[Coleus]

Years ago, most parents and their children attended mass every Sunday, no excuses.

[My2Cents]

Should this be considered "mass expulsion"? :)

[wideawake]

I'm conflicted on this one.

The parents need to be called out on their disregard of the Third Commandment, but at the same time the kids need to be instructed no matter how slack their folks are.

It's a tough call.

[AppyPappy]

but his father-in-law's illness hampered the family's church attendance

That works for Protestants but not Catholics. Mass happens all the time.

[vrwcagent0498]

What do they do to the non-Catholic pupils?

In our school, the non-Catholic and non-regularly attending (Mass) families pay extra tuition every month. (a substantial amount, imo)

Expelling the kids is going too far, I think.

[FoxInSocks]

used each family's bar-coded donation envelope to track attendance.

Technically, that just means they didn't turn in an envelope. They could have been there.

I think this is utterly ridiculous, anyway. What are they going to do, use bouncers to keep out the unwashed?

[TheBigB]

Years ago, most parents and their children attended mass every Sunday, no excuses.

We never attended mass.

Of course, we weren't Catholic, either.

[redhead]

Exactly. I'm all for this. (Extenuating circumstances may apply...) But there's no sense in sending a kid to a Catholic school/CCD program if the parents don't want to take the time to set the kind of example the kids should follow. Go to Mass, or send your kids elsewhere. As a private entity, the parish school has the right to expect the parents to fulfil the requirements. One hour a week...hmmm...decisions, decisions.

[FeeinTennessee]

Don't punish the kids because the parents cannot show.

[Malacoda]

I'm failing to see the problem here. Attending Mass is an important part of religious formation and the process of experiencing the Sacraments.

In our parish, they use the envelopes to track attendance, and those who don't make enough Masses lose the tuition discount at the local parochial school.

[frogjerk]

"It's hurtful," said Joseph LoPizzo, 38, whose 6-year-old son was booted. "I've been a parishioner at that church for 23 years - longer than he's been the reverend."

LoPizzo said he paid the $150 for his son's Thursday afternoon classes last year, but his father-in-law's illness hampered the family's church attendance.

I'm sure everyone can come up with one excuse not to attend Mass but there is always time in one's life to fit God in. Where there is a will there is a way. To Catholics, attending Mass should be of the utmost importance.

[Eepsy]

As far as I can see, this is only about CCD classes, and CCD isn't going to do your kid a lick of good if you can't get them to Mass at least once a month. Good on the priest.

[Heartland Mom]

What happens if the family was on vacation and attended Mass where they were at that time? Or if they were attending Mass at another church nearby? Or if they didn't remember to put an envelope in? What's next - a sign in sheet? What is to stop someone from putting an entire month of envelopes in on one visit(and thus paying their way out of attendance) or having someone else put their envelope in for them? This is ridiculous.

[USAFJeeper]

Its BS. I am Catholic and I purposely don't use the envelopes they send me. Partly paranoia about being tracked, and partly cause I went into a non Catholic church one time and on the bulletin board by church they had a list of people not meeting tithes posted there. While I had not seen it at a Catholic church, well what they don't see cannot be tracked.

I put cash in, when I attend. And no its not every week. This pastor is wrong imo, and my kids and money would find a new home.

[LWalk18]

I'm not Catholic, but I can see the pastor's point. If the parents won't attend mass, then religious education of the children is a waste of time because they won't be attending either. Even when they become old enough to go on their own they will be less likely to attend more than occasionally. Parents must set an example in their children's spiritual lives.

[Palladin]

Disgusting--visiting the sins and omissions of the parents upon the innocent children.

This is all about money, anyway. Since the priest sex scandals began, revenues have been decreasing every week in most parishes.

These strong-arm tactics will only result in the families leaving the parish of this tyrant and joining another parish, or leaving the RCC altogether. There are many Evangelical churches waiting to welcome these people with open arms--and no hand in their pocket.

Some priests just don't get it.

[Tax-chick]

Our Sister talked about this problem earlier this year. She said that if the Church gives the Sacraments to children whose parents are non-practicing, they're imposing an obligation on the child that he or she is not capable of fulfilling without support from the parents, and that's not fair to the child.

[TwoDogs]

Bravo

Bet he got the parents attention. Furthermore, I'll bet they will start attending more and paying more attention in due course.

[r9etb]

Cichon is a jackass. Satan himself couldn't have come up with a better plan for chasing people away from the church.

[Thinkin' Gal]

The Rev. Michael Cichon, pastor of St. Joseph/St. Thomas in Pleasant Plains, used each family's bar-coded donation envelope to track attendance.

[FormerLib]

This piece is so poorly written that it's hard to tell what's really going on. For instance, early on it mentions that the kids are only being removed from religious ed courses but later on it mentions keeping them out of classes in such a way that one might infer they mean all classes.

Indeed, some posters are terming what happened to be expulsions when that is clearly not the case.

There are several things we need to know on this. First, were the parents informed about the requirement for attending Mass? Yes, I know about "days of obligation" but since the religious classes require a certain level of attendance, that needs to be spelled out as part of the class requirement.

Second, were the parents informed of the attendance tracking via the envelopes' bar coding? If so, were they able to verify their attendance by some other method (ex: what happens if you forget your envelope and just drop cash in the basket)? Could the student just inform a deacon, teacher, or lay assistant that they are there?

Third, if parents were aware of the class requirement, why weren't they making some other arrangements with the priest if family pressures or obligations were interfering with their attendance.

Yeah, the guy running the school is sure playing hardball here (please visit your local Episcopalian Church for extensive softball lessons!) but these parents wailing about having to pay the consequences for their failing to meet their obligations sure isn't evoking much sympathy from this outside observer!