Catholic school students receive the benefits of a sacramental imagination and a sense of community, a leading figure in Catholic book publishing told some 400 people attending the “Believe in Catholic Education” dinner Nov. 14.

Children in Catholic schools “learn that a child in Calcutta is equally important as a child in California, that what happens to a child in Somalia happens to a kid in Sacramento — that we are all one,” said author and editor Michael Leach, who is publisher of Orbis Books in Maryknoll, N.Y.

Leach, who has written and edited several books including “I Like Being Catholic,” “I Like Being Married,” and “I Like Being American,” said the faith-based identity found in Catholic schools is not present in public schools.

“It’s the whole notion that we are not on this earth for ourselves,” he said. “That we are here for God, and that what benefits us, benefits everyone. That’s an invisible value.”

Leach, past president and publisher of Crossroad/Continuum Publishing Group and president of the Catholic Book Publishers Association, described the “sacramental imagination” instilled in Catholic school students as “learning how to see the invisible.”

“They realize that sacraments are everywhere with a small ‘s’,” he said. “There are seven sacraments, but because of those sacraments we begin to see things with the eyes of faith.”

The gift of Catholic education, he added, is “to open the eyes of children, so that where there is discord they can see peace, where there is trouble they can see harmony, and where there is fear they can see love. Catholicism is about seeing.”

This year’s dinner event at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento marked the beginning of a new emphasis on helping all Catholic schools in the 20 counties of the diocese with tuition assistance for students, recognizing that financial needs and economic hardship can be found in every school, said Dominic Puglisi, superintendent of schools, during the dinner.

Guests attending the Believe in Catholic Education dinner could designate their gift to SUCCEED (Sacramento Urban Catholic Children’s Equal Education Development benefiting six inner city schools) or indicate a more general benefit for a new endowment that will answer the need of students throughout the diocese who desire a Catholic education.

The formal announcement of a new Catholic Foundation to house all the funds for Catholic education is slated for spring 2004, according to Puglisi.

Proceeds from this year’s dinner will be divided into three parts: 50 percent for SUCCEED schools and students; 40 percent for immediate tuition assistance throughout the diocese; and 10 percent to initial contributions to a larger, endowed fund that will address the commitment to Catholic education for needy students.

Kathy and Anthony Pescetti of St. Mel Parish in Fair Oaks were honored at the dinner for being longtime benefactors and supporters of Catholic education in the diocese.

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