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Retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John Wissler, former commander of the Marine Corps Forces Command, will deliver the keynote address at the Superintendent’s second annual Student Leadership Conference Monday, March 5.
Nearly 300 student leaders from 37 Catholic high schools in the archdiocese will gather with Dr. Timothy McNiff, superintendent of schools, who will serve as emcee of the event at the Sheen Center in lower Manhattan.
“Civic Engagement: A Catholic Lens” is this year’s theme.
Wissler will join other panelists, including Father Patrick Conroy, S.J., chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives; Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, executive director of archdiocesan Catholic Charities; and Kenneth Hicks, a 2011 alumnus of Cardinal Hayes High School, the Bronx, who attended Colombia University and who is now a news assistant and feature writer for the Wall Street Journal’s Life and Arts section.
The day’s discussion will examine moral obligations concerning civic engagement and public service through the lens of the Catholic faith.
The topic is addressed in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ teaching document on the political responsibility of Catholics, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States.”
The panel will include dialogue among speakers as well as question-and-answer segments to engage students.
In April, a designated student leader from each school will participate in a trip to Washington, D.C. for visits to the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court, among other locales, to continue the discussion.
