Catholic education is in a state of “mission confusion,” according to Patricia Weitzel-O’Neill, the outgoing superintendent of schools in the Archdiocese of Washington. More and more schools in city centers are closing their doors, shutting out a potential immigrant and non-Catholic student body, as affluent families elsewhere are targeted to enroll their children in expensive Catholic schools. Weitzel-O’Neill said vigorous support for Catholic education is lacking from both parents and pastors. Parents, she said, believe their children get a satisfactory education in suburban public school districts, while a growing number of pastors never attended Catholic schools themselves. Nationwide 5,645 fewer Catholic schools are operating now than in 1960. Meanwhile, what Weitzel-O’Neill termed “faux Catholic schools” are springing up, led by those who have been in the Catholic home-school movement. “They’re teaching the Catholic faith, but they’re not approved by any bishop,” she said.
Catholic Education's 'Mission Confusion'
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
The two high-profile Catholics are among a diverse group of 19 individuals to be honored by President Biden for making “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States.”
Speaking May 3 on the need for holistic higher education, the pope said that some universities are “too liberal” and do not place enough emphasis on forming their students into whole people.
Manifesting techniques abound in the online world. But creators are conflating manifesting with prayer, especially in their love lives.
This week on Jesuitical, Zac and Ashley share their conversation with Cardinal Wilton Gregory—the archbishop of what he calls “the epicenter of division”—on the role of a church in a polarized society.