from the
“rich, thought-provoking discussions” and
the “engaging” PowerPoint presentations
of her priest-students. “I was impressed
and inspired by their commitment to the
STL program,” she says.
First of Its Kind
The Licentiate in Sacred Theology
has a specialization in the theology and
methodology of the new evangeliza-
tion. Popularized by St. John Paul II,
the new evangelization calls Catholics
into a more personal, life-changing re-
lationship with Christ, while calling the
Church to proclaim the basic gospel mes-
sage to the people of the secularized first
world nations. The curriculum stresses
social analysis from a Catholic perspec-
tive, family and bio-ethical issues, and
modern catechetical techniques, so that
graduates can express the teachings of
the Church in fresh ways.
The STL is a “pontifical” degree, mean-
ing it has the full endorsement of the Holy
See through the Congregation for Catho-
lic Education. Sacred Heart’s STL degree
is the Church’s first pontifical degree of-
fered with an online component.
To learn more about the blended-format
STL in the New Evangelization, visit shms.edu/stl.
shms.edu
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