Stewarding the Mercy Charism

SUSCIPE
OF
CATHERINE MCAULEY
My God I am yours for time and eternity.
Teach me to cast myself entirely
Into the arms of your loving providence
With the most lively, unlimited confidence
In your compassionate, tender pity.
Grant, O most merciful Redeemer,
That whatever you ordain or permit
May be acceptable to me.
Take from my heart all painful anxiety,
Suffer nothing to sadden me but sin,
Nothing to delight me but the hope of coming
To the possession of you, my God and my All,
In your everlasting kingdom. Amen
Stewarding the
Mercy
Charism
Catherine McAuley
2012
28
2
27
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
On the Web
www.mercyinternational.ie—Mercy International Centre is the site of the
House of Mercy, Baggot Street, the original house of the Sisters of Mercy.
Visit this site to learn more about the Sisters of Mercy and its founding; virtually tour the House of Mercy and learn more about the Sisters of Mercy.
www.sistersofmercy.org—the main site for the Institute of the Sisters of
Mercy of the Americas. Visit this site to learn more about its history, mission,
ministerial works, locations, and communities, and more.
www.mercyworld.org—the site of the Mercy International Association, an
organization of the leaders of Mercy Congregations, Institutes and Federations throughout the world. This site has extensive resources for all wishing
to further Mercy in the world.
www.netmercyed.org—the main site of the Network for Mercy Education—
resources, information and links to Mercy education and Mercy secondary
and elementary schools and sponsored educational centers; printed and audio and visual materials, information on Network programs and initiatives
and more
“My legacy to the Institute is charity. If you preserve the peace and union which have never yet
been violated among us, you will feel, even in this
world, a happiness that will surprise you and be
to you a foretaste of the bliss prepared for everyone of you in heaven.”
Quoted in Carroll, The Life of Catherine McAuley, p. 435.
www.mercyed.org—a site maintained by the Network for Mercy Education
uniquely for education and formation materials, including the topics of
Gospel, Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Education, Canonical Relationships, Stewardship, governance and more...
Contact the Network for Mercy Education for information about
these and many other resources
“Stewarding the Mercy Charism” 2012—Network for Mercy Education
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KEY DATES
Table of Contents
Come to the Table
5
Charism
6
Tradition—Elements
7-9
Core Values
10
Foundation for the Mission
11
Institute Direction Statement/Critical Concerns
12
Mission Statements
13
A Community of Believers
13-14

1827—The House of Mercy on Baggot Street, Dublin, Ireland opens.

1831—December 12, Catherine McAuley and Anna Maria
Doyle and Elizabeth Harley profess their religious vows as
the first Sisters of Mercy and a new congregation is founded in Dublin, Ireland.

1991—The Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas is formally established July 20, 1991, with 25 regional
communities.

Beginning July 1, 2006 and through July 1, 2009 - The
reconfiguration of the twenty-five regional communities
into six Communities
Invitation: Add key dates for your Community and school
Sponsorship
15-16
Stewarding Resources
17-19
Telling the Story
20
Catherine’s Vision, Sister Frances Warde
21
“We
Key Terms
22-24
Key Dates
25
Web Resources
26
have one solid comfort amidst this little
tripping about: our hearts can always be in the
same place, centered in God - for whom alone we
go forward - or stay back.”
Letter to Sister M. de Sales White December 20, 1840
4
25
14. Reserved Powers: Powers stated in the bylaws which are retained by the
Members or their designee.
15. Sponsorship: Common tenets of meaning:
 Works conducted publicly in the name of the Catholic Church
 Responsibility to ensure that a work remains faithful to the (teaching)
mission of the Catholic Church
 Formal relationship between the sponsor and an apostolic work
 Ultimate responsibility for mission
 Significant influence over the culture of the ministry and the quality of
its service
 Stewardship of all resources, personnel, and fiscal assets according to
Church/civic law
16. Sponsorship Council: A council accountable to the Community Leadership Team which holds certain delegated sponsorship authority for schools
within a Community. Sponsorship Council members are appointed by the
Community Leadership Team which defines their authority. (Also referred
to as a Sponsor or Sponsors Council).
17. Subsidiarity: A principle of Church governance by which decisions are to
be made at the appropriate level.
with renewed commitment to ministry in service to Mercy sponsored secondary and elementary education and sponsored educational
centers.
Come, faithful to the mission, sharing a common legacy and
inheritance.
Steward this legacy and choose to pass it on with fidelity.
Mercy schools, houses of Mercy—may God bless all who steward well
the charism, values and tradition of
Mercy.
“We ought then have great confidence in God in
the discharge of all these offices of mercy, spiritual
and corporal – which constitute the business of
our lives, …”
Catherine McAuley, “Spirit of the Institute”
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5
Charism
C
harism is a word rich with meaning.
Charism: A specific gift, a unique gift in and for the Church (the Christian community; the People of God).
Charism: A freely given gift by the grace of God. The Mercy charism—
the gift which was given to the Church through Catherine.
The challenge: that it not only continue, but flourish, in the ministry
of Mercy secondary and elementary education.
Charism: From the Holy Spirit,
always at work within the Church.
Charism
both
gift and call.
“May God bless and animate you with his own
divine Spirit, that you may prove it is Jesus
Christ you love & serve with your whole
heart.”
Letter to Sister M. Frances Warde October 23, 1837
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8. Constitutions of the Sisters of Mercy: The document approved by the
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic
Life, Rome, December 12, 1991, as the “rule” of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.
9. Governance: A system of relationships that facilitates participation
and decision-making; the sum total of all the formal structures, relationships and operating principles. Governance for Mercy education facilitates the service rendered to fulfill the teaching mission of Jesus in the
tradition of Mercy. Governance constitutes a formal support system for
relatedness in Mercy, relatedness ordered to fulfill the mission.
10. Institute Chapter: The legislative and electoral assembly of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Its purpose is to “preserve
and promote our Mercy charism; elect the Institute president and council
(the Institute Leadership Team); evaluate the spiritual and material wellbeing of the Institute; clarify our role in the Church and in society; set
direction in keeping with our charism; and amend the Constitutions and
the Institute directory” (Constitutions #59)
11. Institute Direction Statement: Affirmed by the Institute Chapter in
2011, this statement provides the context for carrying out the Mercy
mission in today’s society.
12. Membership Corporation: a corporate structure in which the Sisters
of Mercy hold significant reserved powers relating to mission, fidelity to
charism, and powers to ensure financial and asset responsibility. The
Members represent the public juridic person required for Catholic institutional sponsorship by Canon Law. The Leadership Team of the Community serves as the Members of the Corporation.
13. Public Juridic Person: an entity recognized and approved by the Catholic Church to carry out a specific mission within the Church.
A Community of the Sisters of Mercy is the Public Juridic Person for a
Mercy sponsored secondary or elementary school. In co-sponsored or
shared sponsorship structures, a Community of the Sisters of Mercy and
another religious community or (arch)diocese each serve as the Public
Juridic Person.
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Tradition
Key Terms
Common language shared at the table:
1. Board of Trustees/Directors serves in a governance role with policy, planning and evaluative authority designated in the bylaws of the corporation.
Their authority is named in the school’s bylaws.
2. Bylaws: the outline of the rights and responsibilities of all parties to a corporation; authority for approval or amendment of the bylaws is named in the
reserved powers.
3. Canon Law: the system of rules and regulations made by or adopted by
ecclesiastical authority for the Catholic Church. The 1983 Code of Canon Law
is the most recent revision of the Code.
4. Catholic Schools: “Religious institutes whose proper mission is that of education, while faithfully retaining this mission of theirs, are also to devote
themselves to Catholic education through their schools established with the
consent of the diocesan bishop.” (Canon 801)
5. Collegiality: A principle of Church governance by which responsibility is
shared in order to enhance participation in the life of the Church and instill an
increased sense of ownership and concern for the future.
6. Community: one of the six communities which formed from the twenty-five
regional communities of the Institute. The six are: Sisters of Mercy of the
Americas—
 Caribbean, Central and South America Community – CCASA
 South Central Community
 Mid-Atlantic Community
 New York, Pennsylvania, Pacific West Community – NyPPaW
 Northeast Community
 West Midwest Community
T
radition - living and growing.
Fidelity to the legacy of Catherine McAuley requires, as she demonstrated, consistent awareness of need, flexibility in the face of need, perseverance, and trust in the providence of God.
Tradition is the faithful execution over time of the Mercy core values and
the continual acceptance of the gift, the charism.
Despite historical and cultural changes, charism has a spiritual continuity
as a gift to the church.
Tradition— a living gift.
Fidelity to the
Mercy
charism
becomes the
tradition.
7. Co-sponsored: In a co-sponsored or shared sponsorship structure, the Sisters of Mercy and another religious community or communities or (arch)
diocese each serve as the Public Juridic Person.
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Elements of the Tradition
Preferential option for the poor/Predilection for the education of
the poor and women.
“What an ineffable consolation to serve Christ Himself, in the person of the
poor, and to walk in the very same path He trod!”
Familiar Instructions, p. 16
The example of catherine mcauley’s life of generous service to the
needy, her deep faith and her trust in providence have been the inspiration
for thousands of Sisters of Mercy, and for their associates, families, friends,
colleagues, co-workers and co-ministers in ministry.
Vision
“You never knew her. I knew her better than I have
known anybody in my life. She was a woman of God,
and God made her a woman of vision. She showed me
what it meant …to see the world and its people in terms
of God’s love, to love everyone who needed love, to
care for everyone who needed care. Now her vision is
driving me on.”
Sister Frances Warde in a letter to Sr. Mary Gonzaga O’Brien, 1879
Special concern for women and children: “No work of charity can be
more productive of good to society, or more conducive to the happiness of
the poor, than the careful instruction of women (and men)…their example
and advice will always possess influence.”
Catherine McAuley, original Rule and Constitutions, 2.5
Mercy schools are environments for the charism of mercy to find its
lived expression.
All are invited to
claim the vision.
Spirit of hospitality: “We strive to witness to mercy when we reverence
the dignity of each person, create a spirit of hospitality and pursue integrity
of word and deed in our lives.”
Constitutions of the Sisters of Mercy #8
Centrality of education to the mission of the sisters of mercy.
“Catherine was convinced that Almighty God required her to make some
lasting efforts for the relief of the suffering and the instruction of the ignorant.” (Limerick Manuscript)
Unity in diversity: “Every place has its own particular ideas and feelings
which must be yielded to when possible.”
Letter to Sister M. Frances Warde November 17, 1838
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Telling the Story
The challenge: to learn not just of a moment in time in the past, but to reflect on Catherine’s gift: how she reached out to those in need; how she
encouraged and mentored others; how her work became a model of service
and faith. The challenge for each Mercy school: to model this within the
school community and in witness to the external community. To the external community of each Mercy school, the neighborhood, alums, parents,
the civic community, the (arch)diocese and local churches—to each Mercy
schools are called to both be the story and to tell the story of fidelity to the
charism, core values and tradition of Mercy.
Hallmark of excellence in education: “If we in Catholic schools are
not efficient teachers, our schools must degenerate, our scholars will
seek education elsewhere.”
Value-centered Catholic education with an atmosphere of welcome to persons of other faith traditions.
Tradition of service: "How rapidly the days, weeks, & months are passing. Another month ended, that seemed but a few days begun. If we have
not forfeited the friendship of almighty God - but have been trying to
love Him more and more and to serve Him faithfully, they were Blessed
days for us.”
Letter to Sister M. de Sales White February 28, 1841
Institutional advancement, marketing, public relations, development, and
recruitment/admissions programs communicate the story of Mercy in each
school as both witness and sign of hope and challenge to others. Let these
stories of Mercy schools reflect the themes of hospitality, dignity, integrity,
educational excellence, justice, service, spirituality, compassion, community,
respect, diversity, collaboration, option for the poor, leadership, Catholic
identity, and the call to Christian service lived each day. With these themes
fundamental to publications, videos, commercials, websites, signs, events,
open houses, gatherings, etc. Mercy schools steward the message of the
tradition.
In calling on others to know the story, tell the story and advance the institution, thus the mission of Mercy, Catherine’s story of inheritance and gift
finds it place today. To ask others for support financially, personally and
communally is to assure them of fidelity to the mission and to invite them
into shared stewardship of its future.
Consistency in mission and message helps inform the vision of the internal
and external community. The vision for the local community and the global
community is one of stewardship, responsibility and respect. Those who
steward the message hold a unique place within a Mercy school. To steward
the message is gift, inheritance and legacy.
Response to need: Catherine states that education of women [and men]
of all classes was of the “utmost importance” because these women [and
men] were the “link between the high and low classes.”
Spirit of hospitality, compassionate presence, compassion toward
all: “Be ever ready to praise, to encourage, to stimulate, but slow to
censure and still more slow to condemn.”
Familiar Instructions, pg. 141.
Trust in the providence of God. “We have one solid comfort amidst
this little tripping about: our hearts can always be in the same place, centered in God—for whom alone we go forward—or stay back.”
Letter to Sister M. de Sales White December 20, 1840
Collaboration in leadership and collaboration of lay and religious. “By collaborating with others in the works of Mercy we continually learn from them how to be more merciful."
Constitutions of the Sisters of Mercy #6
Global perspective and modeling justice. “Within these institutions
we, together with our co-workers and those we serve, endeavor to model
Mercy and justice and to promote systemic change according to these
ideals.”
Constitutions of the Sisters of Mercy #5
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9
Core Values
These core values are gleaned from the mission statements of all Mercy
schools and are consistent with the core statements of the Sisters of Mercy.
They reflect historic consistency with those named by MSEA in 1990.
Spiritual Growth and Development
Faith community
Gospel values
Christian
Catholic
Special concern for the poor,
especially women and children
Hospitality
Appreciation for Diversity
Compassion
Justice
Service
Dignity – Self, others
Respect – Self and Others
Integrity
Earth/Global Vision, Stewardship and Responsibility
In Catherine’s time all did not share a common view on what should be
done with the inheritance she received—some referred to the House of
Mercy as “Kitty’s folly.” In spite of all, she prevailed because of faith, belief and the ability to inspire others. This is the legacy to all called to the
ministry of service in development and institutional advancement. All are
called to model stewardship for the use of resources given to the school
through donations, events, bequests, and more. Moreover, the purpose
must be clear. All is to do the work of God.
“She (Catherine) connected the rich to the
poor, the healthy to the sick, the educated
and skilled to the uninstructed, the
influential to those perceived as of no
consequence, the powerful to the weak to do
the work of God on earth.”
Joanna Regan, RSM “Tender Courage”
Mercy Personnel Practices—the development of compensation programs
for salary, benefits, and education represents an investment in those who
serve and a recognition of their gift to Mercy education. Reflecting collaboratively, in partnership, on objectives, growth, sacrifice, and challenges
furthers the mission.
conviction
Ultimately, decisions on budgets, events, use of resources, investment
decisions, borrowing and building plans, etc. are decisions which further
the mission.
Collaboration
Leadership
Educational Excellence
Each person from her/his position is called upon to steward well the
affairs of the estate, one Mercy school at a time and thus all of Mercy
education. Each is called upon to be able to articulate how decisions are
reflective of commitment to the mission.
One gift, one woman,
faithful stewardship.
All who are privileged to share in the ministry of Mercy education are
called to this stewardship.
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Budget preparation, execution, and reporting are the response to mission
questions of affordability, access, service to those who are in need, faculty
and staff compensation and benefits, current and long range planning for the
sustainability of the school. The need and commitment to strengthen strategies for identifying donors, securing additional resources as tuition increases,
is consistent with the tradition of Mercy. Catherine wrote:
“What a comfort if I am permitted to see
some secure means of supporting our
poor women & children established, not
to be entirely depending on daily
collections which are so difficult to keep
up….”
Foundation for the Mission
F
aithful to the call of the Gospel and the Church’s teaching mission,
Mercy education, in over sixty sponsored elementary and secondary
schools and educational centers is a witness to Mercy’s response to
serve. These ministries share in the mission of the Sisters of Mercy, who
“within the purposes set out for them, fulfill in the name of the Church,
according to the prescripts of the law, the proper function entrusted to
them in view of the public good.” (Canon 116.1)
The Sisters of Mercy, founded in 1831, with a first rule approved formally in 1838, have for over 160 years committed themselves and their
works to serving those in need. Key documents and statements today
are faithful to the original rule and purpose and provide the foundation
for mission.
Letter to Sister M. Frances Warde, April 9, 1838
The Constitutions of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas state:
Investment decisions require stewardship and mission-based policies. Issues
of social responsibility, diversification to minimize risk, balance and security
require making decisions based on articulated policies of fiscal responsibility
and viability. Stewardship for these financial affairs furthers the mission.
Income other than tuition: Catherine writes in her time of difficult efforts to
raise funds. Today, designing effective programs and events is challenging
and the needs are, as she wrote, more numerous.
“However, by 1838 fashionable interest in these occasions
[bazaars] had apparently waned – just when the financial
needs of the House of Mercy were most severe,…”
“As Sisters of Mercy we sponsor institutions to address our enduring
concerns and to witness to Christ’s mission. Within these institutions we,
together with our co-workers and those we serve, endeavor to model
Mercy and justice and to promote systemic change according to these
ideals.”
“By collaborating with others in the works of Mercy we continually learn
from them how to be more merciful."
“We carry out our mission of Mercy guided by the prayerful consideration of the needs of our time, Catherine McAuley’s preferential love for
the poor and her special concern for women, the pastoral priorities of
the universal and local Church and our talents, resources and limitations.”
(Constitutions #5, 6, and 7)
The Correspondence of Catherine McAuley 1818-1841,
edited by Mary C. Sullivan. Part of note 10, page 134
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institute direction statement
“Animated by the Gospel and Catherine McAuley’s passion for the poor, we,
the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, are impelled to commit our lives and
resources to act in solidarity with the economically poor of the world, especially women and children; women seeking fullness of life and equality in
church and society; one another as we embrace our multicultural and international reality.






this commitment will impel us to
develop and act from a multicultural and international perspective;
speak with a corporate voice;
work for systemic change;
practice non-violence;
act in harmony and interdependence with all creation; and
call ourselves to continual conversion in our lifestyle and ministries.”
adopted at the 1991 Founding Chapter,
revised 2005 Chapter;
affirmed in Chapter Declaration, Institute Chapter 2011





critical concerns
to deepen and assimilate more consciously the practice of non-violence
as an integral aspect of the charism of Mercy
to deepen our response to the unrecognized and unreconciled racism
past and present within our community
to reverence Earth and work more effectively toward the sustainability of
life and toward universal recognition of the fundamental right to water
to continue to embrace our particular concern for women
to stand in solidarity with immigrants
adopted at the Fourth Institute Chapter, June 2005,
affirmed in Chapter Declaration, Institute Chapter 2011
I
Stewarding Resources
n 1827 Catherine McAuley opened the House of Mercy on Baggot
Street, Dublin, Ireland using her personal inheritance. This inheritance
was the gift of one who believed she would use it in service to others and
steward it and the ministry it made possible. Catherine McAuley believed
that she was called to use her resources to help others, that she was
called to meet the needs of the women and children of her time.
Catherine McAuley was the first to steward the assets of the Sisters of
Mercy. She worked in partnership with those experienced in financial
affairs to use these assets for mission. She dealt from the beginning with
the issues of management, investments, fund raising, sustainability, operating and capital budgets, buildings and more. To these issues she
brought faith, challenge, practicality, hope, trial, accomplishment and an
unwavering commitment to the mission.
Today Mercy administrators, boards of trustees/directors, sponsorship
councils, and RSM leadership steward the assets of the mission of Mercy
in education.
Budgets are a statement of mission. Use of resources requires choice
among finite options. For line items that may seem “small” or “great”
comes the responsibility of all for reflection on mission. The commitment
to accountability for this mission, for stewarding of resources inherited
and invested from the past, for securing resources in the present and
identifying them for the future, is needed by all.
“Although I should be simple as a dove, I must
also be prudent as a Serpent; and since there is
very little good can be accomplished or evil
avoided without the aid of money, we must look
after it in small as well as in great matters.”
Letter to Father James Maher January 10, 1838
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Sponsorship
Sponsorship is the word used to name the relationship of ministerial works to
the Sisters of Mercy.

Mercy secondary and elementary schools are each sponsored or cosponsored by one of the six Communities of the Institute of the Sisters of
Mercy. That Community is the Public Juridic Person for the school and
thus the school is both Catholic and called to fidelity to the charism, core
values and tradition of Mercy.

The President of each Community is the Canonical Administrator of the
Public Juridic Person.

The CLT are the corporate Members of the corporation of a Mercy school
exercising civil and canonical responsibilities for the school. These responsibilities are named in the reserved powers in the bylaws of each
school. The bylaws are approved by the CLT and any change in the bylaws requires their approval.

The CLT retains ultimate responsibility for the reserved powers and within the limits of delegation civilly and canonically delegates authority for
the exercise of certain responsibilities to a Sponsorship Council.

Each Mercy school is governed by a Board of Trustees/Directors.

Each Mercy school is administered by a President and/or Principal. This
chief administrator is appointed according to the bylaws of the school.

The principles of collegiality and subsidiarity are foundational to the exercise of authority for a Mercy school.
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Mission Statements
Mercy schools were founded in fidelity to the charism, core values and
tradition of Mercy and exercise that fidelity today. The expression of the
commitment to that fidelity is in the Mission Statement of each school.
This statement demonstrates consistency with the core statements of
the Sisters of Mercy.
This Mission Statement becomes a living document in the exercise of all
authority, vision and direction setting, long range planning, policy making, day to day decision making, personnel hiring, budget setting and the
exercise of one’s role in the school community.
A Community of Believers
I
n study, daily prayer, communal celebration of liturgy, and in acceptance of the call to serve, Mercy communities demonstrate their
commitment to forming faith communities.
Strong liturgical programs and service programs are characteristic of
Mercy education. They fulfill the responsibility Mary Sullivan, RSM describes, “promotion through action and education, of compassion and
justice toward those with less….” This action and education is directed
to both the local community and the global community. The ongoing
development of a faith community helping all to fulfill their call is the
work of the “Community of Believers.”
Catherine McAuley made sure that the education that was provided at
Baggot Street and later at other foundations was based on the most
current techniques. She traveled to prestigious Catholic schools in
France and the Kildare School in Ireland to observe and adopt their techniques. As we carry on Catherine’s tradition we must make sure that
our practices in orientation and formation programs for faculty and
staff are current, mission based and ongoing. In so doing we will further
the mission and excellence in education that is a hallmark of Mercy
schools. This commitment is extended to all who serve in and for each
Mercy school.
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A Community of Believers
When Catherine McAuley opened the House of Mercy on Baggot Street in
1827, she created a “A Community of Believers” who were dedicated to her
mission of providing education, housing, and care for the poor women and
children of Dublin. In Tender Courage by Joanna Regan, RSM, we learn of
Catherine’s quiet yet uncompromising Catholicism that brought her
“strength, goodness, and tender courage.” This she shared with her
“Community of Believers.” We too are called to be a Community of Believers as we work to create a faith community based on the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and the charism, core values and traditions of Mercy in all areas of
responsibility.
Sponsorship
M
ercy secondary and elementary education is a ministry rooted
firmly in the tradition of the Sisters of Mercy. It finds its roots in
the House of Mercy founded by Mother Catherine McAuley in 1827 and
continues the mission of Mercy today.
To reflect on the consistency of the mission and to place in context current and evolving sponsorship and governance relationships allows all
with a leadership and governance role for Mercy education to own their
place in insuring its future. Moreover, clarity of relationships furthers
the appropriate exercise of responsibility, authority and decision making
for a Mercy school.

Persons in all roles consciously committed to furthering the Mercy
charism, core values and tradition; a community whose daily life and behavior promotes this mission
 Commitment to the charism, core values and tradition in the implementation of one’s area of responsibility, i.e. classroom, office, extra-curricular
program, board service, etc.
Italicized words or phrases are described or defined under Key Terms.

Mercy schools are Catholic schools, faithful to the mission of the
Church and established with the consent of the diocesan bishop.

The Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas is an apostolic
religious community which shares in the teaching mission of the
Catholic Church.

The Institute itself is led by an Institute Leadership Team of five Sisters of Mercy. This team is elected every five years by the Institute
Chapter.

Six Communities form the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the
Americas. Each Community is led by a Community Leadership Team
(CLT) which is elected by the Assembly of that Community. The
work of each Community is faithful to the direction of the Institute.

The Institute and each of the six Communities is recognized by the
Catholic Church as a Public Juridic Person. As such they conduct
works publicly in the name of the Catholic Church. Public Juridic
Person is defined in Canons 116.1 and 114.1 of Canon Law.
 Commitment to and participation in ongoing orientation and formation
programs and experiences
 Commitment to the tenets of the foundational statements of Mercy
(e.g. Institute Direction Statement and Critical Concerns) in the implementation of one’s area of responsibility, i.e. classroom, office, extra-curricular
program, board service, etc.
 Traditions and customs of the school consistent with and promoting the
mission.
 The school is a faith community with ongoing faith development continually fostered through prayer, reflection, liturgical life and service.

Commitment to service to the local and global community.
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