Faith

Friday, January 10, 2025Faith

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Catholic schools certainly strive for academic excellence, but there is something more to their character that becomes apparent almost from the moment you enter one.

Archbishop Richard G.
Henning

As we get further from the pandemic crisis that gripped the world in 2020, I hope that we are willing to examine our choices and learn from them. I am sorry to say that I think that the lockdown efforts failed the young in very significant ways. I realize that many of the choices made in those early months were driven by a lack of knowledge and a high degree of fear. I am not trying to point fingers or score partisan points.
Hindsight is 20/20, as the saying goes. Precisely that hindsight is what matters now. Children and young people have suffered the effects of isolation, and many missed critical moments of development and learning. They deserved better from us, and they deserve our honest accounting and efforts to improve now.

One lesson that emerged from the experience of the pandemic was a renewed appreciation for the gift of Catholic Schools. In many places, Catholic schools adapted to the lockdown more rapidly than other schools. They also reopened sooner than most, unless impeded by local strictures. The dedicated teachers and engaged parents helped to make the best of extremely difficult circumstances. As a result, Catholic schools across the U.S. maintained their learning and testing standards -- and even saw improvements -- as the overall educational endeavor lost ground on an epic scale. As too many schools suffer even now with high rates of chronic absenteeism, Catholic schools see daily attendance rates above 95 percent, a number that reflects ordinary absences for illness.
It is curious to me that this more successful navigating of the crisis occurred in schools that generally have much more limited resources than public schools, charter schools, and private schools. It tells me that money may not be the only or even most important factor in the mix. The Federal Government and many state and local governments set aside large resources to help schools during the pandemic. Early on in the emergency, they even shared some resources with Catholic schools. Over time, the usual stance reasserted itself. Scandalously, some states later denied health and safety funds to children in Catholic schools.
I believe that Catholic schools achieved different results because of the culture of the schools. Catholic schools certainly strive for academic excellence, but there is something more to their character that becomes apparent almost from the moment you enter one. Catholic schools have a sense of mission and a desire to educate and form the whole person. They teach integrity, faith, and charity. They practice reverence for each and every human person. Parents are an integral and trusted part of the school family as they are the first and best formators of their children. Catholic schools forge a culture of love, where children thrive as students and as persons.
I am grateful to any and all who devote themselves to forming and educating the young in any kind of school. As we approach Catholic Schools Week, I would like to express my particular gratitude to the teachers and administrators in the Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Boston. I know that you make significant sacrifices to devote yourselves to this mission. The results you achieve speak for themselves.
I ask all of you who read this column to consider the choice for Catholic education in your family and to support this good work of forming a new generation in wisdom, integrity, and faith.
Catholic Schools Week will take place from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1. Please visit www.csoboston.org for more information about open houses and Catholic education in the Boston region.

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