College welcomes newest Catholics

For Kyle Lloyd, it was a philosophical interest; for Marjorie Jiminez, it was finally having the time to pursue a goal.

For both students at The University at Albany, friendly and inviting Catholics played a role in why they added their names to the ranks of the Church last weekend.

The pair joined five other SUNY students in a special ceremony held when the school reopened after Easter vacation.

Kyle's story

Before he was confirmed, Kyle admitted he felt nervous. In the classes he attended as part of the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) program, "we talked a lot about faith, belief structures and systems, but not about what would happen during the ceremony!"

A Saratoga Springs native and physics major finishing his junior year at SUNY, Kyle said he had always been interested in religion. His grandparents were Catholic; his parents, non-practicing Episcopalians. Though he attended Mass with his grandparents as a child, he eventually stopped going.

But his philosophy classes sparked an interest in ethics and cosmology (the study of how the universe works), and Kyle found himself reading books like "The Confessions of St. Augustine" and Neale Walsh's "Conversations with God."

Kyle started going to church with his grandparents again and also became engaged to his girlfriend Sarah, a Catholic.

"On our Engaged Encounter retreat, I met Father Bob," he said, referring to Rev. Robert Longobucco, SUNY chaplain. "He seemed like a wonderful guy. I did my First Confession there, and he said I should come to some Confirmation classes. The more I went, the more adamant I became that it was the right thing to do."

Marjorie's story

Marjorie Jiminez, a senior, was a member of the same RCIA group as Kyle. As she prepared for her First Communion and Confirmation as well as her college graduation, the public administration major said she was excited.

"I was baptized Catholic, but I was never taken to Sunday school to do First Communion classes or anything," she said of her childhood in New York City.

Although she started going to Mass at SUNY with her friends, the idea of attending RCIA classes as an adult "seemed weird" to her at first. But since the classes were right on campus, Marjorie felt she had time to try it.

She found that everyone in the group was her own age, and had the same goal of deepening their relationship with the Church.

"Father Bob made it very easy," she added. "We talked about the Eucharist...how different writings from [Ss.] Paul and Mark are similar...what Jesus was really trying to teach...how He saved us all by dying. I never really understood why He saved us, or how. Father Bob explained it in a new way."

Learning

Kyle agreed that he, too, learned new things about the Church on his journey. Having been raised hearing just one perspective on Church teachings, he was surprised to discover that there's room for diversity in the Church.

"I went from a very narrow view to a very wide view," he said. "I was encouraged to look into things myself. As I read the Bible, I saw things in it that were just wonderful -- a truth that's more than just a regular truth."

The abuse crisis in the Church was discussed in class, but the students said it didn't affect their decision to pursue Catholicism.

Marjorie credited Father Longobucco: "He makes it great to be a Catholic. You hear these things on the news and think, 'Wow, the Church is doing these bad things;' but then you go and talk with a priest who's nothing like that."

Perspective

In Kyle's mind, abuse should weigh on the abusers, not the Church at large.

"People are responsible for their own actions," he stated. "You can't assign blame to a whole organization for what some people are doing."

Like hating all French people because France was against the war in Iraq, he added, "That's dumb."

Joy of faith

The pair couldn't wait to officially become adults in the Catholic Church. Marjorie said she enjoyed having faith and believing in Jesus, and that she now looks at the Bible "in a different way. The Bible just comes to life."

Kyle was debating on taking "Abraham" as his Confirmation name, since it's one of his favorite Bible stories and his fiancee's name is Sarah, who was the biblical Abraham's wife.

"I find it kind of liberating!" he said of his Catholicism. "I really felt confused, lost, kind of stifled before." Having found a religion that fits his beliefs, "I feel a lot better about things. I can see things clearly."

CAMPUS MINISTER

Priest encouraged by conversions

According to Rev. Robert Longobucco, Catholic chaplain for The University at Albany, many people are surprised to learn that SUNY's group of seven students entering the Church this year is an average annual number for a college.

"College is a time for people to drift away from the Church, but it's also a time to rediscover it," he explained. "A lot of people get there by peer invitation."

In fact, he said, most of the SUNY students joining the Church are sponsored by fellow students who invited them to Mass in the first place. Father Longobucco believes that students make the leap from attending Mass to entering the Church because they either experience the Church in a new way, or are experiencing it for the first time and realize what they've been missing.

The chaplain tries to make Mass interesting for students; he noted that "enticing liturgies always get people involved."

Having that effort result in seven new or returning Catholics, he added, soothes the sting of the clergy abuse crisis in the Church.

"This has been a difficult year for the Church," Father Longobucco stated. "Watching this class come together the way they do has been one of the great gifts of this year -- a year that needs great gifts." (KB)

(5/1/03) [[In-content Ad]]