Are Catholic schools still Catholic?

Catholic schools may achieve great academic results, but they must live out a Catholic ethos, according to Bishop Kevin DowlingFor Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, “there can be little doubt that where a true Catholic education is actually implemented, the children and young people can not only excel academically but, even more importantly, they can grow into active, thinking, and engaged citizens in the realities of the country”.

Catholic schools may achieve great academic results, but they must live out a Catholic ethos, according to Bishop Kevin Dowling

Bishop Kevin Dowling is the liaison bishop for education for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference. He is also the chairman of both the Catholic Institute of Education (CIE) Executive and the CIE Board and attends meetings during the course of the year. He also oversees the ten Catholic schools in his own diocese.

“I have personally experienced what Catholic education has to offer in terms of holistic formation and education based on a set of values inspired by the Gospel, the person of Jesus, and Catholic social teaching principles,” the bishop told The Southern Cross.

What distinguishes a Catholic education process from others is “the emphasis on holistic formation of the person of the child in a safe and caring environment, an environment which invites and challenges the young person to grow to the fullness of their potential as a committed human being who is inspired by the Gospel values which are at the heart of the education process in such a school”.

Bishop Dowling said that a true Catholic education is all about fostering positive development in a school community where the focus is on living and experiencing growth through interpersonal and interactive relationships.

“A key aspect of such growth is exposure and involvement in the reality of the poorest and excluded members of the society, especially in situations where the education process limps through lack of resources and lack of adequately trained and motivated educators,” he said.

“In that sense, excellence should always be the hallmark of a Catholic education, but understood in this kind of holistic framework.”

A good Catholic school is not defined by pass rates alone but also on the outcome of the learners as good citizens. And this still exists today.

“It is so important that Catholic education plays a vital role in the transformation of the entire education system and education enterprise in the country. If education is to respond to the needs of children and young people, and enable them to strive to achieve their potential, then all of us in the education system—including Catholic schools—must play an active part no matter what the cost in terms of personal involvement and sacrifice,” he said.

In South Africa, the CIE implements and addresses the ongoing needs of education in the Catholic school sector. The CIE regularly reports to the plenary sessions of the bishops’ conference and raises important issues for the bishops to consider. The CIE also offers practical guidelines and programmes which the bishops support and endorse after discussion.

Both the bishops and the CIE have been aware of the concern of many that Catholic schools are today only Catholic in name and not nature.

“In the present environment, Catholic schools face considerable challenges, not the least of which are financial constraints which inhibit the realisation of some of the ideals we have in Catholic education. There is a disparity in personnel and financial resources across the Catholic school sector, in spite of efforts which are being made to twin schools and to share resources,” the bishop said.

Bishop Dowling said it is possible for a Catholic school to achieve the highest possible academic standards and at the same time to be lacking in the most important values and practices which should characterise what we mean by a “Catholic school”.

“The question then has to be faced: is this a Catholic school in terms of living out the Catholic vision and practice so well articulated in all our documentation on education as a Church? A great deal depends on the leadership provided by the principal and school management team.”

The bishop said these questions are being asked regularly and the CIE is working towards ensuring the Catholic ethos remains present in Catholic schools.

The bishop was eager to correct the false perception that most of South Africa’s Catholic schools are private, suburban schools.

“Many of our rural and township schools strive against immense odds to deliver a quality and holistic education in the spirit of the vision of Catholic education. They are to be commended for their spirit of sacrifice and dedication,” he said.

“We can continue to offer a significant contribution to the quality of education in the most vulnerable areas of the country.”

Bishop Dowling said attending a Catholic school would be the ideal for all Catholic learners. But, depending on where a Catholic parent lives and their financial situation, sometimes the possibilities may be rather limited.

“I understand the various motivations which will be present when a Catholic parent makes a decision about where they will place their child in a school.” But, he added, he would always encourage parents to seriously consider sending their child to a Catholic school if that is possible.

“The challenge, therefore, is for all our Catholic schools to offer to Catholic parents what they are looking for—and to offer them even more, through enabling them to experience what a truly Catholic school can contribute to a child’s holistic formation and education, and so to enhance their dreams for the future of their child.”

Bishop Dowling said it is clear that the only way education as a whole will change in the country is through “self-sacrifice, devotion to one’s calling as an educator, and walking far more than the extra mile in the quest to provide our children with the best education and holistic formation that is possible for us to achieve”.

The Catholic education community must serve as “an example and inspiration in the journey towards this ideal”.