Faith

Friday, June 19, 2026Faith

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The Church's instinctive respect for parents and her trust in their care of their children extends to their education.

This coming Sunday, our nation recognizes and celebrates fathers. While this may be a secular occasion, it is one that dovetails nicely with Catholic sensibilities.
So let me begin this week by expressing gratitude to fathers and grandfathers across the archdiocese. In an age when too many children lack the blessing of a father in their lives, fatherhood matters more than ever. It matters to families, and it matters to our communities. A good father sacrifices for his family and works to protect, guide, and sustain them. I am grateful to spiritual fathers, to adoptive fathers, and to every father who makes the choice to embrace the demands and the blessings of the vocation to shepherd the young.
In the Rite of Baptism for children, the Church's prayers and actions express respect for the sacred role of fathers and mothers in the lives of their children. The fact that we permit infants to be baptized is itself an expression of trust in those parents who must undertake the sacred duty to form that child in the faith. In the ritual, the parents name and present their child, they speak the baptismal promises for the child, and they commit to raise their child as a child of the light and to prepare them for the sacraments of first holy Communion and confirmation.

The Church's instinctive respect for parents and her trust in their care of their children extends to their education. As the baptismal ritual puts it, they are to be the "best of teachers" in the way of the faith and to give witness of their own faith by word and example. In religious formation programs and Catholic Schools, parents are essential and foundational partners in the education and formation of their children.
This conviction of the Church is not just informed by revelation; it is evident in the human experience. Generations of experience demonstrate the critical importance of good parents in raising their children to lead meaningful lives. Good parents shape the family they lead, and they shape the future to come as their children grow, mature and establish their own families. Study after study has shown the benefits to individuals and to society itself when families are sound and provide that secure and loving environment for children to thrive and grow.
I was very disappointed to learn recently that there are school districts in Massachusetts that have moved to reduce parental involvement in the formation of their young children in lessons related to human sexuality and relationships. Massachusetts Law rightly recognizes the rights of parents to make their own decisions in sensitive matters, permitting parents to opt out of elements of the curriculum and to address these matters with their own children. Around the United States and here in New England, there have been a number of controversies related to parental involvement in the education of their children. Parents are not the enemy; they are the critical partners in any well-ordered educational system. I hope and pray that good sense will prevail, and the school systems will recognize the rights of parents and families.
I pray also for our parents and families. May the Lord give them strength and wisdom for the sacred work of forming a new generation. On this Sunday, we will pray in particular for our fathers. May we honor their sacrifices, return their love and trust, and pray that the Lord will grant the gift of a good father to every child.

- Archbishop Richard G. Henning is the Archbishop of Boston