Catholic school families are the preferred group. They're - on average - everything the bishop is hoping for. They tend have lots of money - at least as a group. They go along with the Catholic mainstream (whether good or bad). They fund one of the bishop's priorities - schools. Catholic schools are like a feather in the bishop's cap so …
Catholic school families are the preferred group. They're - on average - everything the bishop is hoping for. They tend have lots of money - at least as a group. They go along with the Catholic mainstream (whether good or bad). They fund one of the bishop's priorities - schools. Catholic schools are like a feather in the bishop's cap so he can show something he's in charge is important in the context of his territory.
Homeschoolers are something different. They're seen as creating a parallel structure to the bishop's priorities. They tend to be more traditional. They have no problem bucking mainstream trends - Catholic or otherwise. This makes them unruly for better or worse. They also tend to have less money as a group.
So when the Catholic school parents come to the bishop and ask him if they can do catechesis and sacrament prep in the context of their Catholic school education (which makes perfect sense), the bishop is more likely to be sympathetic. When the homeschoolers come and ask the same, they're more often seen as rebels who don't want to be part of the community.
None of this says there aren't many great families in Catholic schools - there are! Nor does it mean there aren't problems in homeschool communities (believe me - there are). But it's just the way the Catholic world works right now. There are in groups and out groups in our time of "synodality"
Catholic school families are the preferred group. They're - on average - everything the bishop is hoping for. They tend have lots of money - at least as a group. They go along with the Catholic mainstream (whether good or bad). They fund one of the bishop's priorities - schools. Catholic schools are like a feather in the bishop's cap so he can show something he's in charge is important in the context of his territory.
Homeschoolers are something different. They're seen as creating a parallel structure to the bishop's priorities. They tend to be more traditional. They have no problem bucking mainstream trends - Catholic or otherwise. This makes them unruly for better or worse. They also tend to have less money as a group.
So when the Catholic school parents come to the bishop and ask him if they can do catechesis and sacrament prep in the context of their Catholic school education (which makes perfect sense), the bishop is more likely to be sympathetic. When the homeschoolers come and ask the same, they're more often seen as rebels who don't want to be part of the community.
None of this says there aren't many great families in Catholic schools - there are! Nor does it mean there aren't problems in homeschool communities (believe me - there are). But it's just the way the Catholic world works right now. There are in groups and out groups in our time of "synodality"