The bishops said they welcomed the minister's willingness to revise and enrich the content of the program, on the condition that "this will not be done to the detriment of the notions of religious culture."

The National Labor Relations Board recently suggested that graduate students are not entitled to the organizing rights guaranteed to similar workers. But Jesuit schools should not stop unionization efforts.

The Catholic Church runs some 54,000 educational institutions in the country, and at least half of them get financial aid from the state.

Parochial schools in the city are not immune to the homeless crisis, Michael J. Deegan, the superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of New York, confirmed. “We do have some families that are homeless, and in partnering with Catholic Charities of New York, we work with the families in trying to find accommodations for them.”

Some 800 students met Pope Francis there Dec. 20; he was ready to listen to their questions and offer his reflections.

The Boston College baseball program is a school where young men learn to be men for others, and Pete was its master student.