Catholic Education: Making an Urgent Case for Teaching the Faith ~ { Print Version }
By Rev. Patrick A. Smith, S.T.L.

In this article I want to address the importance of Catholic education in the Black Catholic community. As a cradle Catholic from Washington, DC and one of eight children that attended various Catholic schools from elementary grades to college, this subject is very near and dear to my heart. As a pastor of a vibrant historically black Catholic parish with a school, Catholic education is also what takes up a good portion of my daily life!

Catholic Schools: The Greatest Story Never Told!

"There is no substitute for spending 35 hours each week in an educational environment permeated by faith and Gospel values" [Notre Dame Task Force on Catholic Education - 2006].

It is no wonder that Catholic education and particularly Catholic Schools were a major agenda item at the first National Catholic Colored Congress in 1889 and the subsequent Congresses which took place before the turn of the 19th century (before resuming again in 1987). This issue was seen to be critical for the survival and growth of Catholicism in the black community in the United States. I believe it still is.

Historically, Catholic schools in our cities have been an extraordinary and unparalleled success story! These schools are arguably more responsible for the black middle class today than any other institution in our country. Graduates of our elementary and junior high schools of various economic backgrounds go on to complete their high school education and enter four year colleges at remarkably high rates. An extraordinary number of African American men and women who have completed doctoral degrees in this country claim a Catholic education somewhere in their schooling background. The statistics sited in the 2005 statement on Catholic schools by the USCCB bear this out:

Research conducted by the United States Department of Education, the National Catholic Educational Association, and other independent agencies shows that Catholic schools make a major impact in closing the achievement gap for poor and minority students in inner-city environments. Catholic schools have a lower dropout rate (3.4 percent) than both public (14.4 percent) and other private schools (11.9 percent). Ninety-nine percent of Catholic high school students graduate and 97 percent go on to some form of post-secondary education. Catholic school students continue to score well on standardized tests…in subjects such as reading, mathematics, social studies, and science, often surpassing standards established by federal and/or state agencies…[Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium - Copyright © 2005, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Inc.] Italics mine.

The "Miracle in Memphis" also known as the Jubilee Schools in Memphis Tennessee is one of several successful and promising models highlighted in the 2007 Publication, Sustaining Catholic Education in and for the Black Community. This document put out by the National Black Catholic Congress' Leadership Commission on Catholic Education is a timely and commendable start to our community taking responsibility for the survival and growth of Catholic schools in urban centers throughout the United States. This publication makes it clear that the trend of Catholic schools disappearing from our communities across the country will only be changed through the innovative and courageous efforts of all of us who believe in their great value and necessity today: "The Catholic School has been and remains one of the chief vehicles of evangelization within the Black community… (and) it is our responsibility to ensure that these institutions flourish for years to come." (P. iv). It is our responsibility. For anyone interested in the future of Catholic Schools in black communities and urban centers throughout this country, this document by the Leadership Commission on Catholic Education is a must read.

Sustaining Black Catholic Education in and for the Black Community
www.nbccongress.org/resources/default.asp

Non-Catholic Children in our Schools

Are Catholic schools for Catholics only? This question seems to be the debate that rears its head every so often especially around budget time in parishes and dioceses across the country. I think it is the wrong question. The real question is whether Catholic schools are really an extension of the Catholic Church. If they are then it would follow that they share in the mission of the Catholic Church given to her by her Founder, Jesus Christ. The Great Commission at the end of Matthew's gospel when Jesus declared; "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations… teaching them all that I have commanded you" (28:19) is at the heart of the Church's charge to evangelize the unevangelized; to make disciples of the "non-disciples"! Clearly, according to everything from Papal encyclicals and pastoral letters, Canon Law, official statements from Vatican offices such as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, U.S. Bishop Pastorals, etc., Catholic schools in fact do share in the evangelization mission of the Catholic Church. When they refuse to do so, they are less Catholic. To quote the former Archbishop of Washington, James Cardinal Hickey: "We don't educate the children because they are Catholic; we educate them because we are Catholic". In other words, we follow that same principle with our schools as we do with our other Catholic institutions. Are Catholic hospitals for Catholics only? Is Catholic Charities for Catholics only? Clearly, the idea that "Catholic Schools are for Catholics only" is a profoundly un-Catholic concept.

There is one final point worth mentioning regarding the Church's responsibility to educate non-Catholics that attend our schools. With few if any exceptions, those Catholic schools in this country which have a larger than 50% non-Catholic student body tend to be predominately African American in make up. In other words, we are faced with a reality that when it comes to our schools, the term "non-Catholic" is synonymous with "black children". This is the reality we are faced with at this time in American history.

For this reason it is imperative that the steps we take to refinance and restructure our Catholic school system ~ especially to shrink it ~ be done with an eye to the history of the Church in the United States when it comes to providing a Catholic education to the very same demographic. For a Church hierarchy that adamantly refused to accept responsibility for evangelizing black children for a good part of a century after the end of the civil war and who clung to every possible excuse for doing so even to the point of ignoring and even opposing the Roman Curia's calls over several decades for the evangelization of black children, our shepherds today must make every effort not to appear to neglect the same population that were not afforded their help in the past when it was needed the most.

Parish Religious Education Programs

In the baptismal rite, before the child is baptized the priest or deacon publicly announces: "I claim you for Christ our Savior by the sign of his cross. I now trace the cross on your forehead and invite your parents and godparents to do the same".

This serves as a dramatic reminder that every generation needs to be evangelized. This does not happen by accident but by a strategic effort on the part of parents, godparents, family members, teachers, parishes, parish and diocesan leaders and the clergy. Either we claim our children for Christ or they will be claimed by someone or something else!

Youth Ministry

The more I listen to what young people say they are looking for in their lives, and hoping to receive from the church, one thing is clear: Gimmicks are out and Christ is in! They do not want us to be shy, hesitant, or ambiguous about whom Jesus is, what Jesus taught, and what believing in him will demand of their lives. The key to our efforts in youth ministry having the desired effect ~ lives transformed and young people empowered to live their faith with courage and conviction ~ is not only "keeping it real" but keeping it Christ-centered! The truth of Christ will set our youth free only if we give them the opportunity to hear it and embrace it. This is a critical point because at the heart of our Catholic faith is a relationship; and it is this relationship that changes us, liberates us, heals us, empowers us, convicts us and saves us! For example, if a young person completes your junior high or high school religious education program and still has no interest in, appreciation and understanding of the seven Sacraments but on the other hand can recite and explain each of the seven principles of Kwanzaa, then something has gone terribly wrong. Why, because our Catholic faith clearly teaches that the seven sacraments are powerful and real ways of encountering the risen Christ in our midst. It is this encounter that saves our lives! Kwanzaa may have its place but it is no substitute for kerygma. As a tool it must serve as a means to an end: Encountering Christ. It cannot be an end in itself. When it comes to fulfilling the great commission to make disciples of all nations what is true of all authentic Christian ministry applies to youth ministry as well: Only what you do for Christ will last!

Catechesis

Several months ago while speaking with a colleague about the importance of making sure that our lay catechists in the parish receive their certification he shared with me a striking observation regarding the efforts in his Diocese. After calling the chancery to inquire why there were so few certification courses being offered in the city (yet so many in the suburbs), he was told that the last few sessions scheduled in the city were cancelled due to a lack of participation. In other words, catechists were being certified in many parishes across his Diocese, just not the parishes in the urban parts of the Diocese. This was not by design, but apparently the result of a lack of interest!

We have to ask ourselves how seriously we take Jesus' mandate to "Go and make disciples…" (Matt. 28:19) when it comes to our parish religious education programs such as Sunday school, RCIA, RCIC, Teen Catechesis, Marriage Preparation and Confirmation programs. What efforts do we make to instruct, train and equip our teachers to teach and dispose our young people to learn and practice their Catholic Faith? How many of our newly initiated RCIA candidates don't survive a year after baptism? How many of our newly confirmed youth discard the practice of their faith when they remove their white robes and red stoles at the end of the ceremony? Many of our parishes cannot afford a Director of Religious Education but too often many of us do not take advantage of workshops, conferences, adult education programs, catechetical certification classes, and other opportunities to learn our faith so that our understanding of our religion is commiserate with our age!

Ministry Leaders

Christian leadership is a call and a responsibility that is too often treated like a privilege or an entitlement. Some people feel they have a right to spearhead a project because they bear the last name of a prominent family in the parish or because of the amount of money they put in the collection on Sunday or because they have been doing it for so many years! The truth is Christian leadership requires not only desire and willingness, but knowledge and faith. Jesus put it this way: "Much will be required of the person entrusted with much and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more" (Luke 12:48). As African Americans, being well educated about our Catholic faith and our history as Black Catholics is an essential requirement for being effective leaders in the local parish and the wider church.

One of the most fascinating facts about the history of black Catholics in the United States is the prominent role that lay leaders played in the development, advancement and growth of the Catholic faith in this country among African Americans. This was in no way due to a lack of respect for, or rejection of, the ordained priesthood; quite the opposite is true. These lay voices of courage and protest spoke out the loudest for the admission of black men to seminaries across the country. They did their best to fill the void left by the church's refusal to admit blacks into the seminary. Black lay Catholics rose to the challenge not only because of their great faith and courage, their passion for justice and love of their Catholic religion, but because these leaders were well versed in the teaching of the Church. These black catholic leaders knew the official documents and teachings of the Catholic Church from Papal Encyclicals to the basic catechism and could make their case for justice from the most compelling source possible: The Church's teaching itself. We must learn from their example.

Catholic Education and the Vocation Crisis

Young or older adults seriously aspiring to the priesthood or religious life are often already familiar and invested in the Church's teaching on the Holy Eucharist and the other Sacraments. Many have a profound love for the Mass, a passion for prayer, service of others and a willingness to entertain the real possibility that God might be calling them to a lifelong promise of celibacy or a vow of chastity. In a materialistic and secular society inching ever closer to hedonism, narcissism and the rejection of religion it is fair to ask where do these aspirants for religious life come from and how were their priestly and religious vocations nurtured? Many identify their families, especially parents, Catholic schools and being directly approached about the possibility of a vocation by someone already living it. Parish religious education and sacramental preparation and ministry programs done for, with and by youth and young adults; bible studies, retreats, discernment weekends, excellent liturgies, insightful and powerful preaching also make a significant impact if done well. The fact is God is still calling African Americans to religious vocations so if they are not answering this call then somewhere along the way we are failing to provide the environment our children and young people need to make them more susceptible to God's voice and to respond to it with faith and trust.

The Home Front

The Church has always believed that the seminary before the seminary is the home (There is a compelling case to be made that the same can be said of a good Catholic School in light of the number of priest and religious that attended Catholic Schools). If it is here that the seeds of vocations are first planted then the breakdown of the family is certainly having a significant impact on priestly and religious vocations in the African American community: Decline in marriages, out of wedlock births, single parent households, high rate of male incarceration, homicide, school drop out rates, etc. I have found that for the overwhelming majority of engaged couples I counsel for marriage, being the primary evangelizers of their children is the furthest thing from their minds. For this reason, a good portion of marriage preparation ends up being a mini course in Catholicism 101! We should be preparing our future leaders in the home for the marriage vocation as early as junior high and high school!

Conclusion

The challenges to the Black Catholic community are vast and have no single or simple solutions. But I do believe that any solution that does not include the authentic teaching of our Catholic faith in a way that provides a religious, spiritual, sacramental and moral foundation that is clearly lacking in our society, the voice of God will continue to fall on deaf ears and hardened hearts; and the wisdom contained in that voice will not be able to direct us from the path of deprivation to the road of prosperity. END

Fr. Patrick Smith is the pastor of the historic Saint Augustine Catholic Church in Washington, DC. He has been an archdiocesan priest for 19 years and most of that time as a pastor in Black Catholic parishes. Over the years, Fr. Smith has done workshops, retreats and participated in conferences on a wide range of topics including youth, young adults, Scripture, liturgy, lay ministry, and a workshop on vocations for the 2007 NBCC in Buffalo, New York. Fr. Smith's proudest accomplishment is running a Parish school with 213 students that is fully funded by the parish.