I’ve been mulling over the whole Bishop Sullivan issue for the past few days, as this one hits very close to home.
In 1989, the third graduating class in the school’s history marched down the aisle to receive their diplomas. I was one of those students in the procession receiving a sheepskin. Earlier that year, the school endured its first minor controversy - the principal of the school was replaced for reasons which remain as vague to me today as they were then – and the school would continue to experience growing pains and image problems to the current time. Part of the problem with Sullivan High is the classic Trout & Ries theory of positioning: in the grand scheme of things, where did the school fit in?
. It is undeniable that in the early 1980s that the majority of catholic youths in East Baton Rouge were educated in public high schools, and no catholic high school existed east of College Drive and South of I-10/!-12, where the population had largely shifted in the 1970’s. Therefore St. Michael The Archangel School was given the green light, only to be rechristened Bishop Sullivan High School when the Diocese’s top dog shrugged off his mortal coil.
In spite of the need it addressed, the school was never able to shake the conception that it was built to accommodate continuing white flight. In 1989, the last majority-white class graduated from Woodlawn High School, while Sullivan’s enrollment and that of nearby Parkview Baptist High School (whose student body was about 40% Catholic) continued to surge. Clearly Bishop Sullivan didn’t cause white flight, but it undeniably benefited from the poor state of affairs in the public school system. (that’s not an indictment of any party involved; if the schools suck, as EBR’s public schools have for such a long time, any parent who gives half a damn about their children will get them the hell out of there.)
Given Baton Rouge’s tendency to be a cliquish, blue-blooded, establishment kind of town, it was easy for the Bocage and CCLA (ye olde and nouveau riche, respectively) elites to dismiss Sullivan. The city was already home to two nationally-acclaimed catholic high schools and a less-prestigious one in north baton rouge with a powerhouse football team (state champs). Sullivan High did nothing to overtake its rival schools: it never equaled the academic achievements or social cachet of Catholic High and St. Joseph’s Academy, and never won an athletic championship like Redemptorist High. As such, it has been relegated to unremarkable, middle of the road status. It fufills the need but it has none of the heritage or prestige of the other schools.
Now, in the midst of wallowing in its mediocrity, Sullivan has been shaken by the recent unpleasantness. The very name of the school has been soiled by accusations against it’s namesake, accusations which the Diocese will not air publicly and that the late Joseph V. Sullivan is unable to defend himself against. In short someone who suddenly remembered he had been abused comes forward after nearly thirty years. Perhaps I have an overly “American” sense of justice, but if someone is going to be accused of something, he should be there to answer the charges.
Although I have find memories of my high school days, I have no sentimental attachment to the name “Bishop Sullivan High School”. When I was a freshman, the junior class (there were no seniors at that time) petitioned the school board to change the name back to St. Michael the Archangel. I thought it was a great idea, but naturally the adults pooh-poohed it. If only they had listened back then. Today, I renew the call that the school be re-christened for St. Michael. From The Catholic Encyclopedia:
St. Michael is one of the principal angels; his name was the war-cry of the good angels in the battle fought in heaven against the enemy and his followers. Four times his name is recorded in Scripture:
(1) Daniel 10:13 sqq., Gabriel says to Daniel, when he asks God to permit the Jews to return to Jerusalem: "The Angel [D.V. prince] of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me . . . and, behold Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me . . . and none is my helper in all these things, but Michael your prince";
(2) Daniel 12, the Angel speaking of the end of the world and the Antichrist says: "At that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who standeth for the children of thy people."
(3) In the Catholic Epistle of St. Jude: "When Michael the Archangel, disputing with the devil, contended about the body of Moses", etc. St. Jude alludes to an ancient Jewish tradition of a dispute between Michael and Satan over the body of Moses, an account of which is also found in the apocryphal book on the assumption of Moses (Origen, "De principiis", III, 2, 2). St. Michael concealed the tomb of Moses; Satan, however, by disclosing it, tried to seduce the Jewish people to the sin of hero-worship. St. Michael also guards the body of Eve, according to the "Revelation of Moses" ("Apocryphal Gospels", etc., ed. A. Walker, Edinburgh, p. 647).
(4) Apocalypse 12:7, "And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon." St. John speaks of the great conflict at the end of time, which reflects also the battle in heaven at the beginning of time. According to the Fathers there is often question of St. Michael in Scripture where his name is not mentioned. They say he was the cherub who stood at the gate of paradise, "to keep the way of the tree of life" (Genesis 3:24), the angel through whom God published the Decalogue to his chosen people, the angel who stood in the way against Balaam (Numbers 22:22 sqq.), the angel who routed the army of Sennacherib (IV Kings 19:35).
Following these Scriptural passages, Christian tradition gives to St. Michael four offices:
• To fight against Satan.
• To rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death.
• To be the champion of God's people, the Jews in the Old Law, the Christians in the New Testament; therefore he was the patron of the Church, and of the orders of knights during the Middle Ages.
• To call away from earth and bring men's souls to judgment ("signifer S. Michael repraesentet eas in lucam sanctam", Offert. Miss Defunct. "Constituit eum principem super animas suscipiendas", Antiph. off. Cf. "Hermas", Pastor, I, 3, Simil. VIII, 3).
Regarding his rank in the celestial hierarchy opinions vary; St. Basil (Hom. de angelis) and other Greek Fathers, also Salmeron, Bellarmine, etc., place St. Michael over all the angels; they say he is called "archangel" because he is the prince of the other angels; others (cf. P. Bonaventura, op. cit.) believe that he is the prince of the seraphim, the first of the nine angelic orders. But, according to St. Thomas (Summa Ia.113.3) he is the prince of the last and lowest choir, the angels. The Roman Liturgy seems to follow the Greek Fathers; it calls him "Princeps militiae coelestis quem honorificant angelorum cives". The hymn of the Mozarabic Breviary places St. Michael even above the Twenty-four Elders. The Greek Liturgy styles him Archistrategos, "highest general" (cf. Menaea, 8 Nov. and 6 Sept.).
Having read this, I can’t help but wonder if the school had been punished (I won’t say “cursed”) by deep-sixing St. Mike. Who better to protect a school so problem-proned? Our school mascot is the Warriors. Going back to basics just makes sense.
Fellow alumni, your voice is important here. Contact the school and ask for the restoration St. Michael to his worthy place of honor as the namesake and protector of this school.
