I devoted an entire chapter in my book to the demise of Catholic Education after Vatican II, and was heartened to learn of the Apostolic Nuncio's views of late:
Apostolic Nuncio to USCCB: Time to Regain Catholic
Identity in Catholic Schools
BALTIMORE
- Catholic schools need to renew the Catholic identity of their past for the
New Evangelization.
That
was the message of Abp. Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio
to the United States, speaking to the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops (USCCB) at their annual fall meeting on Monday.
He
started by reminding the bishops of the primary means of growth for the
Catholic Church in America according to its earliest leaders: education. The Faith
spread in the United States "through the building of parishes with their
own schools, together with the dedicated support of women religious."
"These
schools became fortresses of solid Catholic formation for all those young
people who would take their place in America's future," noted Abp. Viganò,
who reserved special praise for the Jesuits. Perhaps surprising now,
Viganò recalled that "it was this Order ... that was meant to build
up and preserve genuine Catholic teaching to be infused into the culture of
America's young society."
According
to America's apostolic nuncio, Catholic schools attached to their own parishes
were supposed to be the way families would come to their own "identity,
meaning and nourishment" in a world of rapid change. "Education,"
he said, "was primary in the bishops' minds; it was an essential means for
the Gospel message to be woven into the very fabric of our people's
existence."
And
thus, the path for America would follow the path of evangelization the Church
had always relied upon to spread the Good News of Christ.
With
the past laid out, Abp. Viganò then shifted his focus to the present.
"We
are all well aware," he said, "that we are at a critical point now in
the challenges that are brought to family life in our western world."
Further, he explained that faithful Catholic families are where children really
begin learning. In other words, he pointed out, good parents are "the best
of teachers."
"They
form a domestic Church," he said, "and they prepare their children
for education in our Catholic schools on every level, from primary through
University stages."
Archbishop
Viganò believes the highly touted New Evangelization needs to take this
route of having an emphasis on education — education in both schools and in the
family. However, he is careful to add that its success "will exist only in
proportion to its Catholic identity."
"If
we are to preserve a moral order in our society," he insisted, "we
cannot fall prey to the enticements and allurements of a secularized and
increasingly pagan civilization."
Bishops,
as shepherds, "have a tremendous obligation to watch over and protect
families, and parishes and schools for the good of the people," Abp.
Viganò reminded his fellow Church leaders. Therefore, he pointed to Pope
St. Gregory the Great's rule against remaining silent — for "fear [of]
losing the favor of men" — whenever errors are being taught under one's
watch.
"Catholic
colleges and universities, renowned for the professional formation of their
students, should be encouraged to be faithful to the title of 'Catholic' that
they bear," urged Viganò. Specifically, he called out the Jesuits, who
have earned a bad reputation among orthodox Catholics as bastions of dissent
from Church doctrine. Viganò hopes "that, with respect to their great
tradition, after the example of our Holy Father, they would take again the lead
in re-affirming the Catholic identity of their educational institutions."
"The
course must always be set by Christ and His Church, never allowing influence
and wealth to dictate what might be an improper orientation for a Catholic
school or university," Viganò concluded, in words of advice to the
Church as it navigates through "the storms of the present times."
Also of
note is that before Abp. Viganò's address, he received two standing ovations
from the U.S. bishops in attendance, largely for his unapologetic willingness
to help Kim Davis, the Kentucky marriage clerk who went to jail for resisting
same-sex "marriage." Mainstream media outlets pounced on Viganò after
finding out he put together the private meeting between Davis and Pope Francis.
Pro-LGBT activists were so outraged by Viganò's plan that they even petitioned
the Holy Father to fire Viganò as papal nuncio.
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