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TEACH THEM

A Statement of the

Catholic Bishops

United States

Catholic Conference

May 6, 1976



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TEACH THEM

Statement On

Catholic Schools

May 6, 1976

I. Jesus commanded His disciples to “go

and teach all nations." From a tiny upper room,

by the Spirit, He sent them. With fire in their

hearts He sent them. To every nation and age

He sent them. From those early apostolic days

the flame has been passed. In the 200 years of

our own nation's history we can point with pride

to St. Elizabeth Seton, Blessed John Neumann,

to countless families who by their sense of edu-

cational mission answered the same call. The

disciples of times past did not take Jesus’ com-

mand lightly, even though they went with light

hearts and willing hands into His vineyard the

world. In this time and place, we believe no

other answer, now or at any future moment, is

acceptable for a people who bear within them

that same faith. The only worthy response is a

wholehearted “yes" to the Lord’s command to

“go and teach."

As faithful servants responding to His com-

mand, we seek to meet the needs of all who

hear Jesus’ message or may do so. Our 1972

pastoral, To Teach as Jesus Did, declared our sup-

port for Catholic education in its totality: schools,

parish catechetical programs, campus minis-

try, young adult education, family life educa-

tion, adult education. That commitment stands.

In this statement we are specifically concerned

with the Church’s educational ministry to chil-

dren and young people, especially as it is ex-

pressed in Catholic schools.

A total of 8.6 million Catholic youth in this

country are now enrolled in formal religious edu-

cation programs, 3.5 million in Catholic schools

and 5.1 million in parish catechetical programs.

But, as a report published earlier this year shows,

6.6 million (3.4 at the elementary and 3.2 at the

secondary level), more than twice the number a

decade ago, now are not enrolled in formal re-

ligious education programs. In our opinion this is

1



as much a pastoral problem as an educational

one. Its solution will require additional data,

thorough research and analysis, responsible deci-

sions and an appropriate program of action.

In the meantime, it is obvious that all persons

with a responsibility for the Church’s educational

ministry—to one degree or another that means
all members of the Catholic community—should
reach out to these 6.6 million. This suggests

some immediate steps: e.g., diocesan and parish

censuses; more adult, parent and family edu-

cation; vigorous recruitment for Catholic

schools and parish catechetical programs; more

effective use of Catholic and other commu-

nications media for evangelization and religious

education; completion of the National Cateche-

tical Directory; sensitive dialogue with persons

who are critical of some methods of religious

education; zealous contact with parents who

have abandoned much of the active practice

of their faith. Indeed, alienation and lack of in-

terest among some parents may well be reasons

why a substantial number of the 6.6 million chil-

dren and youth are not receiving formal religious

education. Coping adequately with this prob-

lem will require much time and effort.

Our immediate and continuing concern is to

provide the best possible education for children

and young people in and out of Catholic schools.

With respect to parish catechetical programs,

many of the innovations and improvements of

recent years deserve to be recognized and put

more widely into effect.

As we have said, however, our focus here is

primarily upon the schools. We wish to declare

our belief in their future, to offer renewed en-

couragement to all our collaborators in the

school apostolate, to call attention to signs of

progress and hope, to point to new areas for in-

vestigation and action, and to do all this in a

spirit of realistic hopefulness.

The remarkably positive response which has

greeted To Teach as Jesus Did is especially

heartening. Actions taken in light of its vision

have done much to strengthen the Church’s

educational ministry. In this response we have

discerned the providential working of the Spirit.

The pastoral letter continues to afford many

reasons for encouragement and confidence.

2



II. Four years ago we reaffirmed our com-

mitment to Catholic schools; we now do so again.

For we hold that “Catholic schools which realize

the threefold purpose of Christian education, to

teach doctrine, to build community and to serve,

are the most effective means available to the

Church for the education of children and young

people .” 1

The integration of religious truth and values

with the rest of life, which is possible in these

schools, distinguishes them from others. Here

the Catholic for whom religious commitment is

a matter of central importance finds an appre-

ciation of religion which parallels his or her own.

The integration is expressed above all in the

lives of the teachers in Catholic schools whose

daily witness to the meaning of mature faith

and Christian living has a profound impact upon

the education and formation of their pupils. On

behalf of the entire Church we affirm our debt

to these dedicated ministers of education, sis-

ters, brothers, priests and lay people, who teach

by what they are.

Our support of Catholic schools is matched

by the support of millions of others, those who

teach in them, who send their children to them,

and who support them morally and financially.

The present task seems to be less to win support

for the schools than to mobilize the support

which already exists.

Why do we and so many others continue to

support Catholic schools in the face of many

obstacles and burdens, problems not substan-

tially different from those we outlined in our pas-

toral four years ago? The reasons are compelling.

Generally these schools are notably successful

educational institutions which offer not only

high quality academic programs but also instruc-

tion and formation in the beliefs, values and

traditions of Catholic Christianity. They are sig-

nificantly effective in preparing students for life

in today’s Church and society. They instill in

children and young people indispensable dis-

cipline of mind and heart. They have a highly

positive impact on adult religious behavior . 2

Another benefit of Catholic schools deserves

mention. They can be a focal point for dedica-

tion, energy and generosity of many different

members of the Catholic community. This con-

3



certed focus, however, must not preclude an

active participation in other forms of educational

and ecclesial ministry. Catholic schools therefore

have a rich potential for strengthening the bonds

which unite a community.

In a significant way Catholic schools bear

witness to the importance of religion in our local

civic communities and in our society as a

whole. When a sizeable segment of the American

people undertakes to build and operate a great

system of schools at considerable sacrifice, seri-

ous citizens are thereby encouraged to reflect

upon the importance of religion in human life.

Without Catholic and other church-related

schools, spiritual values would find far less sup-

port in American society.

It is gratifying and encouraging that To Teach

as Jesus Did has helped strengthen the Catholic

school apostolate. Evidence of this comes from

many sources, including the National Catholic

Educational Association and many religious com-

munities, which have themselves played a lauda-

ble role in “giving form to the vision’’ of educa-

tional ministry embodied in the pastoral. Among

the beneficial results arising, at least in part,

from that effort are the following.

The identification of Catholic schools as in-

stitutions which express the threefold purpose of

Catholic education, stated in the Pastoral as

to teach, build community and serve, has be-

come more clear. Concrete priorities of the

schools consistent with this threefold purpose

have been brought into sharper focus .
3

Programs for the formation of teachers have

been strengthened. There has been increased

recognition that all share in the educational min-

istry, not just those specifically assigned to

“teach religion
.’’ 4

The reciprocal relationship of the Catholic

school and the community it serves has been

recognized and fostered. New ways have been

sought and put into effect by which the school

can be of even greater direct service to the com-

munity.

Increased attention has been given to the need

for a total, integrated approach to Catholic edu-

cation involving schools and other educational

programs. Competition and duplication have

4



been reduced; collaboration and coordination

have been increased. Significant in these encour-

aging developments has been the role played

by parish boards of education and parish coun-

cils which have enabled the Catholic community

in an orderly fashion to identify and respond to

the educational needs of the total community.

More and more, schools are being recognized

and used as resource centers for total parish

programs of education.

Positive changes in the instructional program

have been carried forward, including greater

emphasis on personalized learning which meets

the unique needs and capabilities of individual

students. Growing attention has been given to

education for justice and for authentic human

liberation.

Educational planning and the practice of ac-

countability have been encouraged. At the same

time a new thrust has emerged in educational

administration, emphasizing not only technical

skills but the role of the administrator as one

who fosters community within both schools and

school systems.

Appreciation has increased for the fact that

the Catholic school is not simply an institution

which offers academic instruction of high qual-

ity, but, even more important, is an effective ve-

hicle of total Christian formation. The tendency

to emphasize one aspect at the expense of the

other has given way to recognition that both

are necessary and possible, and indeed are being

accomplished in Catholic schools.

In short, much that has happened in the past

four years testifies to the fact that the schools

not only remain an important part of the Cath-

olic Church in the United States but continue to

grow in effectiveness as that is determined by

both educational and religious measures. This

favorable judgment is strongly reinforced by a

recently published report on educational research

by the National Opinion Research Center show-

ing that Catholic schools have a signficant posi-

tive impact on those who attend them and that

the Catholic public is highly supportive of them. 5

In view of all this, our commitment to the schools

is clear and undiminished.

The Second Vatican Council asked the Church

“to spare no sacrifice” for Catholic schools

5



which care “for the poor, for those who are

without the help and affection of family, and

those who do not have the faith .” 0 In many

places in the United States the Church’s re-

sponse has been an extremely large human and

economic investment in schools whose pupils

are, in the main, economically disadvantaged

children residing in the poverty areas of large

cities. The funding of this large investment has

come from the self-sacrifice of the children's

parents, support of fellow parishioners and the

generosity of contributors to diocesan funds for

the subsidy of schools which lack adequate par-

ish support for all educational expenses. This

action has been notably productive in the Black

community where the Catholic school “has been

and remains the strongest point of contact for

many Black people with the Catholic Church. . .

The Catholic school is a constant witness to the

talented and creative potential which Black youth

possess and which needs only opportunity and

educational nurturing .” 7 Substantially the same

may be said of Catholic schools which serve the

unique needs of Hispanic and native American

children from low income families.

A steadily increasing number of economically

poor parents are making heroic personal sacri-

fices to raise funds for the continuation of their

Catholic schools. These parents are convinced

that Catholic school education affords their chil-

dren a realistic and hopeful opportunity “to

break out of the hellish cycle of poverty,

”

s and

to move into the mainstream of our nation’s good

living. These schools are therefore serving a

critical human need within the context of a com-

plete education which includes religious instruc-

tion and guidance.

The challenge confronting the total Catholic

community is to approximate the self-sacrifice

of poverty belt parents by increasing its con-

tributions to interparochial and diocesan funds

for the ongoing and expanded support of schools

in need of annual subsidy.

III. To sustain this momentum we endorse

developments and trends favorable to the con-

tinuation of strong and effective Catholic schools.

In this connection we turn now to the challenges

and opportunities confronting specific groups

involved in educational ministry.

6



Parents

Parental confidence in Catholic schools, a

quiet but eloquent witness reinforced by great

personal sacrifice, produces in others an aware-

ness of the importance of Catholic education’s

ideals and values. This confidence also encour-

ages teachers to be available and open to par-

ents who seek to be meaningfully involved in

their children’s schooling.

Parent-teacher conferences, home and school

associations, lay boards and committees, and

teacher-aide programs are making progress be-

cause many thoughtful parents participate faith-

fully in these cooperative efforts to enrich their

children’s education. The benefits of home and

school partnership are so evident that all parents

should be made aware of their duty to be full

partners with the school. The school adminis-

trator who does not recognize the importance of

this cooperation may be depriving pupils of one

of the unique advantages of Catholic schooling.

In this cooperation there is a kind of reciprocal

accountability; of school to parent and parent

to school. Today’s Catholic school is more than

a means for safeguarding faith and virtue; it is

a center in which parents and teachers, guided

by the Holy Spirit, collaborate in giving children

a complete Catholic education.

Teachers

The new awareness that all members of the

faculty, at least by their example, are an integral

part of the process of religious education has

brought with it a more conscientious approach

to the selecting of teachers and the professional

development of staff. Teachers’ life style and

character are as important as their professional

credentials. We commend this trend and urge

the development of appropriate ceremonies by

which the Church can publicly express its appre-

ciation for their role in the Church’s educa-

tional ministry.

Teacher-initiated instructional programs are

implementing the principles contained in the

pastoral. Educational approaches emphasizing

doctrine, community and service as central con-

cepts have helped teachers implement methodol-

ogies which are responsive to the individual

needs of students. Reciprocally the thrust toward

personalized learning with emphasis on the total

7



educational environment makes clear that the

atmosphere and relationships in the school are

as much the focus of the Catholic school as is

the formal religious education class. In other

wider applications numerous faculties have used

the pastoral in self studies that are having pro-

found, positive effects on the daily experiences

of the school.

Administrators

In the area of school administration we note

with great satisfaction the growing awareness

and acceptance of the twin concepts of account-

ability and evaluation. This represents a recog-

nition of the school’s obligation to serve and be

accountable to the Catholic community in rela-

tion to the three-fold ideal set forth in the

pastoral.

We urge administrators to exercise their gifts

of educational leadership by promoting struc-

tures and cooperative procedures which will ren-

der such accountability and evaluation meaning-

ful and useful to all in the Catholic educational

community—parents, teachers and the Catholic
community generally. They should exercise their

responsibility particularly with reference to the

selection, motivation and development of teach-

ing personnel, keeping ever in mind the apostolic

goals and character of the Catholic school.

Pastors and the Community

The leadership role of pastors and their asso-

ciates is a significant factor in the Catholic school

apostolate. Through their words, their presence

and their support in so many ways they supply

a needed leadership to those who look to such

commitment as a sign of the importance of their

own sacrifices.

Recognition of the pastor's increased import-

ance as a facilitator of community among the

professional educational staff of the parish is a

positive development. The members of such a

total educational team view one another as col-

leagues in a common work carried on through a

variety of approaches.

Pastoral leadership can likewise foster in the

Catholic community the realization that Catholic

schools in parishes and dioceses can be im-

mense spiritual assets which benefit all and give

witness to the faith of the entire community.

8



Such schools, like all other aspects
of the edu-

cational ministry, deserve the
support of all

members of the Catholic community
because,

directly or indirectly, they serve
all. Not to sup-

port such schools merely because
they do not

enroll all the children of the
community would,

in our opinion, reflect an
inaccurate and dam-

aging view of the Church’s
educational mission.

Community support is manifested also
by the

presence of the larger community as
volunteer

staff for the parish educational
program and by

the witness to that program which
these persons

give in their contacts with friends
and neighbors.

United States Catholic Conference

We ask the Committee on Education and
the

Department of Education to consider the
follow-

ing steps.

1. Careful study of recent
research on Cath-

olic schools, especially as it
relates to their prog-

ress toward the goals set forth in
To Teach as

Jesus Did. In a special way there is a
need for

careful identification of the facts,
both quanti-

tative and qualitative, concerning the
Catholic

school’s role in educating those who have
suf-

fered economic deprivation or experienced
dis-

crimination because of racial, cultural or
linguist-

ic differences. This will help both to
demonstrate

the contribution now being made in this way
by

Catholic schools to American society
generally

and to foster the formulation of
proposals for

further steps to maintain and strengthen
this

commitment, including the possibility of some

form of nationwide action.

Professional guidance and assistance are also

needed for making realistic predictions of
future

enrollment and estimates of future costs,
notab-

ly for teachers’ salaries. We will be assisted by

documented success reports describing how par-

ticular school systems or individual schools
have

solved problems relating to downward enroll-

ment, soaring expenses, tensions in
governance,

and disputes about religious instruction.
For it

is entirely possible that a solution in one diocese

or individual school within a diocese can be
rep-

licated elsewhere. We hope also for the dis-

covery or development of promising models, in-

struments and processes to facilitate educational

planning at the local level.

9



2. Development and promotion at all levels,

local, diocesan and national, of effective pro-

grams of public relations on behalf of Catholic

schools.

3. Encouragement for the development and

organization of parents, teachers, and other citi-

zens which can articulate the just demands of

the nonpublic school community with respect

to government aid.

4. Pursuit and publicizing of every appropri-

ate constitutional possibility of public assistance

to Catholic and other nonpublic school pupils.

IV. We urge that the entire nation realistical-

ly acknowledge the contributions which Catholic

and other nonpublic schools make to the total

educational enterprise in our country. Although

Congress and several state legislatures, reflect-

ing growing public appreciation of this kind, have

expressed such recognition in recent years by

enacting programs to assist the education of

nonpublic school children, it is a deplorable fact

that courts have often overturned this legislation

for reasons we and others consider tenuous and

at times offensive. In doing so, they have in-

flicted a harsh injustice on supporters of non-

public schools, increased their burdens, and

caused serious suffering to many of them. It is

our hope that this situation will be corrected by

more perceptive rulings which reflect the au-

thentic American tradition, firmly rooted in our

history, concerning Church and state, and which

recognize both the needs and rights of nonpublic

school students and parents and the best inter-

ests of American education generally. We affirm,

as Pope Pius XI did some 40 years ago, that

“Catholics will never feel, whatever may have

been the sacrifices already made, that they have

done enough for the support and defense of

their schools and for the securing of laws that

will do them justice.” 9

V. Last September 15, the day following the

canonization of St. Elizabeth Seton, who is cele-

brated as the foundress of the parochial school

system in the United States, Pope Paul VI spoke

to some 80 of us concerning his hopes for our

country. He spoke among other things of Catho-

lic schools.

“We know the difficulties involved in preserv-

10



ing the Catholic schools and the uncertainties

of the future/’ he said, “and yet we rely on the

help of God and your own zealous collaboration

and untiring efforts so that Catholic schools can

continue, despite grave obstacles, to fulfill

(their) providential role at the service of genu-

ine Catholic education and at the service of your

country.”

How consistent this is with the first command

of Jesus to teach. We receive these words of the

Holy Father in the light of the centuries-old tra-

dition of those who have given us so much that

we take for granted. Our call now is to all who

see with undimmed sight this same apostolic

responsibility as their own and will join in car-

rying out this commitment in the years ahead:

the commitment of handing on the faith to the

next generation, not merely preserved, but more

glorious, more efficacious, more valued by those

who in their turn will take up the charge to “go

and teach.”

1

To Teach as Jesus Did (Washington, D.C.: Na-

tional Conference of Catholic Bishops, November

1972), #101.

-Andrew M. Greeley, William C. McCready, and

Kathleen McCourt, Catholic Schools in a Declining

Church (Kansas City: Sheed & Ward, Inc. 1976).
;l

“To Teach as Jesus Did: Educational Develop-

ments since the Pastoral,” Notre Dame Journal of

Education (Vol. 6, No. 3, Fall 1975).
4

Qualities and Competencies of Teaching Re-

ligion (Washington, D.C.: National Catholic Educa-

tional Association, 1973).
5
Greeley, McCready and McCourt, ibid.

6
Declaration on Christian Education

,
Vatican

Council II, the Conciliar and Post Conciliar Docu-

ments, #9.
7 "The Crisis of Catholic Education in the Black

Community,” Special Statement (National Office for

Black Catholics, January 15, 1976).
8
Letter of Pope Paul VI to French Social Action

Groups meeting in France, July 1st, 1970.
9
Christian Education of Youth, The Encyclical

Letter of His Holiness Pope Pius XI, December 31,

1929, (reprinted by the United States Catholic Con-

ference, Washington, D.C., 1968).

11



I