CATHOLIC SCHOOLS:  WHAT ARE THEY WORTH?

Bishop Paul S. Coakley

Catholic Schools Week will be observed from January 29 to February 4.  This annual celebration provides an opportunity to affirm, to promote and to renew our commitment to the important mission of our Catholic schools.

The Church in the United States has been blessed with the strongest networks of Catholic schools anywhere in the world.  In addition to the many fine schools founded and staffed by religious congregations, our system of parish schools in dioceses and archdioceses across the country is without equal. 

Catholic schools are very much a part of the unique history of the Catholic Church in the United States.   Significantly, the first American-born saint, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, established the first parish school in the United States.   It was St. John Neumann, the first American bishop to be canonized, who established the first diocesan school system and laid the foundation for a legacy of Catholic education that endures to our day.

The strength of our Catholic schools is a testimony to our ancestors’ determination and commitment to handing on their Catholic faith.  The cultural climate of their times was often hostile to Catholics, especially immigrant Catholics.  They recognized that in addition to an excellent education Catholic schools provided a way to transmit their most important values, customs and beliefs to their children.

It has never been easy to maintain our Catholic schools.  They have endured and flourished because of the commitment and sacrifices of Catholic families, religious congregations and parish priests who shared the conviction that Catholic schools offer the best assistance to parents in providing for the education, especially the religious education, of their children. 

Directly or indirectly, all of us benefit by Catholic schools.  In order to guarantee that a Catholic education is available in our diocese for future generations of children we have to accept our shared responsibility for preserving and strengthening the legacy which we have received.  In the fierce competition among local school districts for students and tax dollars it is increasingly difficult for Catholic schools to “compete” in the areas of technology, athletics and other special programs.  But Catholic schools offer something unique which public schools are prohibited from offering: an education founded on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and thoroughly imbued with the living wisdom of our Catholic faith.

If we can match the creativity and sacrifices which characterized our ancestors’ support of Catholic schools, then the future of Catholic schools in the Salina Diocese looks bright.  It is our turn.