Searching for a Catholic School

Archbishop Charles Chaput, newly appointed Archbishop of Philadelphia, announced in January that 48 Catholic Schools would close at the end of this academic year. Alarming, but really a continuing trend that has seen the number of students in Catholic schools shrink from 5 million in 1960 to 2 million currently; this with an increase of 20 million Catholics over the same period. There have been some new schools, but they are far below the number closing. These closings and consolidations are intended to strengthen the remaining schools, and increases the pressure on them to offer more than just good academics, discipline and sports programs. If parents are going to pay large amounts for a Catholic education, they expect that their children will learn the basics of the faith in an atmosphere that will foster their implementation in everyday life. The hope that their children will in some way encounter Jesus, learn to communicate (pray), love and serve him. Service is becoming more and more popular even in public schools, but Christian Service has the special dimension of serving others as a ministry in the footsteps of Jesus. The temptation to "water down" Catholic education in view of an increasing number of non-Catholics who attend Catholic schools, is present, and in some cases succumbed to, but is really a denial or the professed identity of the school. Let us pray that our awareness this week of the value of Catholic Schools will confirm them in their purpose and function.
Bro. Rene