A closer look at Dr. Karen Ristau The thing about Pope Benedict XVI that most impresses her: He’s a very learned man. I admired the positive message that he brought to us and his gratitude for us in this country. I also admire so much that he spoke directly to the abuse problem. And I admire without end the fact that very quietly he met with abuse victims and no fuss was made over that; it wasn’t even known until it was over. Because the Church, he speaks for the Church, has to acknowledge the harm that was done and apologize and I think that happened. He’s a man who has learned what some people never learn: to face problems directly to solve them. Favorite book: I recently read The Translator. It’s a story of a man who grew up in Darfur and he can speak many languages because he had an education. And when people come to that region to see what’s really going on, he’s the translator. He tells about the misery in Darfur. It’s a small, beautiful book. Favorite travel destination: I am just kind of a dyed-in-the wool Midwesterner. So if I can be anywhere near Lake Michigan I’m very happy. I worked in Minnesota for over 20 years; that’s one of my all time favorite places. Favorite food: Other than chocolate, coffee, and ice cream, I think I have a preference for good Italian food. Favorite saint: My middle name is Martha and I kind of talk to Martha once in a while because she didn’t get the best press. She was doing the good hard work that needs to be done. Best piece of advice ever received: I guess I would say it’s kind of like “the truth will set you free.” I think if a person is always honest, kind of direct with candor and compassion, that it will save the day. A birthday present for the pope: The day before, I had the privilege of meeting the pope and being able to give him a birthday present. I had an opportunity to see how gracious and soft-spoken he is. It was kind of an extra thrill to be able to do that. We (the National Catholic Education Association) knew he would be celebrating his birthday when he was here, so we started a campaign asking people in schools, parish programs, seminaries, high schools, if their students who were doing community service would do it in honor of the pope and pledge those hours to him. So we were able to give him a birthday present of 1.7 million community service hours done in his name. I wanted him to know that our students not only understand, but they are taking action on, Jesus’ message to take care of one another.

places like Indianapolis, Providence, Washington, other places where in inner cities people are coming together and they’re finding ways to save money and pool resources. Then we’ve got the Christo Rey models of schools. People are coming up with ways to keep and sustain the schools where there are economic hardships.

CD: The Holy Father acknowledged that some might question the need for Catholic schools these days. Do you feel an increasing need to justify Catholic education, its expense, its philosophy?

RISTAU: He’s throwing that out sort of as a rhetorical question, and what he’s saying is, someone might say the state schools are good and they are. So we have to be really clear about the kind of education we offer; it’s so much more of a whole education because the spiritual dimension of our lives is not left out.

CD: Right, he talked about scholarship and education as instruments of hope.

RISTAU: Absolutely. Here is a man whose first letter to us is about love, his second letter to us is about hope. And those things were radiated there.

CD: Do you think in general the reaction of the other Catholic educators was as positive as yours?

RISTAU: I would say so. There was a wonderful reception afterward so people visited socially. I think people were saying this is really good. People were also kind of saying what I was thinking: I need to get a paper copy of this and read it, because he does speak softly, though nobody had trouble with his accent. Sometimes because he was reading he’d go a little quickly. The middle part that is on philosophy — we need to read that and think about it. And at the very end, again he spoke about hope. He told us to bear witness to hope. We’re not giving up.

CD: What do you hope for in the future of Catholic education?

RISTAU: What I would really like is to continue to try to get the message out of the good work that we’re doing. I’d like more attention paid to where new schools are happening, where new models are happening, where people have come together and said this is so important we’ll solve this problem. I’d also like people to know more about the good work that happened in the Gulf Coast region. Those people opened those Catholics schools three or four weeks after the hurricane, because they knew that those kids needed normalcy in their lives. And where we truly are helping and making such a difference in the lives of so many children especially in the inner city where I truly, honestly believe we’re saving lives because kids are getting an education. We need to continue to find ways to get out the stories that give people hope. That’s my hope and work: just to keep promoting the true goodness that is happening in this country in Catholic education. CD

Kerry Weber is the associate editor of Catholic Digest.