By: Leo

Leo — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 01:45:50 +0000

Alex, why am I not surprised by the distressing tale you tell ?
I’m somewhat older, and have grandchildren whom I worry about. One of the things I worry about is their education at “Catholic” schools. Among others, Fulton Sheen is reported to have counselled: “Send your children to State schools where they’ll have to fight for their Faith, rather than to Catholic schools where they’ll have it taken from them”.
And, as you have found, very many of our parishes are of the same spirit.
You’ll have read the stories of prominent converts to the Faith who have found no encouragement and often discouragement from parish priests.
It’s hard not to perceive that both the “Catholics” who run our schools and the “Catholics” who lead our parish communities are more akin to bureaucrats simply protecting their own positions.
As for yourselves, have a few more children and you might find some real Catholics in the parish begin to offer friendship and support.

By: Alex Brown

Alex Brown — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 09:25:38 +0000

The reason the churches are empty (while the schools are full) are because they are fundamentally unwelcoming places. We have in the past few months tried for our family to join our local Catholic parish with three children under 6. As adults we were prepared to join in and be active members. We thought we would be welcome with friendliness, interest and actively brought in to assist . We were met with clear indifference, rudeness and overall lack of any interest in us or our family. We’ve tried for 3 months and now are walking away. The schools can be a huge draw but without these, church rolls would be dropping much further as the Sunday service needs to be radically updated to be of any interest to young families

Comments on: The problem with our Catholic schools

By: Leo

By: Alex Brown