I have been using my column for two of the last three weeks to share the background and details of three initiatives by the Archdiocese in Catholic education/formation. I have already informed the archdiocese about two of the three initiatives: the Values and Virtues Programme (Catholic News, October 14) and Revitalising Catholic Education (Catholic News, October 28).

This week I shall present the last initiative that has been taken by the Archdiocese: The Catholic Religious Education Development Institute (CREDI).

Historical background

During the second session of the Archdiocesan Synod, the following resolution was passed: “Be it resolved that the Archdiocese establish a special committee to study the feasibility of establishing a Catholic University and the re-establishing of the Catholic Teachers College for both genders.” (Resolution 27)

As the committee began to fulfill its mandate, it discovered in the Archdiocesan Archives that the legal foundation for the implementation of the Synod resolution had already been established by an Act of Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

The text of the Act of Parliament read in part: “The Catholic Religious Education Development Institute is hereby created a body corporate.” (Act 41, October 14, 1997)

The committee began to build on the Act of Parliament as it made every effort to implement the Synod resolution. An advisory committee of key personnel with interdisciplinary skills was established to collaborate with the committee to move the plan for tertiary education/formation forward.

CREDI

There are three inter-related aspects about CREDI that form the context in which CREDI must be understood: Vision, Mission and Objectives.

Allow me to explain each aspect briefly:
1) Vision: The Vision of CREDI is to develop whole persons by integrating mind, body, heart and spirit;
2) Mission: The Mission of CREDI is to encourage living faith, lifelong learning, character formation and reverence for creation. CREDI’s activities will be guided by the principles of spiritual motivation, professional productivity, teamwork and solidarity. In keeping with the mandates of Act 41 of 1997, CREDI will build spiritual, intellectual and professional capacity in all areas of Archdiocesan operations
3) Objectives: CREDI has four objectives:
3.1- To foster the human, spiritual and apostolic development of its students to provide a body of skilled professionals to manage and staff the various departments of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain; 
3.2-To provide tertiary education, principally to members of the Catholic Church, to enable them to contribute professionally to the ministries of the Catholic Church;
3.3-To enable members of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain and eventually other dioceses of the Caribbean Catholic Church to respond to the call of the Bishops of the Antilles Episcopal Conference for lifelong learning;
3.4-To enable its students to choose Church service as their first or second careers.

Academic affiliation

CREDI is linked with the following academic institutions:
1) The Regional Seminary which is itself linked with the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus;
2) The undergraduate and graduate levels of Dayton University in Ohio;
3 ) The School of Theology of Duquesne University in Pittsburg;
4) City and Guilds in London, England through which an Associate Degree in educational leadership can be earned thereby qualifying candidates for undergraduate and graduate degrees.

The system of academic partnership will enable CREDI to initiate and exercise oversight regarding staff qualifications, admissions, grading criteria and certification procedures.

Each academic partner will provide an academic advisor to work closely with the administration of CREDI to ensure compliance with educational specifications and international academic standards.

In its initial phase of operations CREDI will offer its students undergraduate and Masters level programmes in Communication, Academic Administration, Teacher and School Leadership through Dayton University and graduate level degrees in theology through Duquesne University. The faculty and library facilities of the Regional Seminary will also be available to the students of CREDI.

Conclusion

The third initiative of the Archdiocese in Catholic education/formation that is described in this column is a major initiative for the future staffing of the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Port of Spain and in the Caribbean Church. It enables teachers to complete their governmentally required certification in a Catholic atmosphere.

In my Pastoral Letter, “Deepening the Spirit of Solidarity in the Archdiocese of Port of Spain,” I called for a new tradition to be developed in which skilled, certified and professionally experienced laypersons stand together with priests and religious to educate and form a community that is truly Catholic, to serve the needs of the Catholic community and to enable the Catholic community to continue contributing to the life of the nation and the region.

The Church must do its part to build that new tradition. CREDI represents the effort of the archdiocese to help prepare the next generation of Catholic leaders in administration and ministry.

I invite everyone in the archdiocese to pray for the success of this significant initiative and for those who will benefit from CREDI that they will collaborate in solidarity to build the future of the archdiocese.