Episode 284: Dcn.Omar Gutiérrez, President and Executive Director of the Evangelium Institute (May 15, 2024)

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer continue our discussion of education. We’ll focus on preparing, and supporting, Catholic school teachers. Our welcome guest is Deacon Omar Gutiérrez, the President and Executive Director of the Evangelium Institute. An expert on Catholic Social Teaching, he has been published in many print and online periodicals, has authored several books on the subject, and has a podcast series on Discerning Hearts. Most importantly, Dcn. Gutiérrez is happily married to Miriam, and they are very blessed by their five children.

1. Could you tell us about your background and work in the area of Catholic Social Teaching? How did you come to teach and write about this topic that we here at the Open Door care so much about?
2. How did the Evangelium Institute come to be, and what are the services it provides?
3. Hillaire Belloc claims that "The faith is not taught. It is inhabited and breathed in." What's wrong about this claim? What's right?
4. Can you share some stories that illustrate the impact Evangelium Institute has been making?
5. What are the greatest challenges that Catholic school administrators and teachers face? What are some good ways to support them?
6. Religion is often seen as a matter of private feeling. But Catholicism has a rich intellectual tradition. Is this tradition at work in Catholic education as you have experienced it?
7. How do Catholic Social Teaching principles, such as solidarity, subsidiarity, economic democracy, and others, apply to the realm of education? Does the Evangelium Institute incorporate them into the formation you provide?
8. We’ve heard it said that the Church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum of Saints. We’ve all had occasion to be disappointed, if not scandalized, by poor leadership in the Church and in Catholic schools. Do you have any suggestions, based on your experiences, for how to respond or NOT respond to such situations?
9. How can folks support the good work the Evangelium Institute is doing in the realm of Catholic education?
10. Any last thoughts for us before we close with the Gospel for today?