Are our Catholic schools still Catholic?

by Editor · June 6, 2012

There is an increasingly louder refrain which bemoans that Catholic schools are no longer Catholic. Usually the criticism presumes to refer to what once were parochial Catholic schools in metropolitan conurbations, rather than the many rural schools founded and run by Church agencies as a missionary endeavour as well as to meet an urgent need in the face of perennial government failures.

"Above all we should ask whether we can locate Jesus and his Gospel at these schools..."

The trouble with generalisations, such as the idea that Catholic schools are no longer Catholic, is that they tend to generalise.

There is no question that Catholic schools may dispense with the external signs of the faith. Obviously a school ceases to be Catholic when it lacks the crucifix, statues of Mary or the saints and Mass on days of obligation. Catholic schools have a mandate to instruct their Catholic learners in the faith (though this may amount to little if parents do not assume the primary responsibility for their children�s catechesis).

But the Catholic ethos manifests itself in more than just external expression.

It is true that the student body in many, perhaps most, of our Catholic schools no longer comprises a Catholic majority. That observation usually comes with the attendant criticism that the institutions� Catholic culture is thereby diluted.

The reasons for that demographic shift merit inquest. Do the demographics at these schools suggest that Catholic parents have lost confidence in the Catholic school system, or have the parents themselves become indifferent to the Catholic faith? Have some Catholic schools become inaccessible because of unaffordable fees or location? Do admission criteria or management in a particular school somehow militate against a Catholic majority?

It is also true that a large proportion of teachers at Catholic schools are not Catholics. In an age when the vocations to the religious life, from which Catholic schools used to draw their teaching staff, have sharply declined, it is inevitable that schools need to employ teachers regardless of their religious faith. The requirements of academic pursuit might not offer any alternatives.

It is reasonable to ask whether Catholic schools in fact try to employ, when possible, Catholic teachers (in as far as such an employment policy is consistent with South African labour law), and whether some schools have employed educators who are unsuitable to teach in a faith environment. It does not follow, however, that non-Catholic teachers are invariably unqualified, by virtue of their background, to maintain a Catholic ethos.

Experts in South Africa�s Catholic education system will concur that some Catholic schools have lost their way in maintaining their Catholic ethos. They will also agree that the effects of increasing secularisation in society presents Catholic schools with on-going challenges in preserving their unique culture.

None of that, however, suggests that the Catholic education system in South Africa has lost its Catholic compass. On the contrary, survey the advertisements in this week�s education supplement and read the various articles�not all of them uncritical�to get a sense of Catholic education today as an arena in which love is a common motivation, besides academic development.

When we want to interrogate whether our Catholic schools are still Catholic, we ought to ask not how many Catholics teach or learn there, nor how many children can recite the Creed. Above all, we should ask whether we can locate Jesus and his Gospel at these schools, not only in proclamation but also in deeds.

Bishop Kevin Dowling, the liaison bishop for Catholic education, in this issue sets out the characteristics by which we ought to measure our school: �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.�