Abstract
As I have been a teacher or Coordinator of Faith Formation at St. Andrew and St. Rita
Catholic Academy in Indianapolis for the last twelve years, I have had the opportunity to
take part in many activities relating to the Catholic identity of the school. One aspect
kept troubling me. Some of our students seemed to not care about fellow classmates.
There was a lack of respect for one another and even the teaching staff. We had several
incidents of verbal fighting, and even a few physical fights. As a people of God, these
outbursts were not reflective of our faith.
Previously, I had had several conversations with the school principal in which we
discussed our concerns that many of our students did not show a caring attitude or
interest. This was a failure to care not only for those people and devastating situations
that took place in their neighborhoods and community, but also for their own classmates
with whom they were present day in and day out. As the principal and I agreed, there
seemed to be a lack of empathy on the part of the students in our school. Therefore, I
chose to make this the focus of my pastoral project.
