Although today’s cultural scene offers an enormous variety of options to choose from, people sometimes become discouraged that so much of today’s artistic output seems nihilistic and demeaning to the human person. It is encouraging to realize that there are groups of smart and articulate people working on this very situation. In New York City, the Catholic Artists Society was formed in response to Pope Benedict XVI’s 2009 Address to Artists. On that occasion, the Holy Father called for artists to be “custodians of Beauty” and “heralds and witnesses of Hope for Humanity.”

This August, I began teaching at a school in Manhattan. I was working in the faculty lounge (a fairly small space where a lot of supplies are stored), and one of the other teachers mentioned, “Wow, they did a great job organizing this room! You should have seen it last year.” I was struck by how much the clean, orderly, cared-for space was appreciated by my co-workers. Now I’ve been there for a couple of months, and slowly but surely, the faculty lounge has begun to suffer the “tragedy of the commons.”

Ngozi Agbim was a dear friend and colleague whose life was suddenly and tragically cut short by a traffic accident one terrible day last June. Ngozi’s life and career embodied many of the ideals of the Murray Hill Institute. Ngozi was a librarian by profession and for many years was the head of the library at LaGuardia Community College. The library is at the heart of any educational institution, and under Ngozi’s leadership, the library at LaGuardia became known throughout the vast City University system for its outstanding service. While maintaining a distinguished career and busy family life…

John Thorton, the cotton mill owner in Elizabeth Gaskell’s classic novel North and South, had a tempestuous relationship with Nicholas Higgins, an industrial worker and union leader. But they were both courageous, honorable men who confronted their conflict, a conflict that resulted in a crippling strike that meant greater poverty for Higgins and bankruptcy for Thornton. They developed a deep friendship, each learning from the other, respecting and trusting the other. Each was a leader in his own respective “class.”