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Can’t Wait Much Longer
The good news is that it was Catholic Schools Week and throughout Brooklyn and Queens, our parish and neighborhood schools got a chance to show off a little bit of what they do all year round.
The bad news is that we have to announce the closings of two more parish schools in our diocese. We wish we could say that all the schools that need to be closed have been closed but that is not true.
Bishop DiMarzio in his homily at the Catholic Schools Week Mass last Sunday pointed out that because of rising costs and dwindling resources, more Catholic schools will have to close unless the government gets involved in some way. He also pointed out that that is not likely to happen in this state because of the powerful public schools teachers union in Albany. Even Gov. Eliot Spitzer has abandoned the financial aid package he once proposed to private schools.
Meanwhile, the Bush administration holds out some hope as the president announced in his State of the Union address that he would be convening a White House conference this spring on faith-based schools in cities.
“We need to cherish and nourish our faith-based schools, because, in particular, without them an inner-city education would be even harder for these children,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.
Spellings, who is not Catholic, sends her daughter to a Catholic school, and she said she is convinced Catholic schools provide “a great education with a student more likely to go on to college and grow up to be a wonderful human being.”
Spellings’ recent visit to a New Orleans Catholic school was part of a trip to Louisiana that included an earlier stop in Baton Rouge.
She said when she learned Catholic Schools Week was Jan. 27-Feb. 2, “I knew I had to go to New Orleans. This is the embodiment of what Catholic education is all about.”
Spellings talked about the money that was poured into education after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city and the schools in August, 2005.
The government was working to channel millions into getting education back up and running, but, Spellings pointed out, the Catholic schools didn’t wait for the money. “They figured they had to get the schools open and the kids back at work – and they’d figure out the money later.”
“If that isn’t a great example of service and faith,” she said, “I don’t know what is.”
She called Catholic schools “little treasures,” and said that “we need to elevate the issue of how important Catholic schools are to this country.”
We agree with everything that Secretary Spellings said about Catholic schools and we politely thank her for her words. But action will speak louder than words and more and more Catholic schools cannot continue to wait for the money to flow in so that they can keep their doors open.
Bishop DiMarzio is right. Unless government gets involved soon, we will be reporting more and more closings.
There’s also an issue of justice here. Catholic school parents already are paying high taxes for education and getting nothing back for their money. Politicians who are quick to talk about choice on other issues are strangely silent when it comes to choice in education for our children.
We ask everyone to remember these things when they cast their votes for elected officials in the fall. To remain current on the issue, go to www.nyscatholic.org.
What a Super Team!
It turns out that the Giants were super and the Patriots were not perfect!
What an end to the football season! As far as partisan New York fans are concerned, there could not have been a better script written for the end of this year, the Super Bowl, won by the champion New York Giants, 17-14, over the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
There are all kinds of lessons for life that can be gained from the Giants’ season. Winners never quit! Nothing comes easy! It takes a lot of hard work to succeed in life! Choose your motto and the Giants’ season is the epitome of it.
The Giants did something that no one else could do all season long. They beat the big bad monster team when everyone said they had no chance to do so. They believed in themselves even when others did not.
While they stood alone, they also exemplified the value of coordinated teamwork. In football, as in life – even in church life – each person is only as strong as the person working next to him or her. No one slugs through life alone. We need each other to make things work. The Giants proved that to a T.
So, whether you are a Giants fan or not, you can revel in the fun and excitement which the team brought home from Phoenix. You can admire their accomplishments. And you can take solace in the hope that no matter what the odds are, you always have a chance. Just ask Giants’ fans.
Let the party continue into spring training. Let the Giants’ season be a lesson to the Mets and the Yankees that it takes hard work, determination, team effort, and a strong kick to the finish line to eventually overcome all obstacles that are thrown in your way.
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