The posts here make me appreciate the Catholic school my daughter is going to even more. It is definitely a very “Catholic” Catholic school. I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten in other places. In fact, my daughter going to this school has convinced my husband to return to the Catholic church of his childhood. We had put off taking her out of the public schools for many years, because we believed to some degree the liberal lie that the private schools are “not much different” than public schools. We started her in the Catholic school in 8th grade and it is incredibly different and worlds better than the public school where she was. As an advanced student, she actually gets recognized as such, and religion is a part of everything they do. So I hope the trend mentioned in this article can be reversed at least in some areas.
That’s wonderful, and I think there are definitely great Catholic schools out there. The good ones are bustin’ at the seams, of course.
The bishops are always eager to blame the laity, sociological forces, or anything but themselves for the decline of (a) Catholic schools, (b) Mass attendance, (c) vocations - well, you name it. But the reality is that places where the Catholic faith is taught and practiced, whether schools or parishes, are doing just fine.