The goal of Catholic education should be to cultivate an army of saints. Every graduate from a Catholic school should be equipped with the tools necessary to live their faith honestly and completely. They should know not only what the Church teaches, but why she teaches what she does and how to explain Church teachings properly and defend them effectively to others. A student’s time in Catholic school also must root them in prayer and the sacramental life. If this aspect is overlooked, then it doesn’t matter how much students leave knowing about God. Their commitment to the faith will wane without a personal relationship with Christ in prayer. These should be the priorities of a Catholic school because the salvation of eternal souls far out weighs any temporal matter in importance.
However, it does not appear that these goals are the priority of Catholic schools today. It takes money to run a school. Catholic schools are not exempt from this, but whereas public schools receive funding from the federal and local governments, Catholic schools must charge tuition. Thus, Catholic school is expensive. It is truly an investment in a child’s future to send them to Catholic school for any period of time, and often this involves sacrifices on the part of the family.
In the past, Catholic schools were typically run by religious orders, but with the long term decline of vocations this is simply not possible anymore. Religious orders are not in the business of making money, but the laity must make a living and fallen human nature inclines men towards excess. The people responsible for leading Catholic schools see it in terms of a business and the goal of a business is making money. While there is no sense in denying that this is a component of the situation that we must engage, it is important that this is not the sole focus for the leaders of a school.
When making a profit becomes the overwhelming goal of a school administration, the essence of what a Catholic school ought to be falls to the wayside. Being truly, authentically, Catholic is hard. This does not mean that Catholic schools should dilute their Catholic identities for the sake of attracting more students or making more money.
On the contrary, one’s Catholic identity ought to be clung to like a life raft in the middle of a hurricane. A school that is Catholic more than just in name will produce a generation of Catholics capable of carrying on the Church through the storms of coming decades. If a school’s Catholic identity is its central focus, the rest will follow. The Catholic Church provides individuals with a way to live that while not easy, is appealing even to outsiders. Christians have a joy that shines forth from their words and deeds, a certain charisma about them, that is unmistakable.
If the goals of a school’s administration are properly ordered, then this charisma will be the driving force behind recruitment. Students will come because they like what they see, or because they don’t quite understand it but are open to trying. Those completely closed off to Truth, who consider private school a status symbol, will either find other schools to attend or will become at the very least well informed about the Faith. The degree to which the faith is truly internalized by students is completely up to them, but Catholic schools must not put obstacles in their way or passively deny them the opportunity for personal conversion.
There is a third component to a school beyond the administration and students that is absolutely crucial – the teachers. The composition of teachers at a school is obviously dependent upon the administration of the school. The administration is responsible for doing the hiring, and they have a responsibility to hire not only well qualified teachers, but teachers who live according to the teachings of the Catholic Church in their personal and professional lives.
Faith is not something which can be compartmentalized, it is the foundation upon which all other decisions are made, so a teacher’s personal life must also be taken into consideration. It is incredibly easy to look people up on social media and see what they do in their free time. If teachers are publishing that they are out at bars getting wasted every Friday night, they are not providing a good example for their students to follow. Furthermore, teachers at Catholic schools should not be engaged in homosexual relationships, this is intrinsically hypocritical; one cannot represent a Catholic institution and at the same time live your life blatantly contrary to Church teaching. Don’t think students won’t figure it out, they will. If the goal is to create an army of Saints, good examples are absolutely crucial.
This does not mean the entire staff of a Catholic school must be Catholic though; it is just as important for students to know that there are good people outside the Catholic faith as it is for them to know what it means to be Catholic. A balance must be found between an entirely homogenous faculty and one with diversity which still promotes the development of a virtuous Christian character in students.
Of equal importance is the quality of education students receive in the liberal arts. This education should be held to a rigorous, but achievable standard. It should not be impossible for students to do well, but it should not be easy either. It is not easy to achieve in the real world, it is not easy to live as a faithful Catholic. Allowing students to glide through school without trying and to receive high marks nevertheless does a disservice to not only the student, but society. This lets the student know that their best is not required, and the bare minimum is perfectly acceptable and is all that should be strived for.
Catholics are engaged in a culture war today, one which we are not winning, and one which will likely last far into the future. That today’s youth are better educated than their parents and grandparents were in their Faith is crucial. It is the responsibility of Catholic schools to rise to the occasion. We need a generation of well educated, independent thinking, hard-working, faithful Catholics.
We need Saints.