I AM with you wherever you are. I am with you forevermore. There is no other love more than my love for you. I am with you my one and only love. You are with me wherever I am. You are with me forevermore. You’re always in my mind wherever I am. You are with me forevermore. You’re always in my mind wherever I am. You are with me my one and only love. Through all the hardships and all the good times. I am with you eternally. My love for you will never change. I am with you. I am with you.
Mon David’s translated lyrics to “Abe Mu Ku,” 2001.
Mon David was invited as one of the featured guest singers of the Philippine Chamber Singers-LA (PCS-LA)’ Walt Disney Hall concert on Friday, August 17, alongside Kit Navarro, Edward Granadosin and Pete Avendaño’s Immaculate Heart of Mary Children’s Choir and Precious Blood School’s Children’s Chorus, a 50-member group.
Prominent in attendance that evening were Philippine Consul General Adelio Angelito Cruz and generous donors of PCS-LA, Grace Mercado-Ouano, John S. Mina and Ted Benito.
It was an enchanting evening to hear the music of your childhood being sung in a venue with great acoustics. Usually, the best sounds emerged from the 10th row, as in the LA Legal Philharmonic’s concert this writer attended recently. But we were privileged with seats in the third row, where the sounds had uneven dynamics.
Yet, even with the seeming absence of the prominently hanging ceiling microphone in a prior concert, it could not diminish the impact of passion, the fullest depths of the emotional experience from musicality at its masterful best, and the superior performances of PCS-LA onstage. Everything was magical, soulful, gentle and warm!
Cynthia Bonta with Angelo “Gelo” Francisco
Could it be the context of Asian Americans’ collective excitement, who came out to see director Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s best-selling novel, “Crazy Rich Asians,” with a blockbuster week total of $35 million?
“How does one express what it means to go from being and feeling completely invisible, insignificant, left out and white-washed to all of a sudden being fully seen and fully human, on the big screen, in bright, bold and beautiful colors?” Soji Kashiwagi wrote on August 19.
‘Soul of the Concert’ – Mon David
David has nothing else to prove, having been a three-decade major musical artist in the Philippines, then, joined and won the 2006 London International Jazz Competition. He has since been performing in US stages like the Ford Amphitheater, LACMA, Vibrato Jazz Grill, Little Tokyo, Josephine’s, Catalina Jazz Bar, and has eight albums to his credit. He has also graced the Tokyo-Manila Jazz festival, performing with notable jazz artists like Charito Vergara in Japan and Manila.
He got the “2017 Jazz Living Legend” from the LA City Council headed by Councilmember Herb Wesson. David believes that “our humanity connects us to one another regardless of national origin, creed and political affiliations and the arts, music and jazz can help achieve that deep and true human connection.”
When David walked onstage that evening at Disney Hall, a first for him to perform at this venue, he looked handsome in an Eric Pineda original barong of purple and white, a mandarin collar, and with a microphone in his hand. We braced ourselves to enjoy every facet of his performance. We knew how meticulous he is about sound dynamics and expressing his feelings. We simply knew it would be masterful!
He was the “soul of this concert,” Cynthia Bonta whispered to me. She traveled from Alameda to Los Angeles, eager to listen to the songs of her childhood, all originally composed by Filipinos, adding “I would not miss this for anything.”
Enrique Dela Cruz described it as “an inspired performance for Mon David who has mastered the legato, the long, sustained notes.”
Chris Oshima, a native-born American, felt the warmth and gentleness, listening to David’s song, a language foreign to her.
“Abe Mu Ku,” an original composition of Mon David in Kapampangan, has been translated into seven dialects by Prof. Edru Abraham of the University of the Philippines’s Kontra-Gapi Ensemble. Some of those dialects are Ibanag, Hiligaynon and Cebuano.
In Pampanga, “Abe Mu Ku” is frequently sung at various occasions because of its universal language and message of love.
David composed it in 2001, fresh from grieving the death of his loving father, Crisanto David, who sang often with his wife, Alejandra Canlas, David’s mother. He stopped by the North Expressway’s shoulder in the Philippines, as the sounds came to him nonstop, on the way to visit his grieving mother. He wrote the notes down and hummed it as he wanted to document the harmonic notes as they were flowing through. Verse A was composed. Much later, a verse B (the bridge), until a full song emerged, with A, A, B, A.
When David sings, he always dedicates them to all his loved ones: his father, his wife Ann and his family, now, a growing brood of grandchildren, soon to be four, with twins Nico and Leo.
“Nararamdaman ko iyon, marubdob ang dating (I feel the lyrics, the intensity of my love for them pierces through),” he said.
That evening, he sang the Ibanag verse translation, in addition to Kapampangan, done by Prof. Edru Abraham. Some folks thought it was Japanese.
When David prepares for his performances, he is quite particular to address all aspects of the performance: harmony, feelings, sound dynamics and lyrics.
“When you sing for one person, it should be the same level of quality as singing for 2,000 person capacity Disney Hall,” he said. Twenty of his family member came, as did over 2,000 people from the Filipino-American community and their friends.
Matching this masterful performance of David was Gelo Francisco’s generosity in spirit, who with PCS-LA, generously commissioned a new choral arrangement from Robert Delgado, for “Abe Mu Ku” to not just be masterfully sung by the passionate vocal chords and heart of Mon David, but even more so by the masterful choral voices of the PCS-LA. How soulful, gentle, warm, and inspired indeed!
The last mainstage, similar to Disney Hall, was Ford Amphitheater, a concert produced by Ted Benito in 2011, when David memorably sang with his children, Nicole David Yalong, a mother of twins, and Carlo David (a recent winner of A Song of Praise Festival in April 2018), a first for the family on a U.S. mainstage back then.
Alto Ana Burog in repartee with soprano Kit Navarro
“I don’t want to lose you. My world will shatter. But what can I do? You don’t want me anymore. Who am I to hold you back? Even if you go away, the memory of our love will stay. This song reminds me that I won’t forget you. Better you the only one in my world. My heart, my life. Your kiss, I so miss! Why did you leave me? I am hurting, baby. When I see you, I feel jealous, oh baby, when you are with someone else. Because you are the only [one] in my universe. My heart, my life.” – “HALIK,” originally sung by Aegis, arranged by Monet Silvestre, now performed by Ana Burog.
Facebook posts populated with comments: “A Star is Born” in Ana Burog in repartee with Ma. Cristina “Kit” Navarro. Another post showed OJ, a guy about to bite Burog’s cheek, with her comment: “It is a kiss, not a bite.” All were delighted to see Burog give it her all that night and queued up to have photos with her. We could not squeeze in.
“How did you do it?” I asked.
“Tita, if you go onstage at Disney Hall and look around, it is intimidating to see the people, the lights, and all the microphones. I simply imagined I was singing in a karaoke bar.”
Capping “HALIK,” Ma. Cristina Navarro sang as if her voice traveled up and down the scales, on a run even, in leaps and thrills, in coloratura style. Burog was unfazed and challenged Navarro.
Mind you, Navarro is Burog’s idol. With humor and wit, Burog declared in Tagalog and asked who is the sponsor of these handsome barongs worn onstage (designs in black and on white barongs), as if finding her creative edge on Navarro. After Navarro’s impressive coloratura, Burog moved her hands, as if to say, “make room for me.” The amused crowd roared in laughter, and waited on what Burog could do. She too had her coloratura, but in her abbreviated alto voice.
The repartee lasted two rounds, with soprano Navarro and alto Burog, displaying their prowess.
Navarro is a professional soprano, who has been part of Andrea Bocelli’s Christmas concerts in California, the West Coast tour of the “Lord of the Rings” with the Munich Symphony Orchestra and has graced international stages, singing in operas in Switzerland, the U.S., the Philippines and Austria. She was handpicked to perform for Ryan Cayabyab’s Sept. 1, 2018s concert at the University of the Philippines. Orange County Register describes her as “the gifted soprano, whose effortless production and lustrous, satiny tone were angelic.”
Yet, with humility and with grace, Navarro made room for Burog to claim the stage as her own and that night, a star was born during the latter’s rendition of “HALIK” (kiss), “which was originally performed at 2016 Regine Velasquez-Alcasid’s concert by the Filipino-American choirs which included PCS-LA. Soloists Ana Burog and Ma. Cristina Navarro bring fresh interpretation, humor and wit to the song,“ Emmanuel Miranda wrote in the program notes.
When the lyrics “Pagka’t ikaw ang tanging laman ng aking mundo, ng aking puso, ng aking buhay (Because you are the only one in my universe, my heart, my life)” were sung, the crowd stood up and applauded.
Bravo, bravo, bravo, giving “HALIK,” the only standing ovation that might have lasted longer, but for two more songs, “HANGGANG SA MULI” and “HIBANG SA AWIT” waiting to be sung at the program’s end at 10:30 p.m.
PCS-LA’s comprehensive program and quality musicianship
PCS-LA’s members are: Sopranos (Kit Buhion, Anne Jeanette Dwight, Marivic Francisco, Anna Hurn, Maria Christina Navarro and Charmaine Normandia); Altos (Kim Bautista, Ana Burog, Judith Guerrero, Melissa Eugenio Gutierrez, Jennifer Morelos, Apple Nestle Nazareno and Lisa Ulanday; Tenors (Noel Anzures, Aristotle Canlapan, Hero Emolaga, Gerry Francisco, Oscar Pantaleon, Jr. and Louie Ulanday; and Bass (Novem Cabios, Dale Francisco, Gelo Francisco, Emmanuel Miranda, Medard Obida, Dino Padallan and Dennis Quiambao.
Francisco is the artistic director of PCS-LA, having developed the musical program content, with the group’s input, into 22 songs in various categories of Kundiman, Novelty and Modern Classics; Contemporary Avant-Garde, Great Filipino Songs and Maski Pops.
PCS-LA commissioned new arrangements of this Original Pilipino Music from Ryan Cayabyab, Robert Delgado, Ruben Federizon, John Pamintuan and Monet Silvestre.
That night, Gelo assumed multiple roles: bamboo drumming, conductor for several songs, soloist, part of Madz Alumni Men, and part of the PCS-LA’s choral group. He upheld the very high gold standard for the performance of PCS-LA.
One particular song received our riveted attention. It was Ruben Federizon’s composed “TINIG NG LUPA.” Soprano Marivic Francisco soared in her rendition, as her family members Gelo Francisco (her husband) and Joaquim Francisco (her college-bound son on his gap year), who both pounded on their kalatong (a percussion instrument made of bamboo).
In the program notes, Miranda wrote, “Federizon derived his inspiration 35 years ago when he saw the Visayas’ mudslide burying an entire barrio. It affected him so much to see dead bodies in the mud. He reiterates, ‘We just have to love our Mother Earth.’ It represents an avant-garde work in three movements scored for mixed chorus a cappella and utilizes the kalatong, bamboo tubes struck by two bamboo sticks. It employs the technique of onomatopoeia – the voices mimic the haunting, earthly sounds of the underworld (the dead) as they struggle to free themselves from the abysss (mud).”
That evening, PCS-LA emerged to be bright stars onstage at Disney Hall, breaking down all barriers, to sing and express themselves with superior musicality.
Cover Photo: Dan Horn with Fr. Alden Sison and visiting religious faculty
I recalled the Columbine shooting only four months earlier [1999] and challenged the students [Class 2000] to live the lessons learned from that horrific event. No one should feel like a stranger in his own school. We all have a place at the table of St. Genevieve. And by making a place for all at our table, we have an opportunity to leave a legacy of welcome and acceptance at this school.
Dan Horn, “Anointed Moments” (2014).
‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,’” Charles Dickens, [British novelist] once wrote. This shows at the end of the day, it depends on your goals and what you want to achieve and how you would want your high school experience to be. I like St. Genevieve High School because of its close community, which helps you [to] know your classmates more.
Ethan Castro, Class of 2019
Melanie C. Brooks and Jeffrey S. Brooks, faculty of Monash University and RMIT University in Australia and authors of ‘Culturally (ir)relevant school leadership: Ethno-religious conflict and school administration in the Philippines’ (2018), wrote this tenet in the International Journal of Leadership in Education: “Culturally relevant school leaders help establish and nurture school cultures that support the academic and social success of all students.”
Photo courtesy of St. Genevieve’s Christian de Guzman during the Carters’ visit on Feb. 2, 2018: John Davis and John Mina with former Pres. Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter at the launch of the “Dear Rosalynn,” a documentary on former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, created by St. Genevieve students.
It was informed by their research centered on school principals in Northern Mindanao, Philippines, whose region has a long history of ethno-religious conflict, which has displaced
Class of 2022 in front of St. Genevieve Church (Photo by Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz)
thousands of people for 40 years. Their research findings “make explicit the importance of meaningful principal preparation and professional development programs that interweave culturally relevant leadership skills, reflective practice and intercultural understanding in ways that can be locally applied.”
Their tenet on ethno-religious conflict and culturally relevant leadership from school principals converged with what I observed at St. Genevieve High School in Panorama City, California.
The incoming freshmen walk through the people-formed tunnel during the Welcome Day. (Photo by Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz)
St. Gen, for the 2018-19 school year, has 550 students from K to 8th grade, 600 in high school, with 162 freshmen from all diverse ethnic groups.
On four red brick columns in its front gate are engraved gold plates of these character values: caring, respect, trustworthiness, citizenship. Two more traits are taught to the students: kindness and responsibility.
St. Gen is located in Panorama City, the first planned community after World War II, where homes were built by Fritz Burns and Henry Kaiser and sold to white-only families with loans from GI bill, and with restrictive, racist covenants: “not to be used or occupied by any person whose blood is not entirely that of the white or Caucasian race.”
20th Welcome Day inside St. Gen’s Madonna Hall. (Photo by Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz)
Burdened by a context of a discriminatory past, St. Gen has turned towards light and with inclusive practices, whose front gates are opened wide to all ethnicities, including spaces for international students, who currently matriculate from China, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea and Mexico.
That cultural change was made possible by the legacy left behind by the Class of 2000 “who decided that instead of bullying the incoming strangers, they would make them feel welcome in their new home,” Principal Dan Horn wrote in his book, “Anointed Moments.”
The football team, which now includes its first female member, gets ready to dance for the 20th Welcome Day. (Photo by Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz)
Horn’s culturally relevant leadership has transformed this high school by keeping the lessons of Columbine High School alive. Columbine was where 13 folks perished from two hate-filled high schoolers gone mad, but also showed Rachel Scott’s martyrdom from her Christian faith, lessons of character that begot the survival of Craig Scott and those he led in prayer inside the library during the shooting.
Former Pres. Jimmy Carter credibly affirmed the change when he addressed a gathering and asserted that “St. Genevieve is the best high school in the world,” for him on Oct. 25, 2010.
Columbine’s character lessons are kept alive through formal retreats of the faculty, seniors, and incoming freshmen retreats, one for boys and another for girls at St. Gen.
“If that [legacy of welcome and acceptance] is what we are about, we won’t have to worry about a shooting happening here. If that is what we are about, people will stop looking down at our school and begin looking up to us because we will have chosen to be our best selves every single day. That is the best way I know how to honor those who died at Columbine,” Horn wrote in “Anointed Moments.”
Horn was the principal for nine years at St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School in Pico-Union, in Los Angeles, known to have clusters of gangs and random violence, as any dense zip code in the city of LA. But, through culture change accomplished with a hardworking team of teachers and students and supportive parents, the school he led received a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award on Dec. 17, 1992, from the U.S. Department of Education.
Horn then became St. Genevieve’s principal and its animating source of culturally relevant leadership, as well as his inner circle of faculty leaders and student leaders, for 20 years now.
From 1999-2003, St. Gen started character education. On October 17, 2003, it became the “first high school in California – and the first Catholic school in the nation designated as National School of Character from the Character Education Partnership based in Washington, D.C.
Today, the school has boldly undertaken a strategic campaign for its Inspiration Building, now at $26 million, short of $4 million of their $30-million goal. This building will be the site of inspirational leaders’ talks to parents and students, but also where the students can freely express their music, cheerlead, dance and perform their musicals like “Bye, Bye Birdie,” “The King and I” and “The Little Mermaid” and even their school events.
In an interview with the Asian Journal, Horn shared his intentions behind the sustained culture change in our second visit – “even without the hanging crucifix, what if everyone felt the presence of Christ by our love and kindness?”
Welcome Day for Freshman: An explosion of joyful songs and dance
This writer was invited by Horn to attend the Welcome Freshman Day, making it the third visit to this school.
Dazed and bewildered freshmen were greeted by the marching band, with shouts of welcome, continuous clapping from a people-formed tunnel, where sophomores, juniors, seniors and teachers lined up both sides, a 20-year-old tradition that makes the school feel welcoming and emotionally safe to just focus on learning.
Of course, they experience problems, like any other school, but instead of punishment, they make the outlying incident a teaching moment, a form of positive leadership. For example, a student wore her St. Gen’s uniform at a Planned Parenthood rally and posted it on Instagram.
A dialogue ensued that the rally was for a specific cause to which not all the school community subscribe to, so wearing the school’s uniform and posting it on social media were inappropriate and how to balance that with the student’s right to be heard, promoting women’s rights. Can you blame this student for wearing her uniform as she took pride in her school?
Perhaps not, but by showing empathy, not necessarily an endorsement of her actions, it became a lesson in understanding the humanity of someone who thinks differently and from her point of view, progressively for social change.
I got goosebumps and even cried at some point, watching the line-up when freshmen students were welcomed, with activities fit for royalty: marching band, color guards, cheerleaders, over 300+ inside the Madonna Hall, welcome posters introducing each of them with four welcoming letters, one each from sophomore, junior, senior and faculty, and songs sung together.
The highlight of the program that got everyone cheering was the male football team members, with their first female member (a soccer player) welcomed into their team, dancing for the freshmen. It was so well-choreographed that the students were cheering them on replete with individual exhibitions of prowess to lifting their dance partners.
The last time I experienced the presentation of color guards, ROTC Salute, was during Silliman University’s Distinguished Alumni Week in Dumaguete in heat-scorching August for a good friend I supported.
That same heat-scorching temperatures are what we are experiencing this welcome day. The double-digit summer temperature matched the warmth of Marlon Archey’s voice, the director of athletics, in welcoming everyone. He shared that his son graduated from St. Gen in 2009, while his daughter in 2016, and both still treasure and had kept their welcome posters they got at St. Gen years ago.
Incoming freshman Christopher Avendaño, a middle school graduate from Immaculate Heart of Mary School and a member of IHMC’s Children’s Choir, who sang for Pope Francis. (Photo by Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz)
Freshmen are individually cheered on with artistic posters made by the students. Their first names with glitters and colors appear on the front of the poster while in the back are four letters: one each from a sophomore, junior, senior and a teacher.
Three upper-class men and women with the student body president spoke about coming to St. Gen, feeling lost and overwhelmed, at first, until the seniors and the teachers helped them out.
Juan Jasso of admissions sat next to me. Jasso shared the story of the Iaccinos, a family whose grandpa and grandma met at St. Gen and had 7 children, who then all went to St. Gen. Now, their grandchildren are attending preschool. A ringing endorsement of the quality of a school, don’t you think?
Buoyed by the explosive welcoming spirit, Fr. Alden Sison ran to the front of the room to lead everyone in prayer to the Holy Spirit. He reminded everyone that as “they attend the field of games, listen to the whirlwinds of sounds and drums, it is Jesus Christ who animates us daily.”
About a dozen or more students stood by the front stage wearing black t-shirts lettered with “Building St. Genevieve Heart.”
I asked Dan Horn and his circle of staff and student leaders, assembled for the interview what are some of the qualities at St. Gen that principal, staff teachers, librarian and student leaders are proud of.
In their own words, these traits are:
*Love and genuine understanding – true love of a Christian Catholic; here is a tight community. Teachers make an effort to attend funerals of families of their students. They check in with one another and take the time to do it.
*Family – Celebrate each other’s successes and comfort one another.
*Acceptance – where all are welcome. Being gay is accepted and gay students are not treated differently. Treat others the way you want to be treated, whether as a faculty member or as a student.
*Vibrant Spirit – Kairos retreat leader encourages folks to open up, share their burdens and to have a clear state of mind, unburdened by personal challenges, by reminding each one – I can change whenever I want; I can change my thought process.
*Drama mask project –Dani Brown (a teacher) has succeeded in getting kids to open up, by teaching students how to do plaster casts of their faces, and then have the students to touch the masks of their faces and the realization that their masks hide their truths. She gives them the space of using their arts as personal expressions of their journeys. The masks become the doorway for students to freely interact, to be themselves.
*Extend yourself. Be open to what St. Gen has to offer – whether in sports, drama, musical band, student government. Allow others to encourage you, while you encourage others to do different school activities. If you do not have confidence to perform at your best, you have primed yourself for disappointment.
*To live with honor – character is the foundation of our school, to behave our best when no one is watching, to do the right thing. You can never go wrong when you do the right thing.
*Follow the lighthouse, St. Genevieve. Discover who God intends you to be.
Can you now see how a principal’s culturally relevant leadership principles have created a transformative culture in a school, but also the best character in its teachers and students?
I have never seen a more joyful bunch of students greet each other with high fives, as well as their teachers. Perhaps they see that in their principal Dan Horn daily?
Recall the prescient words of Ethan Castro, who came to this high school a very shy and quiet boy? He is now a self-assured and high-performing student, with his own wisdom garnered from being here at St. Gen for three years. He will be graduating in 2019.
Cover Photo: Dan Horn and core faculty team with students inside St. Genevieve's library
St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians tells them that he kneels before the Father praying, “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” He yearns for them to “know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” This is exactly what we want for our own hearts, to be filled with this “strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth” of the love of God. This is what we want for the hearts of all our loved ones, for the hearts of all people. And this is the gift Jesus gives us in giving us his Sacred Heart.
“Pondering the Word, The Anawim Way: Liturgical Meditations,” 2018.
Kindness can save a life…don’t let your character change color with your environment. Find out who you are and let it stay its true color. Go after God. Whatever it takes, do it. And don’t give the excuse, I am just a teenager or I’ll do that when I grow up, because it doesn’t work that way. God wants to know you NOW.
Rachel Joy Scott, as told by Beth Nimmo to St. Gen’s Parents/Students Assembly, for their Character Education Speaker Series, on April 12, 2018.
What would it be like if we all “live in, dwell in and remain in” all the fullness of God and the Sacred Heart of Jesus? What if folks are received this way in any environment, especially in a school? Would you perform your absolute best?
Dan Horn, Principal with Amanda Allen, Executive Director Photo taken by Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz
Niche’s Ranking of Private High Schools in America places St. Genevieve in Panorama City at #3 of best diverse private 476 high schools in California. Similarly situated high schools at a comparable zip code, like Bishop Alemany High School, ranks #68 of 476 high schools and with higher student density per teacher, while Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LACES), ranks #10 of the best high school magnets in LA and #90 out of 1, 510 public high schools in California.
Dan Horn with Fr. Alden Sison and Pastor Brandon Patterson of Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, where former President and Mrs. Carter are long-time members. Photos taken by Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz
St. Gen has 600 students in high school and 537 students in elementary with a multiculturally diverse population: “5 percent African American, 9 percent Asian, 8 percent Caucasian, 17 percent Filipino, 52 percent Hispanic/Latino, 8 percent Other/Mixed, and [the] majority are Catholics,” with even some international students from China.
Incoming students at St. Gen learn that hatred and deep rage led to massive loss of lives, as in Columbine’s young martyrs of faith and its opposite: “trust, honesty, compassion, love, and the desire to believe the best about people,” that Rachel Scott wrote about: “My codes may seem like a fantasy that can never be reached, but test them for yourself, and see the kind of effect they have in the lives of people around you. You just may start a chain reaction.”
Dan Horn with the inner circle that includes Marlon Archey, teachers and student leaders, during the Asian Journal interview.
In “Real Diary of Faith: The Journals of Rachel Scott,” adapted by Beth Nimmo and Debra Klingsporn, they described, “Richard Castaldo was the first person shot and Rachel Joy Scott was the first person killed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. As Richard lay stunned and Rachel attempted to crawl to safety, the shooters began to walk away, only to return seconds later. At that point, Harris grabbed Rachel by her hair, held her head up, and asked her the question, ‘Do you believe in God?’”
School Wall dedicated to One in a Million Friendships of St. Gen with Pres. Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter and other supporters.Photos by Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz
“‘You know I do, Rachel replied. ‘Then go be with him,’ responded Harris before shooting her in the head. Four bullets from Eric Harris’s gun killed Rachel. Richard described Rachel’s death to his mother in the initial days after the shooting, but has since blocked those details from his memory. Although Richard survived more than half a dozen gunshot wounds, he remains physically paralyzed and emotionally traumatized as a surviving victim…” of what was considered the most deadly school shooting in U.S. history until the incidents at Sandy Hook Elementary School (2012) in Newtown, Connecticut and Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida (2018).
The lives of Rachel Scott and the survivors of the Columbine High School mass shooting become reflection points at St. Gen’s school year opening retreats, one for incoming girls, and another for the boys. They ponder on the invisible hand of God that continues to create bittersweet symphonies about Rachel’s life, a spiritual giant gone too soon at 17 years old, and with help from St. Gen’s seniors, these freshmen develop their school goals.
A year before Rachel Scott died, she wrote to her friend Sam about having a heavy heart: “I have gotten what I want Lord. Thank you. The world you have created is making my death. I am a warrior for Christ. Create in me the church so that wherever I go I find sanctuary.”
Rachel drew 13 roses, symbolic perhaps of her prescience that she would be one of the 13 killed, a year after.
“You are free to choose, but you are not free to choose the consequences of your choice,” Craig Scott — brother of Rachel Scott, who witnessed two of his high school friends die that day — said to a packed assembly of students and parents in April 2018 at St. Gen.
The killers of Columbine planned to kill 400 to 500 students that day, but their plan failed, as the bombs did not go off.
“These boys were addicted to violence yet, their addictions increased their pain and changed their character,” Scott told the assembly.
Inspirational thoughts, quotes, and posters are prominently displayed throughout the corridors and classrooms of St. Genevieve.
He continued, “Shooter was writing about how he was being treated badly at home. What if our world was kinder? We have a lot of heart problems in America. We have a lot of broken hearts. He was looking for respect. Hurt people hurt others. They feel so bad about themselves. Bullies are flashing a card: I have no respect for myself.”
Free to be one’s self at St. Gen
Anthony, a transfer student from El Camino Real High School in West Hills, captured St. Gen’s impact, “I became who I am because of the people who care for me – there’s no reason not to be who I am. There is no reason to not be myself. This is the environment I embrace. The foundation is welcoming.” He is a baseball player, a football player, takes four honors classes and one Advanced Placement course.
“If you see your teachers working long hours till 6 p.m. with open doors to you, you simply walk in and ask for their help in the topics you did not understand in class,” Anthony said.
Christian, a sophomore football player who towered at 6’8”, is not just a skilled athlete who is also a graceful liturgical dancer. He was inspired by Hines Ward, a former Pittsburgh Steeler and MVP of Superbowl XL who has spoken at St. Gen twice.
“When I meet people, I am constantly reinforced. I love it,” he said.
With an affirming and welcoming atmosphere, students learn to respect the school, but mostly respect for one another.
Take a knee
Before Dan Horn became the principal, St. Gen was known as the gang-ridden school in the Valley, with low-performing academics and athletics. Why would families come and watch athletes lose a game after another? High school enrollment was at 300, waiting simply for a shutdown.
“‘Your athletes make this league look bad,’ one angry principal approached Horn. Then, as Horn listened to the bench-clearing brawl, he realized St. Gen’s girls started the fight, and that made him recognize there was definitely room for some character development,” he wrote in his book, “Anointed Moments.”
Horn recruited a new athletic director, Marlon Archey, and working with him, brought on new hires.
After years of a bad reputation and the longest losing streak in their division’s history, St. Gen’s team had a chance to make playoffs in 2000 if a coin toss would favor them.
“One of the players commanded, ‘Let’s pray to St. Genevieve…take a knee. Following his command, the team, coaches, and I [Dan Horn] went down on one knee, and as this inspiring young man held out his hands to his teammates beside him, every man on the ground became connected by hearts as well as hands. The rough patch of asphalt became our holy ground. The dim glow from the overhead streetlight became a candle. The men kneeling and holding hands were the church, and the baritone voice praying confidently, ‘Sweet Genevieve, help us,’ became our inspiration,” Horn wrote.
These thugs became valiant leaders, but their faith preceded their attitudes and the coin simply followed: the toss came out heads. From then on, their internal software programmed them to be winners.
“From 1990-1999, St. Gen HS had various teams make the playoffs 11 times. From 1999 to Feb. 2014, the various teams make playoffs 101 times, Horn cataloged.
“Coming to St. Gen is an adventure, but also, you leave with a smile,” Archey said to a television reporter.
Nurture their hearts and artistic spirits
Archey, the parish school’s athletic director now for 16 years, describes the six pillars of character development they train students at St. Gen: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, caring, fairness and citizenship.
Archey, during an interview with Dan Horn and his inner circle (St. Gen’s teachers and student leaders) in the school library, shared his coaching intentions: “I am nurturing the souls of these students. I am focused on ingraining in them kindness and how to be welcoming to one another. I am nurturing their spirits, taking where these people are at, this is what they are, this is where they are going to be [for four years]. So why not meet one another, and [know] each of their personalities?”
As the physical education and athletic programs got stronger, Horn was concerned about building the performing arts component. His earlier experience as St. Thomas elementary school’s principal in Pico-Union taught him that performing arts can bring out students’ potentials, illustrated by his befriending Helen Reddy to perform at this elementary school and the children got transformed by these onstage experiences, Horn observed.
Horn convinced St. Gen’s seniors on the football team to sing and dance for the Welcome Freshman Day in August 2000. It became a bonding experience as they spent time practicing but it also encouraged the freshmen to attend football games. Even the Los Angeles Times wrote about the football team’s “Sugar Pie Honey Bunch” interpretation and since then, they have been the media darlings of local television stations.
St. Gen’s values came to be known as: “to know God, to live with honor and to change the world.”
Dr. Gerald Durley, an inspirational speaker invited to the Character Education Speaker Series, was one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s foot soldiers who spoke of “loving ourselves more, to love humanity more, to never give up, and to always find the best in ourselves in order to find the best in others. One of his most memorable phrases, always delivered in impassioned style was: The only time you ever have a right to look down on another human being is when you’re offering them help in getting back up,” Horn wrote.
In a Kairos retreat, students often share personal stories about what they have gone through. A student questioned where was God when tragedy happened to him, to which, Horn replied: “It boils down to faith. God is everywhere. God does not cause tragedy, but God is there during the tragic moments. At a time of suffering, if we look hard enough, we can see God. We can find the spirit of Christ in those who are there to help.”
Horn memorialized in his book, “By revealing what happened to you, it allows us to get you some help and it opens the door for others in the room who have suffered silently to step forward and reach out for assistance in dealing with their own heartaches and pain. You’ve become an angel tonight. Always remember to look for the angels and you will see God.”
On October 17, 2003, “St. Gen teachers John Van Grinsven and Maxine Bush took the stage at the Crystal City Marriott across the Potomac River from D.C. to accept the National School of Character Award,” Horn wrote. This accolade made St. Gen “the first high school in California — and the first Catholic school in the nation — a “National School of Character”.
It is now on a huge banner hung at the school entrance heralding for all what this school has gone through, but also, as an aspiration for each incoming school year.
Part II is on the nuggets of wisdom derived at St. Gen and Part III is on their church pastor, Fr. Alden Sison.
Some journalists, sad to say, equate objectivity with neutrality. They let both sides of the warring fence say their version of the ‘truth,’ no matter how misleading, and let the people decide. For the years I have spent as editor of different publications, I have fought against this kind of practice, one mistakenly called “journalism.” To me, journalistic objectivity belongs in the manner by which evidence, statements and documentation are gathered. These proofs are then weighed for their integrity and credibility, and analyzed in light of their historical context. All this is done with the mind to arrive at the truth. That is the goal. Journalists are called to be objective, yes, but never neutral. Neutrality is synonymous to inaction. Objectivity, however, is action, made stronger by the knowledge of how and where to get the right information based on context. Background information and context woven into the fabric of gathered documents and statements will eventually reveal the truth. Common sense tells you that asking the right questions gives you a better chance of arriving at the right answers. And what better time to ruffle some feathers than in our darkest hour.
Joel Pablo Salud, July 25, 2018
We are usually conditioned to be objective, not to jump to any conclusion. Yet, when there is a pattern of wrong-doing, do we make an attempt to discover the truth? Or do we simply ignore and on blind faith, assume there is no credence to the allegations?
When I heard a Catholic pastor in 2018 reveal that $1 billion has been paid out to settle sexual abuse cases done by priests and staffers, I wondered if that was a national figure? I was told $1 billion was paid out by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Shocking, right?
Over a decade or so, the real estate assets of the Archdiocese in LA were being liquidated: the sale of Daniel Murphy school in Hancock Park, the sale of a prime 12-story Wilshire Blvd building, and from anyone’s observations, the allegations of sexual abuse were getting traction. Still, it was just personal observations.
“On January 22, 2008, Tod Tamberg announced that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles had sold its 12-story Archdiocesan Catholic Center on Wilshire Boulevard to Jamison Properties of Los Angeles for $31 million to raise funds to pay for its $660 million 2007 settlement on sex abuse by clergy. The building had been donated in 1995 by Thrifty PayLess,” Wikipedia disclosed.
But, relying on Wikipedia was not enough. I checked other sources for verification.
“Cardinal Roger Mahony, the leader of Los Angeles’ Catholics, yesterday apologized to hundreds of victims of predatory priests after the archdiocese agreed to pay $660m to settle claims of sexual abuse. The settlement, agreed on Saturday, was the largest since the revelations about sexual abuse within the church surfaced in Boston in 2002, and comes amid allegations that church leaders had helped to shield predators for years. “There really is no way to go back and give them that innocence that was taken from them. The one thing I wish I could give the victims … I cannot,” Cardinal Mahony told reporters yesterday after presiding over morning mass. “I apologize to anyone who has been offended, who has been abused. It should not have happened, and it will not,” as The Guardian’s Suzanne Goldenberg wrote on July 16, 2007.
It involved more than 500 folks, who were sexually abused by more than 220 priests, teachers and other church employees over several decades, according to Ms. Goldenberg. How did these criminal behaviors remain unrecognized?
Recently, we came across an archbishop’s perspective of how it came about.
America, The Jesuit Review’s John A. McCoy highlighted on July 23, 2018, that “The Seattle Times reported that from 1987 to 2010, the Seattle archdiocese paid about $42 million to 300 abuse victims. The Helena diocese, facing more than 360 abuse claims, filed for bankruptcy in January 2014 and offered a $15 million payout to victims. The archbishop conceded that he had been naïve about sexual abuse. Early on, he had been too slow to respond and too hopeful about treatment. By 1985, he got it. He had county prosecutors and the state attorney general’s office review all suspicious priest personnel files. He created an outside, independent review panel of legal, psychological and sexual assault experts to evaluate abuse allegations against clergy. Proven pedophiles were removed from the priesthood. Jason Berry, the journalist credited with sounding the alarm on the church’s sexual abuse scandal, described Archbishop Hunthausen as the first church leader to deal with the problem publicly.”
In 2007, the Guardian’s Goldenberg reported “The [$1 billion] settlement is far greater than those reached by jurisdictions in Boston, where authorities paid out $84m in 2003, and Portland, Oregon, where the archdiocese agreed this year to pay $52 million. It raises the total the Catholic church has had to pay out to settle claims of abuse to more than $2 billion. The demands for retribution led five dioceses to apply for bankruptcy protection, and forced church authorities to close churches and schools, and sell off property across the US.”
It took Archbishop Hunthausen to pioneer the right approach in 1985, yet, that approach eluded other archdioceses that 22 years later, Cardinal Mahony had to announce close to $1bn settlement of over 500 sexual abuse cases and 33 years later, Chile is still confronting that issue. The National Catholic Reporter’s Jack and Diane Ruhl reported on Nov. 2, 2015, “The U.S. Catholic church has incurred nearly $4 billion in costs related to the priest sex abuse crisis during the past 65 years, according to an extensive NCR investigation of media reports, databases and church documents.”
So, did the Catholic pastor tell the truth from you, our dear Asian Journal’s readers’ points of view?
In Jan. 15, 2018, Pope Francis went to Chile. There, he found the low credibility of the Catholic Church as Fernando Keradima, “the lord of hell” came to light as the most harmful sexual offender in Chile, alleged to be protected by Bishop Juan Barros, and whose proofs of his wrong-doings have not surfaced yet, according to Pope Francis.
Truth is the anchor of an institution’s existence
I am writing this piece to remind us all that human institutions are made up of fallible men and women who are subject to mistakes. Before we condemn, we must have proofs of wrong-doings. While mistakes and patterns of wrong-doings rise to become crimes against several persons, properties and institutions, it is important to remember that an institution’s existence is anchored on truth and truth must embody its daily practices, not just allegations.
Had there been training for the Catholic Church to recognize sexual abuse is a crime and that pedophiles are not legitimate stewards of the Church, and should be removed, I believe the institution would have responded by not giving these men of the cloth their institutional protection.
These priests would likely remember that truth is not a garnish, where one sprinkles a dash to season their homilies and daily encounters with parishioners.
But, recall how the USCCB – the US Conference of Catholic Bishops incorrectly popularized that birth control pills induce abortion and inappropriately encouraged their flock to denounce Obamacare aka Affordable Health Care Act?
I was attending mass in New Mexico when a Bishop in New Mexico angrily delivered his homily incorporating that false statement, contemporaneously disseminated and propagated by the CBCP (Catholic Bishops’ Conference in the Philippines), using the same misinformation from a physician and reflected on their website for some time.
Why was there an aversion to truth? Why did these two associations of bishops propagate a lie that women who wanted reproductive freedom and control over their bodies are labeled baby killers opting abortion? Why has the institution not evolved to support and affirm women to gain their rightful place in society, able to earn their living? That to do so, women would have to either postpone having children or to have children, they would need child support?
That to delay having children does not mean they are baby killers? That false notion stuck to the Democratic Party’s front runner in 2016, that Hillary Clinton favored killing babies, a lie propagated by the Catholics and the Evangelicals, and made even worse when multiplied a thousand times, by what we now know as Russian hackers and trolls who took thousands of ads in social media repeating that lie and influenced the elections to favor Donald Trump.
Lies have become a daily habit in the White House’s press conferences that reporters are questioning Sarah Huckabee Sanders of her periodic evasive answers and denials ad infinitum. It is doing damage to her credibility that at one point, a reporter stopped her and asked why she continues to lie to them? She responded with a scripted answer that daily, she does her best to answer their questions. She keeps forgetting that truth is the anchor of decency, rule of law and reliable public demeanor in America – it is not happenstance, it is not a “walkback” to it three times, much like the Helsinki summit that the President had with Putin, where the President had to essentially change his story three times to reveal what is true as he kept saying one lie after another.
Truth is what we teach our children, grandchildren and it is what we expect in food labeling, in restaurant menus, in books, in news stories we read and in all that we encounter in America. When we make truth an optional condiment, a garnish, a seasoning to pepper our words, we develop a collective mistrust for one another and where our words are now parsed and scrutinized – are they true or not?
We may be in our darkest hour as far as truth being evasive in institutions, but here is our collective chance to make sure to ensure we convey only what is truthful in our daily encounters and that we are courageous enough to correct the falsehoods that we hear, as we all collectively pay for the diminished credibility of the institutions that we rely upon in our public lives.
Some journalists, sad to say, equate objectivity with neutrality. They let both sides of the warring fence say their version of the “truth,” no matter how misleading, and let the people decide. For the years I have spent as editor of different publications, I have fought against this kind of practice, one mistakenly called “journalism.” To me, journalistic objectivity belongs in the manner by which evidence, statements and documentation are gathered. These proofs are then weighed for their integrity and credibility, and analyzed in light of their historical context. All this is done with the mind to arrive at the truth. That is the goal. Journalists are called to be objective, yes, but never neutral. Neutrality is synonymous to inaction. Objectivity, however, is action, made stronger by the knowledge of how and where to get the right information based on context. Background information and context woven into the fabric of gathered documents and statements will eventually reveal the truth. Common sense tells you that asking the right questions gives you a better chance of arriving at the right answers. And what better time to ruffle some feathers than in our darkest hour.
Joel Pablo Salud, July 25, 2018
We are usually conditioned to be objective, not to jump to any conclusion. Yet, when there is a pattern of wrong-doing, do we make an attempt to discover the truth? Or do we simply ignore and on blind faith, assume there is no credence to the allegations?
When I heard a Catholic pastor in 2018 reveal that $1bn has been paid out to settle sexual abuse cases done by priests and staffers, I wondered if that was a national figure? I was told $1bn was paid out by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Shocking, right?
Over a decade or so, the real estate assets of the Archdiocese in LA were being liquidated: the sale of Daniel Murphy school in Hancock Park, the sale of a prime 12-story Wilshire Blvd building, and from anyone’s observations, the allegations of sexual abuse were getting traction. Still, it was just personal observations.
“On January 22, 2008, Tod Tamberg announced that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles had sold its 12-story Archdiocesan Catholic Center on Wilshire Boulevard to Jamison Properties of Los Angeles for $31 million to raise funds to pay for its $660 million 2007 settlement on sex abuse by clergy. The building had been donated in 1995 by Thrifty PayLess,” Wikipedia disclosed.
But, relying on Wikipedia was not enough. I checked other sources for verification.
“Cardinal Roger Mahony, the leader of Los Angeles’ Catholics, yesterday apologized to hundreds of victims of predatory priests after the archdiocese agreed to pay $660m to settle claims of sexual abuse. The settlement, agreed on Saturday, was the largest since the revelations about sexual abuse within the church surfaced in Boston in 2002, and comes amid allegations that church leaders had helped to shield predators for years. “There really is no way to go back and give them that innocence that was taken from them. The one thing I wish I could give the victims … I cannot,” Cardinal Mahony told reporters yesterday after presiding over morning mass. “I apologize to anyone who has been offended, who has been abused. It should not have happened, and it will not,” as The Guardian’s Suzanne Goldenberg wrote on July 16, 2007.
It involved more than 500 folks, who were sexually abused by more than 220 priests, teachers and other church employees over several decades, according to Ms. Goldenberg. How did these criminal behaviors remain unrecognized?
Recently, we came across an archbishop’s perspective of how it came about.
America, The Jesuit Review’s John A. McCoy highlighted on July 23, 2018 that “The Seattle Times reported that from 1987 to 2010, the Seattle archdiocese paid about $42 million to 300 abuse victims. The Helena diocese, facing more than 360 abuse claims, filed for bankruptcy in January 2014 and offered a $15 million payout to victims. The archbishop conceded that he had been naïve about sexual abuse. Early on, he had been too slow to respond and too hopeful about treatment. By 1985, he got it. He had county prosecutors and the state attorney general’s office review all suspicious priest personnel files. He created an outside, independent review panel of legal, psychological and sexual assault experts to evaluate abuse allegations against clergy. Proven pedophiles were removed from the priesthood. Jason Berry, the journalist credited with sounding the alarm on the church’s sexual abuse scandal, described Archbishop Hunthausen as the first church leader to deal with the problem publicly.”
In 2007, the Guardian’s Goldenberg reported “The [$1bn] settlement is far greater than those reached by jurisdictions in Boston, where authorities paid out $84m in 2003, and Portland, Oregon, where the archdiocese agreed this year to pay $52m. It raises the total the Catholic church has had to pay out to settle claims of abuse to more than $2bn. The demands for retribution led five dioceses to apply for bankruptcy protection, and forced church authorities to close churches and schools, and sell off property across the US.”
It took Archbishop Hunthausen to pioneer the right approach in 1985, yet, that approach eluded other archdioceses that 22 years later, Cardinal Mahony had to announce close to $1bn settlement of over 500 sexual abuse cases and 33 years later, Chile is still confronting that issue. The National Catholic Reporter’s Jack and Diane Ruhl reported on Nov. 2, 2015, “The U.S. Catholic church has incurred nearly $4 billion in costs related to the priest sex abuse crisis during the past 65 years, according to an extensive NCR investigation of media reports, databases and church documents.”
So, did the Catholic pastor tell the truth from you, our dear Asian Journal’s readers’ points of view?
In Jan. 15, 2018, Pope Francis went to Chile. There, he found the low credibility of the Catholic Church as Fernando Keradima, “the lord of hell” came to light as the most harmful sexual offender in Chile, alleged to be protected by Bishop Juan Barros, and whose proofs of his wrong-doings have not surfaced yet, according to Pope Francis.
Truth is the Anchor of an Institution’s Existence
I am writing this piece to remind us all that human institutions are made up of fallible men and women who are subject to mistakes. Before we condemn, we must have proofs of wrong-doings. While mistakes and patterns of wrong-doings rise to become crimes against several persons, properties and institutions, it is important to remember that an institution’s existence is anchored on truth and truth must embody its daily practices, not just allegations.
Had there been training for the Catholic Church to recognize sexual abuse is a crime and that pedophiles are not legitimate stewards of the Church, and should be removed, I believe the institution would have responded by not giving these men of the cloth their institutional protection.
These priests would likely remember that truth is not a garnish, where one sprinkles a dash to season their homilies and daily encounters with parishioners.
But, recall how the USCCB – the US Conference of Catholic Bishops incorrectly popularized that birth control pills induce abortion and inappropriately encouraged their flock to denounce Obamacare aka Affordable Health Care Act?
I was attending mass in New Mexico when a Bishop in New Mexico angrily delivered his homily incorporating that false statement, contemporaneously disseminated and propagated by CBCP –Catholic Bishops’ Conference in the Philippines, using the same misinformation from a physician and reflected on their website for sometime.
Why was there an aversion to truth? Why did these two associations of bishops propagate a lie that women who wanted reproductive freedom and control over their bodies are labeled baby killers opting abortion? Why has the institution not evolved to support and affirm women to gain their rightful place in society, able to earn their living? That to do so, women would have to either postpone having children or to have children, they would need child support?
That to delay having children does not mean they are baby killers? That false notion stuck to the Democratic Party’s front runner in 2016, that Hillary Clinton favored killing babies, a lie propagated by the Catholics and the Evangelicals, and made even more worse when multiplied a thousand times, by what we now know as Russian hackers and trolls who took thousands of ads in social media repeating that lie and influenced the elections to favor Donald Trump.
Lies have become a daily habit in the White House’s press conferences that reporters are questioning Sarah Huckabee Sanders of her periodic evasive answers and denials ad infinitum. It is doing damage to her credibility that at one point, a reporter stopped her and asked why she continues to lie to them? She responded with a scripted answer that daily, she does her best to answer their questions. She keeps forgetting that truth is the anchor of decency, rule of law and reliable public demeanor in America – it is not happenstance, it is not a “walkback” to it three times, much like the Helsinki summit that the President had with Putin, where the President had to essentially change his story three times to reveal what is true as he kept saying one lie after another.
Truth is what we teach our children, grandchildren and it is what we expect in food labeling, in restaurant menus, in books, in news stories we read and in all that we encounter in America. When we make truth an optional condiment, a garnish, a seasoning to pepper our words, we develop a collective mistrust for one another and where our words are now parsed and scrutinized – are they true or not?
We maybe in our darkest hour as far as truth being evasive in institutions, but here is our collective chance to make sure to ensure we convey only what is truthful in our daily encounters and that we are courageous enough to correct the falsehoods that we hear, as we all collectively pay for the diminished credibility of the institutions that we rely upon in our public lives.
