Philadephia – Bishop Joseph Kopacz visited Holy Cross Parish Sunday, Sept. 20. Brian and Rachel Dunn present the gifts to Bishop Kopacz during Mass while altar server Sam Knight, Father Augustine Palimattam, pastor, and altar server Eli Moran wait to assist.
Philadephia –Mafalda Barraco recieves a cake for her 100th birthday at a reception after Mass.
While there, he consecrated a cemetery expansion, celebrated Mass. (Photos courtesy of John Keith)
MADISON – The Dow Jones News Fund announced Terry Cassreino of St. Joseph School in Madison, is a 2015 Dow Jones News Fund Special Recognition Adviser.
Cassreino has advised the school streaming sports radio station, the newspaper and the yearbook at St. Joseph Catholic School for the past three years. He owns a media consulting company and worked as communications director for the Mississippi Democratic Party and the New Orleans housing authority.
Cassreino holds dual bachelor’s in journalism and radio and television from the University of Mississippi. He is certified to teach English and journalism for seventh through twelfth grades after obtaining his license to teach through the Teach Mississippi Institute at the University of Mississippi.
He spent more than 24 years as a reporter, political columnist and editor at Mississippi newspapers including positions as capitol bureau chief for The Sun Herald, managing editor of The Madison County Journal, and assistant managing editor for The Meridian Star and at the Hattiesburg American.
As a Special Recognition Adviser, Cassreino will receive a plaque and a subscription to WSJ.com courtesy of the publishers of The Wall Street Journal.
The Fund also named its National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year, Kirkwood (Mo.) High School teacher and media adviser, Mitch Eden.
The Distinguished Advisers are Sandra Coyer, Puyallup (Wash.) High School; Rachel Rauch, Homestead High School, Mequon, Wis.; Amanda Thorpe, Portage (Mich.) Community High School; and Mitch Ziegler of Redondo Union High School, Redondo Beach, Calif.
The other Special Recognition Advisers are Alena Cybart-Persenaire, Kennedy High School, Waterbury, Conn.; Thomas Kaup, Auburn (Wash.) High School; and Leland Mallett, Legacy High School, Mansfield, Texas.
The selection panel included 2014 Teacher of the Year Chris Waugaman of Prince George (Va.) High School; Richard S. Holden, a News Fund board member and former executive director; Dr. Calvin Hall, chair of the Scholastic Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and chair of the journalism department at North Carolina Central University, Durham; Ed Sullivan, executive director of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association; and Elena Stauffer, senior program coordinator, University of Arizona School of Journalism.
The National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year Awards is sponsored by the Dow Jones News Fund, Columbia Scholastic Press Association, Poynter Institute for Media Studies and The Wall Street Journal.
The Office of Stewardship and Development is encouraging parish leaders to attend this year’s International Catholic Stewardship Conference (ICSC). The International Catholic Stewardship Council, which puts on the conference, is a professional organization recognized internationally as a source of education, networking and information to advance the ministry of Christian stewardship as a way of life in the Roman Catholic Church, and to promote the cause of Catholic philanthropy in dioceses and parishes worldwide
“With more than 30 presenters from different religious positions and backgrounds, this conference offers something for everyone,” said Christopher Luke, coordinator for the Office of Stewardship. ICSC is open to priests, deacons, religious, and lay parish administrators.
This year’s theme is Stewardship in the Footsteps of Pope Francis. Workshops will focus on how stewardship can transform a parish, how social media can help with evangelization and how to incorporate young adults in stewardship.
In addition to the practical knowledge, ICSC offers the opportunity to pray, reflect and participate in uplifting liturgies. Headliners include Father Michael White and Tom Corcoran, authors of the landmark book Rebuilt; Cardinal Rubén Salazar Gómez, Archbishop of Bogota, Colombia; Archbishop Blasé Cupich of Chicago; Angela Perez Baraquio Grey, Catholic educator and Miss America 2001; and Tom Kendzia, a renowned Catholic composer, producer and musician.
The conference will take place in Chicago Oct. 22-25. The early bird registration fee is $499 until July 31.. After that date, the price goes up to $599 per person for members. Register online at https://catholicstewardship.com. Those who register should let the Office of Stewardship and Development know at 601-960-8481 or email at christopher.luke@jacksondiocese.org.
This photo illustration depicts the effects of human trafficking. (CNS illustration/Lisa Johnston, St. Louis Review)
By Maureen Smith
A new task force in the Diocese of Jackson is taking on the issue of human trafficking in America. The effort was started by Sister Therese Jacobs, BVM. Her order, the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, picked this urgent issue as one of its key social justice initiatives in 2014. She helped organize a workshop held at Jackson St. Richard Parish on Saturday, June 27.
Catholic Charities has developed the task force to take next steps to address the problem. A faith-based group out of Biloxi, Advocates for Freedom, provided speakers for the human trafficking workshop. Members of the task force also made presentations. Dorothy Balser, director of parish based ministries for Catholic Charities Jackson, said close to 50 people attended the workshop. “At the end we had pledge cards that gave people an opportunity to make a commitment to the effort,” said Balser. “They could request a speaker, host an informational event, form their own local task force if they were from out of town or join our task force,” she added. People were also invited to pray for the victims of human trafficking.
According to the Sisters of Charity website, “Trafficking of human persons is the buying and selling of people for any purpose, including sex, prostitution, forced marriages, servitude and forced labor. Trafficking is exploitation and a violation of human rights and human dignity and is intrinsically evil.”
Sex trafficking is the most common. “One statistic that stands out is that human trafficking is the second most prevalent crime, second only to drugs,” she said. “The picture that is before me is that you sell a drug once, but human beings can be sold multiple times a day – sometimes 20 times a day,” she said.
Sharon Robbins, one of the speakers from Advocates for Freedom said she became involved when she noticed strange activity in her own gated community. She came into contact with the founder of Advocates for Freedom when she was trying to figure out what to do about the groups of young girls being loaded into a van late at night. The information she was able to gather led law enforcement to open an investigation and take action.
Robbins urges everyone to pay attention to their surroundings, saying many people would be shocked at some of the cases happening very close to home. She said she has personally heard of stories of trafficking, even trafficking involving children, in Mississippi. She said acting on an uneasy feeling or reporting suspicious activities could save someone’s life.
Robbins said Advocates for Freedom has assisted in more than 100 rescues since it was founded five years ago and is always looking for volunteers. The group tries to help survivors immediately find a safe place to take shelter and later tries to assist with medical and legal fees as well as housing and job assistance.
“Eighty-five percent of missing children are being trafficked,” she said. She focused her presentation on tactics traffickers use to lure children who might already be in abusive situation, young people with low self-esteem or who might be shy and lonely. Advocates for Freedom has more statistics and contact information on the organization’s website, www.advocatesforfreedom.org.
“It is happening in Mississippi and we are trying to make sure those who are the most vulnerable are identified and targeted,” Balser explained. The task force wants to make people aware of the issue, engage law enforcement and advocate for the victims.
She said the workshop presenters said travel corridors are common sites for trafficking, especially in places where there may be a port or the intersection of two interstates. Traffickers lure young people, especially young women, through social media or they find runaways and promise them a better life.
Balser said once the group is able to identify potential victims, the task force will take on the role of identifying resources for them. “We don’t currently have safe houses. We need to identify resources and potential partners,” said Balser.
Anyone interested in joining the task force or getting involved in the effort can contact Balser, 601-355-8634, or by email at dorothy.balser@ccjackson.org.
Reviewed by Regina Lordan
“Then Comes Baby: The Catholic Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the First Three Years of Parenthood” by Greg and Lisa Popcak. Ava Maria Press (Notre Dame, Indiana, 2014). 272 pp., $16.95.
Tired and sensitive pregnant mothers and new parents beware. “Then Comes Baby: The Catholic Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the First Three Years of Parenthood” is no exception to the lot within the genre of parenting books. There will be a few points of contention amid the advice that Greg and Lisa Popcak extoll. And if you are the type of parent who has to work outside the home shortly after having the baby, cannot nurse the baby and prefers for said baby to sleep in a crib rather than in your own bed, parts of this book might irk you.
But if you are the type of parent who is open to different points of view on parenting (or can skip right past them) and are looking for a perspective that is inspired by Catholic ideas, then this book will provide helpful insight into how to raise a happy baby as happy parents.
Greg Popcak is an author, radio and TV show host, and professor of sociology and graduate theology. He and his wife are directors of the Pastoral Solutions Institute, which integrates Catholic teaching with counseling psychology. In addition to co-hosting shows with her husband, Lisa is also an author, speaker, family-life coach and lactation consultant. Their professional and personal lives help shape the book with a mix of personal anecdotal experience and research-based parenting suggestions.
Generally speaking, parenting books fall into two camps: Baby’s happiness at the initial expense of Mom and Dad’s happiness or Mom and Dad’s happiness at the initial expense of Baby’s. But this book, according to the authors, is based on the principle of the common good: “Those that have the least ability to meet their own needs … have the right to have their needs met first.” So Mom and Dad get a chance to take care of themselves and each other, but in due time.
Following from this concept, the authors suggest that parents need to encourage a strong bonding process with “extravagant” affection and attention for the baby, which includes nursing on demand, co-sleeping and not leaving the baby even for an hour or so during the first few months after birth. This is called self-donation, “using everything we have for the good of others.” This is a tall order for many parents, but the results are a joyful and loving family, the authors suggest.
The Popcaks truly revere the role of parenthood and cannot stress its importance enough. They also insist that it is OK to feel challenged but equally OK to feel happy and confident as a parent. Too often parents share horror stories with each other without being proud of proper self-care and keeping it together.
In the book, parents are offered wonderful ideas on how to introduce prayer into a baby’s everyday life and routine, how to pick strong godparents and how to even take a baby to church without totally losing it. Parents also are given suggestions on how to gently and mercifully discipline toddlers with repositioning, redirecting and re-regulating.
These tips and more may be particularly helpful for parents who are seeking constructive, tangible advice on how to raise a baby in a Catholic home. So, if you can get through the touchy stuff that fuels the fire of many a “mommy war,” then go ahead and enjoy this newest addition to Catholic parenting books.
(Lordan, a mother of two, has master’s degrees in education and political science and is a former assistant international editor of Catholic News Service.)
(Copyright © 2015 Catholic News Service/United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news services may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to, such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method in whole or in part, without prior written authority of Catholic News Service.)
JACKSON – For more than 30 years, Catholics across the Diocese of Jackson have supported Habitat for Humanity through Catholic Build projects. This year, an extra house honoring Pope Francis, is being added to the project list. An anonymous donor has offered half of the funds needed for a Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capitol Area house for a low-income family needing a safe, decent place to live if the community can raise $40,000 in matching funds.
The donor has provided grants to build several other Pope Francis houses, including ones in St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Huntersville, North Carolina. The anonymous donor said the purpose is to honor Pope Francis for his commitment to social justice and reinvigorating the Catholic Church; to provide a unifying, celebratory opportunity for both Catholic and non-Catholic volunteers to work towards a common goal; and to further Habitat’s mission of building and preserving homes.
“The challenge from an anonymous donor is a special opportunity for both the Catholic and non-Catholic communities to build a home for a local family in need, while honoring Pope Francis’ teachings that, ‘The love of the poor is at the heart of the Gospel,’” said Bishop Joseph Kopacz. Bishop Kopacz spoke with several media outlets in support of the project and all the work Habitat does to help rebuild communities. “He is encouraging us to improve people’s lives by breaking the cycle of poverty and building our community, which is certainly the focus of Habitat for Humanity.”
“When they told me, I was just speechless,” said Shavers Houston, who will receive the Pope Francis House. “It is an exciting time for me, because it’s going to be the first time I’m going out on my own to buy a house,” he said. Houston has four children ranging in age from 13 to six. Teams of volunteers will build the family a five bedroom, two bath home on Greenview Drive, next to Jackson St. Therese Church. This is not the first time the Catholic community has been a part of a Greenview project. Last year, volunteers from a number of churches in the area including St. Therese, participated in a Habitat sponsored cleanup day on the block. Habitat hopes to revitalize the whole block in time.
“When I told them they didn’t believe me!” He said of his children. “I had to tell them, ‘I’m telling the truth.’ They are very excited,” said Houston. The kids will have to change schools and make some other adjustments, but Houston, who grew up in the neighborhood where the house is being built, said they love school and learning so he is not concerned. Houston works as a maintenance man at a Jackson apartment complex, a job he loves.
Getting to this point was a long road for the family. Houston heard a radio advertisement about Habitat 10 years ago. “All I did was give it a shot and call.” Before he could qualify he had to take classes on home ownership, perform community service at Stewpot and contribute ‘sweat equity’ by working on other Habitat homes. “I’m just so honored to know this home is going to be historic. People are going to know I live in a house dedicated to Pope Francis – that’s amazing,” said Houston, who is not Catholic, but is grateful for the support from the Catholic community.
“Anytime a donor is able to give a sponsorship of a Habitat house in honor of someone, that makes the build all the more special,” said Cindy Griffin, executive director of HFHMCA. “Giving our community the opportunity to work together ecumenically to honor Pope Francis is a very special build,” Griffin said. “We encourage the community to be a part of this exciting partnership by donating today so we can meet the match and not lose this opportunity to honor the Pope and help a family in need,” added Griffin.
“I just want to thank all the people who are donating toward the build. I want to than the anonymous donor. It is a blessing to know that people are giving their hard-earned money to help others,” said Houston. The Pope Francis House is being built in addition to the regular Catholic Build house this year, so organizers must raise the $40,000 matching grant in addition to $80,000 for the Catholic Build.
To donate or learn more about the Pope Francis Build, visit the HFHMCA website at www.habitatmca.org or call 601-353-6060.
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Consumers want products that are environmentally friendly, and businesses that are not on board are already starting to feel the pinch, said the CEO of the multinational Unilever.
Paul Polman, CEO of the company that owns brands like Lipton, Ben & Jerry’s and Suave, told a Vatican-sponsored conference that “the cost of inaction (on climate change) is starting to exceed the cost of action.”
As a small example, he said, people in communities facing regular power outages cannot keep his products in their freezers, and severe water shortages mean they don’t take showers as often, so shampoo sales decline.
Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, the Dutch ambassador to the Holy See and co-sponsor of the conference May 20, described the meeting of business leaders, politicians and ambassadors as the last Vatican-sponsored conference on climate change before the release of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment.
Although the encyclical has not been published yet, it has triggered pre-emptive criticism, much of it depicting the presumed text as the work of a naive pope who accepts the trendy notion that human activity is responsible for climate change. What is more, some of the criticism expresses fear that the encyclical’s conclusions and call for action will be built upon his supposedly socialist leanings — especially his distrust of the free-market economy.
In reality, when discussing capitalism, Pope Francis has condemned attitudes of greed and idolatry that seem to insist economic activity is somehow free from any moral or ethical obligations. And while he has said he has met many communists who are good people, he adds a firm conviction that the communist ideology “is wrong.”
Like every pope since Pope Leo XIII, who initiated modern Catholic social teaching with his 1891 encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” Pope Francis insists that economic decisions are human decisions and, therefore, are not morally neutral. He also insists that the center of Catholic social teaching — respect for human dignity and promotion of the common good — are values at stake when making economic decisions.
The connection between economics and the environment are clear. Cleaning up pollution and reducing carbon emissions are costly; so, too, is changing the way land is farmed, forests are managed and minerals are obtained.
Yet speakers at the “new climate economy” conference insisted the costs of not acting are higher — morally, financially and politically.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, sent a message to conference participants that began by quoting retired Pope Benedict XVI — not Pope Francis — about how “the earth’s state of ecological health” requires a re-evaluation of shortsighted economic policies and theories.
“When the future of the planet is at stake,” Cardinal Parolin wrote, “there are no political frontiers, barriers or walls behind which we can hide to protect ourselves from the effects of environmental and social degradation. There is no room for the globalization of indifference, the economy of exclusion or the throwaway culture so often denounced by Pope Francis.”
Former Mexican President Felipe Calderon, chairman of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, told the conference that the main obstacle to taking serious action on climate change has been the idea that “we need to choose either (economic) growth or mitigating climate change.”
However, a host of scientific and economic analyses have proven that notion wrong, Calderon said, echoing the conclusion of an earlier Vatican conference on climate change and sustainable development. Ban Ki-moon, secretary-general of the United Nations, headlined that conference in April.
Calderon said governments must give a clear signal at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris at the end of the year that they are serious about reducing carbon emissions and promoting investments in the green economy.
“Innovation is the secret to economic growth,” he said, and “people with money are sitting on a bench,” not investing yet, but waiting to see if governments will support new, clean technologies.
Besides being an ethical issue, he said, “climate action is in our own economic interest; we can reduce poverty, increase employment and, at the same time, bring down the emissions responsible for global warming.”
Jeremy Oppenheim, a director at McKinsey & Co., a global management consulting firm, said growth obviously is important for companies and for countries, but “not all growth is equal.”
Successful business leaders are farsighted, innovative and see crises as opportunities, not as roadblocks, conference speakers said.
Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington told the conference that everything Pope Francis has said about ecology is “in total harmony with the teaching of his predecessors,” offering moral and ethical principles flowing from respect for human dignity and for the common good. “If we are going to see a flourishing of the environment,” the cardinal said, “it is only going be through human ingenuity.” “Protecting the environment need not compromise legitimate economic progress,” he said. The church does not condemn profit, but it does insist that “businesses must serve the common good.”
Photos and text
By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – An almost sold-out Bishop’s Ball drew people from across the Jackson area to the Country Club of Jackson Saturday, June 6. The crowd bid on a number of silent auction items including fine art, jewelry, trips, home and patio accessories and more. During dinner, Catholic Charities honored Archie R. McDonnell Jr., of Citizens National Bank and Beth and Robert Gaston with the Good Samaritan Award for their dedication to the mission of Catholic Charities.
A lively live auction featured furniture, a trip to Italy with Bishop Joseph Kopacz and other items.
After dinner, the band These Days packed the dance floor. The Bishop’s Ball is the main fund-raising event for Catholic Charities’ Children’s Programs.
Andrew, Sarah Beth and Sophie Johnston, the deacon’s nephew and nieces, hand out prayer cards before the liturgy. (Photos by Maureen Smith)
Deacon Jason Johnston surrounded by brother clergy during his ordination at St. Paul Parish. (Photos by Maureen Smith)
By Maureen Smith
VICKSBURG – On Saturday, May 16, Jason Johnston was ordained to the transitional diaconate by Bishop Joseph Kopacz in his home parish of Vicksburg St. Paul. Deacon Johnston’s mother, two brothers, sister-in-law, two nieces and nephew sat in the front row of the packed church to celebrate the day. His father died three years ago. Bishop Kopacz remembered him at the end of the Mass. Deacon Johnston’s extended family, many of whom are not Catholic, also came out in force to celebrate his ordination.
“It was really great to have the support of the home parish and people I grew up with. In a lot of ways it seemed like it meant so much to a lot of people to see a vocation come from Vicksburg. People I hadn’t seen in years came up to me with tears in their eyes,” said Deacon Johnston.
Even several days after the ordination, the deacon was elated. “Saturday was awesome. I was very excited and at the same time very nervous. I was reflecting on it the whole day — kind of ‘did this really just happen,’ it was kind of a surreal experience,” he said. “I am feeling a lot of gratitude and thanksgiving — first for the gift of ordination and God’s calling me as well as that the bishop was willing to say ‘yes’ to my ordination and all the support I have had over the years,” he added.
Deacon Johnston said he remembers vocations being promoted in elementary and grade school and he gave seminary passing consideration over the years, but it wasn’t until he had finished college and was working in the state auditor’s office that he decided to pursue his vocation. “After college I started asking questions of my own commitments and what I saw myself doing in 25 years. I wondered, would I look back on my life as an auditor and say ‘you have done well good and faithful servant?’ And for me personally that wasn’t really what I felt called to do. I wanted to do something to be involved directly in people’s lives and be a servant to others,” explained Deacon Johnston.
His nieces and nephews passed out prayer cards before the liturgy. Deacon Johnston explained what he selected. “Something about the diaconate that’s important to me is the idea of service, to conform onself to be like Christ the Servant. So in the picture, Christ came to serve and not be served, he had just said that. He is washing what appears to be Peter’s feet and Peter is somewhat resistant, but Peter is allowing himself to be served which is taking some humility there as well. The verse on the back comes from the Gospel of John when Christ washed the disciples feet – ‘I give you a new commandment that you love one another.’ I think for me that encapsulates the diaconate.
“One of the questions the bishop asks (during the rite of ordination) is ‘do you promise to conform yourself to Christ whose blood you will be the minister of?’ This question’s answer is ‘I do, with the help of God.’ For all of the other questions the answer is simply ‘I do,’ but this one is the pinnacle of what I am trying to do, which can only be done with the help of God, with God’s grace,” he explained.
Johnston will spend the summer in the Catholic Community of Meridian at St. Patrick and St. Joseph parishes and looks forward to working in whatever parish community he is assigned next.
“I love Mississippi because really there is a variety of parishes. We have the smallest of parishes and the big city parishes so I am open to whatever the bishop thinks is best. There is something about both sides of that which I think is great; and I can see myself doing any of it.” Deacon Johnston will be ordained to the priesthood next May. In October, Joseph Le will be ordained to the transitional diaconate Oct. 10 in Greenville St. Joseph Parish.
By Paul Artman
“Not my child!” That was a comment recently used at a parent information night when the school community gathered to discuss cyber issues. “Yes indeed, my child,” should be the convincing words used in every family to deal with today’s most fashionable and dangerous cyber issues. Whether the issue is online cheating and plagiarism, cyber bullying, social networking, sexting or encountering predators, parents need to understand that they are the front line point of contact on these real life issues, and that family communication regarding such is a must.
“New technologies are not only changing the way we communicate but communication itself,” says Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli. The president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications addressed journalists and executives from faith-based and secular news agencies May 22 at the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y.’s 23rd annual World Communications Day. (CNS photo/Sebastiao Moreira, EPA)
“We have responsibility as Catholics to promote internet safety as a church. Education for both adults and children is important to us as good Catholics to be respectable and appropriate users of digital and social media,” explained Vickie Carollo, coordinator of the Office of Child Protection for the Diocese of Jackson. “Technology is constantly evolving. We must stay abreast of these changes due to the dangers that threaten us, our children and young people,” she added.
Please talk with your children about cyber safety, online dangers, your expectations, the ground rules, monitoring, how to respond to a threat, reporting issues and how positive peer pressure can help. Likewise, these tips could help save a child from a life of torment brought on by reckless online behaviors. We must remain realistic; it could very well be your child.
Do something about this today because, believe it or not, your child is tethered to electronic social networks and devices at least eight hours daily! Especially now that summer has arrived and kids will have more free time.
First and foremost, parents should institute internet safety rules for the household, adhere to these, and continually monitor effectiveness. Rules should center on non-disclosure of sensitive information online, the reporting of uncomfortable encounters and the posting of photos. Through the monitoring process, parents need to be cognizant of online lingo used and insist that the family should know online friends just as we would demand knowing and visiting with friends in person. Parents must focus on constant communication with their children regarding cyber issues.
Discuss early and often the expectations, dangers, ground rules, peer pressure and appropriate responses regarding matters of the internet. Make no mistake, online predators do exist and are ready to prey on any vulnerable person. Often posing as someone else, online predators and evil sites may attempt to lure children through their confidences or gifts. Children must be instructed not to open spam or emails from unknown persons. Pornography and evil electronic providers must be reported immediately to your internet service provider and law enforcement.
There is no doubt that social network sites have broadened relationship opportunities, but not all relationships are psycho-socially healthy. Regarding internet sites, it must be noted that some sites gather profiles; therefore, we must always consider what information we wish to be held by others. Adding online social contacts just for the sake of adding contacts can be dangerous. Caution should become second nature, but often times young people cast caution to the wind, especially when electronic devices are concerned.
Online postings become public information and have a shelf life beyond your own life expectancy. Today, more than eight percent of future employers and higher education intuitions review applicants’ social network postings.
Sexting, the exchange of personal explicit photos online, is a generational exercise that is difficult to understand, but a sad youthful reality. Our children must be reminded to think about the consequences, ultimate destinations, and the longevity of images before they ever hit the send button on any electronic device. The guiding principle is to never take a photograph that one would not mind everyone else in the world viewing.
The cyber-explosion has also drastically impacted educational institutions with regard to academic applications, bullying, digital cheating and plagiarism. In this era, we often post negative things about others online that we would never say in person. It is time for a new standard of being kind and understanding how comments will be taken negatively online. We must all resist the opportunity to personally bully someone or employ a proxy to engage in bullying. In taking anti-bullying action, tell someone, walk away without incident and reach out for help.
Again, for the greater good achieved by laptops, tablets, and smartphones it must be noted that these devices often promote the opportunity to cheat. Plagiarism is another form of cheating that has only intensified in our cyber rich world. Plagiarism is the taking of another’s scholarly work as if it were our own. While often misunderstood by students and parents alike, this is considered theft of intellectual property.
Today’s cyber world certainly offers new insights into relationships, learning, and communication, but its detriments can be even more overwhelming. Caution is urged as we face a dangerous new world.
The Mississippi Attorney General’s Cyberbullying Task Force is ready and willing to help you educate your children and youth about the improper use of social networking. A task force representative can be reached at 601/576-4281 or 601/576-4265.
(Paul Artman is the principal of Greenville St. Joseph School. Maureen Smith contributed to this report)
