If the bishops really want to help the poor, they should help us remove the "scandal of Catholic schools"
“A preferential option for the poor” should be maintained in our Catholic Schools. If we find that we cannot afford to keep our schools open to the poor, the Church should be ready to use its resources for something else which can be …
If the bishops really want to help the poor, they should help us remove the "scandal of Catholic schools"
“A preferential option for the poor” should be maintained in our Catholic Schools. If we find that we cannot afford to keep our schools open to the poor, the Church should be ready to use its resources for something else which can be kept open to the poor. We cannot allow our Church to become a church primarily for the upper classes while allowing the poor to remain in public schools. The priority should be given to the poor even if we have to let the middle-class and rich fend for themselves.
Practically speaking, the Catholic Schools must give up general education in those countries where the State is providing it. The resources of the Church could then be focused on “Confraternity of Christian Doctrine” and other programs which can be kept open to the poor. These resources could then be used to help society become more human in solidarity with the poor. Remember, the Church managed without Catholic Schools for centuries. It can get along without them today. The essential factor from the Christian point of view is to cultivate enough Faith to act in the Gospel Tradition, namely, THE POOR GET PRIORITY. The rich and middle-class are welcome too. But the poor come first.
"Remember, the church managed without Catholic Schools for centuries."
The argument doesn't make sense. Parochial schools (what I'm guessing you mean by "Catholic Schools") are relatively new, but that's because the idea of giving everybody an education is relatively new. More or less as soon as there was a movement to educate the masses, the church created parochial Schools. And before that time the education that was available was at least partially religious.
Also, to concede general education would be a mistake. In secularization countries the general education students receive would undermine everything they're being taught in CCD. For example, if they learn an anti-Catholic version of history in school, or have their worldview shaped in a secular mold, their CCD classes will need to take time to counteract all of that if they want any chance of success. When all is said and done, the kids will have lost significant time for faith formation because of the need to address the misinformation from their secular education.
My grandparents came from the old world. They learned to read and write at church.
Their were no public schools in my grandfathers/grandmothers hometowns. My family came to the USA for a better life. In America, my father , my mother ,and their siblings went to public schools. After world war 2, there was a baby boom. It was cheaper for the government to give credits to families to send their kids to Catholic Schools as opposed to building more public schools. When the baby boom was over, government changed their tune.
If the bishops really want to help the poor, they should help us remove the "scandal of Catholic schools"
“A preferential option for the poor” should be maintained in our Catholic Schools. If we find that we cannot afford to keep our schools open to the poor, the Church should be ready to use its resources for something else which can be kept open to the poor. We cannot allow our Church to become a church primarily for the upper classes while allowing the poor to remain in public schools. The priority should be given to the poor even if we have to let the middle-class and rich fend for themselves.
Practically speaking, the Catholic Schools must give up general education in those countries where the State is providing it. The resources of the Church could then be focused on “Confraternity of Christian Doctrine” and other programs which can be kept open to the poor. These resources could then be used to help society become more human in solidarity with the poor. Remember, the Church managed without Catholic Schools for centuries. It can get along without them today. The essential factor from the Christian point of view is to cultivate enough Faith to act in the Gospel Tradition, namely, THE POOR GET PRIORITY. The rich and middle-class are welcome too. But the poor come first.
"Remember, the church managed without Catholic Schools for centuries."
The argument doesn't make sense. Parochial schools (what I'm guessing you mean by "Catholic Schools") are relatively new, but that's because the idea of giving everybody an education is relatively new. More or less as soon as there was a movement to educate the masses, the church created parochial Schools. And before that time the education that was available was at least partially religious.
Also, to concede general education would be a mistake. In secularization countries the general education students receive would undermine everything they're being taught in CCD. For example, if they learn an anti-Catholic version of history in school, or have their worldview shaped in a secular mold, their CCD classes will need to take time to counteract all of that if they want any chance of success. When all is said and done, the kids will have lost significant time for faith formation because of the need to address the misinformation from their secular education.
My grandparents came from the old world. They learned to read and write at church.
Their were no public schools in my grandfathers/grandmothers hometowns. My family came to the USA for a better life. In America, my father , my mother ,and their siblings went to public schools. After world war 2, there was a baby boom. It was cheaper for the government to give credits to families to send their kids to Catholic Schools as opposed to building more public schools. When the baby boom was over, government changed their tune.