Investments stabilizing Catholic schools

Who in their right mind would ever send their kids to a Catholic school? The guilt, molestation, and emotional abuse is so overwhelming. If you dont like the public school system in your neighborhood, then why did you move there? It's about the kids and their saftey.

No one has ever properly explained what Suffolk Construction's (a company who has been under scrutiny in the media lately) role is in all of this. Nor have inner-city Catholics been told why a group of rich affluent Catholics from the suburbs have had more say in this whole process then the inner-city Catholics themselves. Finally no one has ever explained why working class inner city Catholics pay full tuition in the thousands of dollars while famillies other students who are non-catholic do not have to pay tuition?

the u.s.catholic chuch has been on the decline before the paedophile debaucle.the numbers easily prove this by the number of catholic schools,hospitals,clergy 40years ago and now..this decline was caused by a ethnic monopoly of the churchs heirarchy and the getting away from roman catholic ethics and dogma. although catholic schools have a long, very long tradition of student performance and educational excellence they have gotten into the money business which is major part of thier downfall.the destruction of u.s.roman catholicism has not been a process of inherit shortfailings alone but an equal force of unprosecuted anto roman catholic persecution(religious persecution) which alleged catholic politicians should have stopped three (more)decades ago when it started.these politicians still call themselves catholic when convenient

The decline of US Catholicism isn't just a function of an ethnic monopoly of the churches - (I personally don't think that has been a very big factor). The reality is that society has morphed at a blistering pace and a stodgy, somewhat intrusive and incredibly non-adaptive patriarchal structure like the Catholic Church is simply nowhere near nimble enough to survive as presently constituted. The problem is that you have a Pontiff dictating policy from Rome with absolutely no awareness of the realities modern life for millions and millions of his followers.

Take an issue like the role of women in the Church - my mother was a nun for 10 years before leaving to pursue a family and a career. She is a daily communicant and even she will tell you that if you go to Mass during the week, the only males in the Church are the priests. All of the attendees are women. Yet despite this, women have absolutely no voice in the modern church. They have a voice in charitable organizations affiliated with the church, like St Vincent DePaul, etc. - because they are willing to do the grunt work that others are not - but in terms of the Church itself? Nothing. That is pathetic.

Also, there has been a massive break in the generations about certain issues like birth control, premarital sex, abortion - all of the hot button issues of the presidential campaigns are the same ones causing deep fissures in the Catholic community. I'm not saying the Church is wrong to stick by their principles - but I'm sure they recognize that every generation they are going to lose followers who disagree with their stance on planned parenthood, etc.

Religion in general seems to be in wide decline across the country except for cult-like operations like the Mormons and Scientologists. Other than that, it's looking pretty grim for the old stand-bys.

The Church was unfortunately in big trouble before the aforementioned sex scandals. Now I'd have to say that it is on life support and I don't see anything save a massive influx of immigrants from Latin and South America that could possibly save it in its present form.

It sounds like previous commenters have not attended a mass or been inside a Catholic church in a very long time.

Here in Dorchester we never did get an answer:

How come some catholic schools are 50% non-catholic, don't even take their kids to church, and get lots of aid and assistance, while some other perceived-to-be "wealthier" catholic schools who are, in fact, predominently catholic, take their students to church as a school community at least once a month (and often more frequently), and they have beg for the slightest bit of help, make due with older materials, and have to raise their tuitions year after year to keep up with salaries for their faculty?

When did it all become a business and stop being about Catholic ed for Catholic kids first?

Those of us who support Catholic education aren't getting any younger -- and the catholic schools are filled with non-catholics (some more than half) -- so who is going to be supporting catholic-ed in the future?

It's all a tax write-off for the companies involved, and the chuch really ought to stop pretending that "catholic" school means anything other than "private" or "non-public" any longer.

I am a survivor of Catholic education who still has vivid memories of being slapped around (and much more) by Boston's beloved Sisters of Saint Joseph in the '40s and '50's. I cheer everytime I see another Catholic school closing. And if you think I am alone in my cheering, you are very mistaken. The memories of the physical and emotional abuse that many of us had to deal with, although 50 years old, are still only millimeters below the surface of an otherwise stable mind.

"It sounds like previous commenters have not attended a mass or been inside a Catholic church in a very long time."

Sorry, but you're wrong. It's more a function of my ability to notice things like widespread church closings and the fact that the Church itself admits that attendance is waning. Sure it depends on what parish you go to - and some are rapidly growing, no question - but the overall trend in attendance is down, not up. If you'd look at a statistic now and then it would help quite a bit.

So much negativity in most of these comments its really a sad state of affairs. I went to 12 years of Catholic School and would not have traded it for anything. I have two kids and one of them goes to a local Catholic School and the other to one of new public schools in our city. Think about whats going on, the schools will go regional/accademy style which will hopelfully stabilze the catholic school system. If not it will dissappear alltogether because of financial issues. Once its gone all the people that bashed it will wish it was around as a viable option for their kids. Its a choice for us and once its gone people will complain and wish they supported it more instead of trying to help burry it. We need to move and put the past behind us as hard as that may be I cannot imagine how difficult it is for some. As far as Suffolk goes make an educated comment before you make you final verdict on that one. Its not all bad when a company like that is involved, take the blinders off.

I attend Mass regularly, funny though I don't see Suffolk Construction at my local church. I don't see executives from the PR firm Hill Holiday at my local church. So why were they the ones who dictacted that our school must either lose its identity, close, or go it on our own?

Why couldn't St. Brendan's be allowed to maintain it's local catholic parish identity and also receive support?

I never understood why people are threatened by help from an outside source when what they were doing or maybe in this case not doing has failed. Did it ever occur to you that maybe they help because they believe in strong communitty schools and thats all. So close minded.

"If not it will dissappear alltogether because of financial issues. Once its gone all the people that bashed it will wish it was around as a viable option for their kids. Its a choice for us and once its gone people will complain and wish they supported it more instead of trying to help burry it."

All I'll say about this is that there are some academically well-respected Catholic schools out there like BC High, Xavarian, St John's Prep - that are worth springing for admission. At the same time, there are plenty, like Catholic Memorial, Arlington Catholic, etc that are a complete and utter waste of money. You get a second rate education and your college prospects are actually WORSE than they'd be coming out of the average public school. To me, paying tuition for my kids to attend one of these places makes no sense. The only Catholic schools worth keeping around are the ones that can compete on an even playing field with the good private schools like Belmont Hill, St Sebastians, BB&N, etc.

Some people really believe strongly that a Catholic school education builds the moral fiber and character that is so important in raising a good kid - so I say this not to offend those folks - but other than that, what is the point of paying out all this money to send your kid to a school where they'll get an inferior education to the one they'd get in a decent public school?

Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy Rocks!!!!!

Thank God for Catholic schools. In a country that makes the praying child a minority, I hope every believer in God will find Catholic schools are a common ground for moral values and good education for our children. Please remember the nunber one reason we send our children to Catholic schools---to learn about God!