Dear Cardinals,
I remember very well when my oldest daughter Elisabeth was born. I remember the anticipation Nancy and I felt as we awaited Elisabeth’s arrival, and the many prayers we began to say on her behalf before she was born. I also remember well how much Nancy and I leaned on our friends and family as we prepared for Elisabeth’s birth and settled into parenting after she arrived. Every day since then, and as three more children joined our family, I have thanked God for the opportunity to be a father and have asked Him to help me be a good one.
Here at Catholic University, we are committed to being a supportive community for every parent who studies, works, or teaches on our campus. And so, I am delighted to share with you the final report produced by the Guadalupe Project. This effort, launched just four months ago, is aimed at enhancing the environment of radical accompaniment and support on campus for pregnant and parenting members of our Catholic University community. Today, the Guadalupe Project committee and I are announcing a number of concrete steps that the University is taking as a result of the committee’s work and the contributions of many other members of the Catholic University student body, staff, and faculty. Our hope is that this suite of initiatives and policy reforms, taken together, will measurably improve the quality of life and peace of mind of the mothers and fathers in our community, and by extension, of their children as well.
I encourage you to read the full report. Highlights include an updated pregnancy resource booklet for students facing an unexpected pregnancy; an expansion of paid parental leave for non-faculty staff, and the initiation of the the process that will extend paid parental leave for faculty as well; the addition of designated parking spaces for expectant mothers around our campus; and, thanks to a generous donation from our friends at St. Ann’s Center for Children, Youth, and Families, the availability of diapers, wipes, and other baby items in Cardinal Cupboard, the University’s food pantry. We will be rolling out a new resource website that will be the hub for information about these and all of the other resources, policies, and programs available for pregnant and parenting students, staff, and faculty here at Catholic. And I am committing to the establishment of a Parenting Resource Coordinator staff position, so that the work of supporting pregnant and parenting students and colleagues will continue even after the specific assignment of the Guadalupe Project committee comes to a conclusion.
If you would like to hear more from the members of the committee about today’s announcements and provide feedback to them about additional resources, programs, and policies that you would recommend we implement at Catholic University, please consider attending one of the upcoming Guadalupe Project information sessions (details below).
You will also find below an invitation to a Mass of Remembrance for the Little Ones that will be offered by Campus Ministry on November 17th, during the month dedicated to commending the souls of our beloved dead into the care of the Lord. If you have been impacted by pregnancy loss or early infant death, I invite you to come to this Mass.
In closing, I want to reiterate my own firm commitment to helping our Catholic University family become an even more welcoming community for moms, dads, and babies. Thank you for joining me in this effort.
Sincerely,
Peter Kilpatrick
President