Q. Why should we send our children to Catholic schools?
A. A great question, thank you for asking it.
One of the more serious obligations Jesus tasked His Church with is teaching, (Matt. 28: 19-20; John 14:26; John 16:13, John 17,17; Matt. 24:35) In addition there are dozens of other Scripture passages that speak about the necessity of teaching the truthfulness of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church to the world. From the very beginning, the Catholic Church, which is the one true Church established by Jesus, understood her mission to teach.
The Catholic Church has made contributions to education from the beginning of her existence and through the monastic and university systems, both of which the Catholic Church established. The Church played a central, if not exclusive role in the establishment and encouragement of the university.
As the United States was mostly Protestant in the 19th century, there was anti-Catholic sentiment related largely to immigration from Catholic Ireland after the 1840s, and a feeling that Catholic children should attend public schools in order to become American. In the 1880s most states passed a constitutional amendment, called Blaine Amendments, forbidding tax money be used to fund parochial Catholic schools. By the turn of the twentieth century the Catholic Church in America had built an extensive network of parishes and parish schools (“parochial schools”). The Catholic Church looked to parochial schools not only to protect our religion but our Christian culture and way of life. In a June 30 decision the United States Supreme Court Struck down Montana’s Blaine Amendment barring state aid to religious schools.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821) established the first U.S. Catholic school in Emmitsburg, Md. and is considered the foundress of Catholic schools in America.
As a teacher the Catholic Church is the champion and promoter of the union of faith and science. The educational system which the Catholic Church supports is the patron of the arts, e.g. painting, architecture, literature and poetry, as well as, the defender and promoter of the myriad of sciences in addition to commerce, government, industry, theology philosophy—the list is long and comprehensive. Almost no institution has contributed as much to education as has the Catholic Church.
From this historical origin and faith and cultural development, the Church spends huge amounts of resources, human and financial, to organize and promote its educational efforts into a Catholic school system which continues to be on the cutting edge in terms of facilities and technology.
Throughout history, especially modern history, in its promotion of and preference for, the Church has been very clear and detailed in its promotion of a preference for believers to send their children to Catholic schools.
The starting point of the Church’s encouragement and promotion of education is the recognition that parents are the first and primary teachers of their children. That being said, Catholic parents can homeschool their children if they have the ability and competence to do so.
Catholic schools bring resources to bear on the educational experience that is particular to that apostolate, for example, daily Mass, educational resources, daily structure, and the opinions, ideas, experiences and the social interaction of many others. In my estimation, there is no substitute for Catholic schools.
There may be other choices but there is no substitute. Catholic schools in the Diocese of Lincoln are excellent – faith filled, academically competitive and affordable.
No one will ever be turned away from Catholic schools because of an inability to pay. All Catholic schools simply ask is that families document any financial need and the school will work with the family to acquire funding.
I strongly encourage you to contact your local Catholic school, ask for any and all pertinent information and arrange for a tour. Again, there is no substitute for Catholic schools.
This question was answered by a priest of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
