"Perhaps one lesson of solidarity is that as we work to build that society in which “it is easier to be good,” we can make sure not one of our neighbors suffers alone. In fact, perhaps abandoning just a little bit of our own comfort and security to enter into the precarity of our neighbor is the blueprint of that better society we seek."
Catholic Education in Solidarity with the Poor
Recent popes have declared that the “rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer”. This same criticism could be applied to Catholic education: Catholic schools and colleges are serving more the rich; and less the middle class and poor.
When my grandparents emigrated from Ireland in the early 1900s, the Catholic church in the United States already had in place a parochial school system designed primarily for immigrants. However, these schools are now too expensive for today’s immigrants.
St. Ignatius of Loyola, when he established Jesuit schools and colleges in the sixteenth century, insisted that no tuition fees be charged to the students in order that the poor might participate with the rich. Today, student fees in some of our Catholic colleges are exceeding $60,000 a year.
Should Catholic education include, as part of its mission, the goal of reducing the gap between the rich and poor?
Practically speaking, the Catholic schools must give up general education in those countries where the State is providing it. The resources of the Church could then be focused on Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and other programs which can be kept open to the poor. These resources could then be used to help society become more human in solidarity with the poor. Remember, the Church managed without Catholic schools for centuries. It can get along without them today. The essential factor from the Christian point of view is to cultivate enough Faith to act in the Gospel Tradition, namely, THE POOR GET PRIORITY. The rich and middle-class are welcome too. BUT THE POOR COME FIRST.
"Perhaps one lesson of solidarity is that as we work to build that society in which “it is easier to be good,” we can make sure not one of our neighbors suffers alone. In fact, perhaps abandoning just a little bit of our own comfort and security to enter into the precarity of our neighbor is the blueprint of that better society we seek."
Catholic Education in Solidarity with the Poor
Recent popes have declared that the “rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer”. This same criticism could be applied to Catholic education: Catholic schools and colleges are serving more the rich; and less the middle class and poor.
When my grandparents emigrated from Ireland in the early 1900s, the Catholic church in the United States already had in place a parochial school system designed primarily for immigrants. However, these schools are now too expensive for today’s immigrants.
St. Ignatius of Loyola, when he established Jesuit schools and colleges in the sixteenth century, insisted that no tuition fees be charged to the students in order that the poor might participate with the rich. Today, student fees in some of our Catholic colleges are exceeding $60,000 a year.
Should Catholic education include, as part of its mission, the goal of reducing the gap between the rich and poor?
Practically speaking, the Catholic schools must give up general education in those countries where the State is providing it. The resources of the Church could then be focused on Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and other programs which can be kept open to the poor. These resources could then be used to help society become more human in solidarity with the poor. Remember, the Church managed without Catholic schools for centuries. It can get along without them today. The essential factor from the Christian point of view is to cultivate enough Faith to act in the Gospel Tradition, namely, THE POOR GET PRIORITY. The rich and middle-class are welcome too. BUT THE POOR COME FIRST.