February 5, 2010
The Bishop's Forum
Celebrating Catholic Schools: A Reflection of the Past and Present Challenge
by Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger
A Brief Reflection
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, mother of seven, is acknowledged to be the foundress of Catholic Schooling in the United States. She recognized that there was little place for Catholics in the Protestant Public School system. She insisted that her children be given the chance to learn of the Catholic Faith in school. To her home school came children from other families whose parents had the same conviction as she.
Please note that Catholic Schools in the United States were begun by the laity, not the clergy!
In 1884 at the Third Council of Baltimore, the bishops of the United States mandated that next to every Catholic Church should be a Catholic School. The bishops recognized that in the Protestant culture and attendant discrimination — indeed persecution — Catholic children needed a safe place to learn their faith.
Amazingly, due to conviction of parents, the influx of Religious Men and Women, and the insistence on the part of bishops an incredible 70 percent of Catholic Parishes in the United States had a Catholic school alongside. Even as late as the late 1950s most dioceses had a rule that under the pain of excommunication, Catholic parents were obliged to enroll their children in Catholic schools if there was one within a reasonable distance.
[The only reason this mandate was lifted in the early 1960s was simply the fact that Catholic Schools could not handle the number of students.]
For families having no access to a Catholic School the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine was developed by the National Catholic Welfare Conference (forerunner of the USCCB). In short, the bishops continued to insist that Religious Education be available for children in public schools. CCD it was called. Now we refer to it as Religious Education.
The persistent challenge for parents
In the Rite of Baptism of Infants, parents are reminded that they are the first teachers of their children.
Clearly, St. Elizabeth Seton is their patroness. She took her responsibility very seriously. I challenge all parents of today, 2010, to do the same.
No matter the date, parents still have the primary responsibility for transmitting the faith to their children as long as they are minors. Roughly that is from birth through high school. It is a heavy responsibility especially if parents themselves are ill-prepared to pass on the Faith accurately without slipping into a type of Christian fundamentalism. Ignorance of the faith does not excuse parents from their primary responsibility!
The challenge for the Church
It is the responsibility of the Catholic Community to assist parents in fulfilling their responsibility as the primary teachers of their children in the faith. It is the baptismal obligation of the members of the Church to pass on the teachings of Jesus. It is, therefore, the mission of each parish to assist parents in doing so. This means that all parishioners must bear the burden, not just those with children.
Where a Catholic School is possible, all parishioners — whether they use the Catholic School or not — are called upon to assist. This is not an option, it is the price of belonging to the parish or parishes. It must be a matter of conviction, not of convenience.
In recent days, the decline in the enrollment gives our diocese the challenge to take a look at how we provide Catholic Schooling and Catholic Religious Education to our young people. It seems to become quite clear that the “parish schools” as we have known them may be by necessity transformed into “regional Catholic Schools.” This is not a new concept for us as we already have regional Catholic high schools and a few regional elementary Catholic Schools.
It is certain that this issue will be raised through our strategic planning process. As the chief teacher of the diocese, I am compelled to see to it that we address this critical issue.
Meanwhile, let us rejoice in the presence of the Catholic Schools of today and their fruitful history. Let us also pray for the abiding intercession of St. Elizabeth Seton and her Spiritual Director, Bishop Simon Bruté, our very first bishop!
In the weeks to follow attention will be given to the Strategic Planning Process.