Holy Cross confers 698 degrees

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

WORCESTER – In an age of suffering in the Church and polarization in the nation, Holy Cross College graduates’ ability to dialogue is needed.
Jane Dammen McAuliffe, a scholar of Islam, made that point in her address at the 173rd commencement of the College of the Holy Cross, held last Friday at the DCU Center.
Valedictorian Isabel Anna Block spoke of her classmates taking stands against injustice.
Honorary degree recipients were lauded for their outreach at the commencement, at which 698 bachelor’s degrees were awarded. Receiving honorary degrees were Ms. McAuliffe, Frank Thomas Kar-theiser, a Holy Cross graduate who helped found the Mustard Seed soup kitchen and Worcester Interfaith, which help local people in need, and Jesuit Father Sean O’Connor Carroll, executive director of the Kino Border Initiative that assists migrants on the U.S.-Mexico line.
Undergraduates celebrated their own achievements with much cheering, smiling, waving of diplomas and waving to supporters. In a somber moment, Jesuit Father Philip L. Boroughs, the college’s president, acknowledged the families of Joshua Pellerin and Henry Carr, deceased members of the Class of 2019, and the audience gave them standing ovations. The president said the class designated their gift for a Holy Cross scholarship in memory of the two students.
Ms. McAuliffe, who has served on the Vatican’s Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims and participated in the Building Bridges meeting of Muslim and Christian scholars, also had serious messages. A leader at the Library of Congress, she said her office is across from the United States Capitol, “the epicenter of political polarization, a place where communication frequently fails.”
The graduates have learned how to dialog across differences, and will choose causes where such talents can make a difference, she said. She proposed three of the possible choices: “Muslim-Christian engagement,” the Catholic Church and education for females.
 Holy Cross allowed graduates to develop a religious sensitivity which prepared them for inter-religious engagement, she said; there people can speak comfortably about religion in ways foreign to the secular cultures of most colleges.
“I seek your compassion and conversation about our Catholic Church,” she said, acknowledging that not all graduates were Catholics. “Right now we Catholics are having a tough time. So many of us are hurting; some of us are suffering grievously. Our friends and relatives are walking away in disgust and discouragement.
“But I beg you, the Catholic graduates of 2019, to hang in there. Support the tens of thousands of good priests whose lives remain beacons of selflessness. Your skill in conversation and dialogue can begin to bridge the divisions and heal the wounds. Your lay leadership is our hope for the future.” Listeners applauded.
Ms. McAuliffe also suggested graduates think about the education of girls and women. Women are in the majority in most American graduating classes, but in many countries they have just a few years of education or are illiterate, she said.
“Can you push the conversations for cultural and social change that will open doors for your sisters?” she asked graduates.
She asked them to “speak to important issues even when it’s awkward and uncomfortable” for the renewal of “our nation and of our democracy.”
Ms. Block, a mathematics and Chinese double major, talked about her fellow graduates serving others, taking “stands against injustices,” and fighting for “the betterment of this school and the world around us.”
“Whether it be through providing bus transportation to voting centers … helping to organize the sit-in in Fenwick to change the campus culture, attending the vigil after the tragedy at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, raising voices to advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, or by confronting and challenging institutionalized racism, the members of Holy Cross’ Class of 2019 have shown unwavering courage, strength, and unity,” she said.
The Jewish representative at the college’s Multi-faith Community Prayer, she said Elie Wiesel’s words gave her clarity about her role as a member of the Jewish community. She shared the following quote: “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
Father Boroughs reminded the graduates how he’d told them four years ago about St. Ignatius of Loyola and other college students who founded the Society of Jesus, whose legacy still has global impact 450 years later. He’d asked how the Class of 2019 would serve the common good.
Now, four years later, he talked about their experiences at Holy Cross leading them to graduate studies, professions or volunteerism and expressed hopes for their future. One hope was that “the College’s commitment to spiritual growth, religious development, and our human need for greater silence, prayer and thoughtful decision-making, will continue to mark your lives.”


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