This story was really interesting to me - my first reaction was “this seems extreme just to prop up the local parish school”, but the concern around consistent sacrament preparation probably is a legitimate concern for the diocese. The policy, however, is not targeted at that.
There are dioceses that rent space to all kinds of tenants, in…
This story was really interesting to me - my first reaction was “this seems extreme just to prop up the local parish school”, but the concern around consistent sacrament preparation probably is a legitimate concern for the diocese. The policy, however, is not targeted at that.
There are dioceses that rent space to all kinds of tenants, including ones that could cause scandal to the faithful. This just feels like a really big stick for a tiny problem, unless there’s a root cause that was not identified in the story; can’t wait for additional reporting!
I can't say anything about this diocese, but when my kids were young there was a huge bias against homeschoolers among the Catholic school personnel I knew. They saw homeschooling as personal insult. Many of them had worked at schools for years to fight against parents who didn't care about Catholicism and didn't want their schools to be Catholic other than in name, so they were very offended at the idea of parents possibly thinking they "weren't Catholic enough." There are plenty of good reasons to homeschool that have nothing to do with the Catholic instruction in local schools, but school employees don't tend to know (or care to know) what they are.
Very tough. It was a big surprise to me to talk to a lot of faculty, and even priests, about long years of experience with parents who complained about the schools actually teaching the faith and expecting kids to go to Mass, etc. I have no doubt that this was the case, and that they really didn't know what to do about parents who DID want those things and who took a look at their schools and declined. But taking it as a personal insult was not the right response, and writing off those families (instead of trying to work with them) was an even worse one.
Many homeschool families would welcome this opportunity, though some wouldn’t. In some states (mine), homeschooled students are not allowed to play sports for their local public high schools. This is due to lawmakers and regulators in my state choosing, for whatever reason, not to provide the opportunity even though other states do so successfully,
And because the high schools don’t allow it, the elementary schools don’t. My diocese runs a CYO sports program at the diocesan level but limits participation mostly to diocesan elementary schools. I say mostly not because they welcome Catholic homeschool or public school students. They do not. “Mostly” because there is a Protestant grade school as a full participant in the league while many Catholic students are barred. I don’t get it. I’ve been told it will change but have not been told when. I’ve been asking for several years. I don’t fault my bishop. He has enough on his plate. I wish it would change.
This story was really interesting to me - my first reaction was “this seems extreme just to prop up the local parish school”, but the concern around consistent sacrament preparation probably is a legitimate concern for the diocese. The policy, however, is not targeted at that.
There are dioceses that rent space to all kinds of tenants, including ones that could cause scandal to the faithful. This just feels like a really big stick for a tiny problem, unless there’s a root cause that was not identified in the story; can’t wait for additional reporting!
I can't say anything about this diocese, but when my kids were young there was a huge bias against homeschoolers among the Catholic school personnel I knew. They saw homeschooling as personal insult. Many of them had worked at schools for years to fight against parents who didn't care about Catholicism and didn't want their schools to be Catholic other than in name, so they were very offended at the idea of parents possibly thinking they "weren't Catholic enough." There are plenty of good reasons to homeschool that have nothing to do with the Catholic instruction in local schools, but school employees don't tend to know (or care to know) what they are.
Very tough. It was a big surprise to me to talk to a lot of faculty, and even priests, about long years of experience with parents who complained about the schools actually teaching the faith and expecting kids to go to Mass, etc. I have no doubt that this was the case, and that they really didn't know what to do about parents who DID want those things and who took a look at their schools and declined. But taking it as a personal insult was not the right response, and writing off those families (instead of trying to work with them) was an even worse one.
Many homeschool families would welcome this opportunity, though some wouldn’t. In some states (mine), homeschooled students are not allowed to play sports for their local public high schools. This is due to lawmakers and regulators in my state choosing, for whatever reason, not to provide the opportunity even though other states do so successfully,
And because the high schools don’t allow it, the elementary schools don’t. My diocese runs a CYO sports program at the diocesan level but limits participation mostly to diocesan elementary schools. I say mostly not because they welcome Catholic homeschool or public school students. They do not. “Mostly” because there is a Protestant grade school as a full participant in the league while many Catholic students are barred. I don’t get it. I’ve been told it will change but have not been told when. I’ve been asking for several years. I don’t fault my bishop. He has enough on his plate. I wish it would change.