Catholic School Woes

[humatac]

I am in need of major help. I don’t know what to do or who to turn to. The Catholic schools in my area are straying so far away from the Church that they could barely be called Catholic anymore!

I was teaching in one of our “Catholic” high schools and I was forced to leave because of their unorthodox promotions.

The drama teacher, who is agnostic at best, had our Catholic students performing a play entitled, Womanspeak. This play glorifies people like Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood and Victoria Woodhul, who declares marriage a farce. Our students are memorizing and reciting lines something along the lines of - marriage keeps a woman in sexual slavery because she can only have sex with her husband and no one else!

I was outraged that our “Catholic” school was performing this play for Catholic grade schools in our area and to the public in our University’s Fine Arts Auditorium.

When I questioned our principal about it she said that she finds nothing wrong with it and allowed the play to continue. The leader of the religious order that runs the school (School Sisters of Notre Dame) said she didn’t find anything wrong with the play either.

I could not believe my ears! To make a long story short, about half of our theology department did not return to teach there the following year. However, the same drama teacher is still there and I am concerned that the play will be repeated with no one there willing to stop it.

I don’t know who to turn to about my concerns. The theology department did seek the advice of a local priest. He agreed that the play should not have been performed and he claimed to have taken the matter to our Vicar since the Archbishop was out of town. The only response that I know of from the Vicar, according to the priest, is that he is very concerned about it. It ended there. I don’t know of any other action that was taken.

I do know that our principal let great theology teachers leave her school without making an attempt to deal with the issue. I have been forced back into our public school system. I am heartbroken that I can no longer spend my days teaching students about Christ and our Holy Mother Church. Our CCD program is in even worse shape than our Catholic schools and I don’t know what to do.

Somebody, please, help.

Heartbroken in Guam

 

[zjl56]

The only thing I could advise would be to try and gather support among the remaining the lost faculty and certainly the alumni of the school. The alumni and parents of the students, at least at my school, have a major say in how the school is run. The administrators will surely listen if the schools financial situation is at stake.
As for contacting the priests and bishops, I don’t see anything that can come of it. For bishops usually don’t have authority over religious dioceses.

 

[BlestOne]

The bishop would be my next step after the principal. All Catholic Schools are under a diocese. It does no good to have all the good Catholic teachers quit and the questionable ones stay if you aren’t going to discuss it with someone with the authority to do something about it.

I had a situation where my child’s teacher (a nun) taught something that was contrary to the magesterial teachings… I went to the principal (another nun) and she did nothing… so I went to the parish priest because it was a parish school. Within a day the teacher redid the lesson and corrected the mistake.

If this is not a parish school, then you would either go to the chaplain (who may or may not be the principal) assigned to the school or the bishop’s office.

 

[Generic_Man]

You did a heroic thing, standing up for your faith and giving up your job for it. But wouldn’t a public school be worse?

I’ll just agree with everyone else and suggest you bring it to a bishop or something.

 

[humatac]

Thank you to everyone who replied. I am teaching in the secular world now where everything has to be “God-free.” It’s not an ideal environment but it’s a job (I am slowly starting to view it as a ministry). At least in the public schools we do not profess to be Catholic and then spread anti-Catholic propaganda, as was the case with my former employer.

I have started a Catholic Club in the public school that I am teaching in now. We only meet during lunch time and no one is forced to be there if they don’t want to be. We are just a small group but with, God’s grace, hopefully we will grow. We welcome non-Catholics but the mission of the Club is clear - to grow in our love and understanding of the Church and to provide a place to pray and read Scripture in an otherwise secular environment.

My wish is for it to be a haven for our Catholic students to strengthen their faith and for our non-Catholic students to find correct information about the Church. There is so much misinformation out there about what our Church teaches.

Well, thank you again for all your suggestions. I will post an update about the situation as it occurs.

Your Sister in Christ,
Humatac

 

[quiet52]

Hafa adai Humatac.

Good for you for starting a Catholic club!

Speak to as many priests as possible in as many parishes as possible – their parishioners are sending their children to that not-so-Catholic Catholic school.

Write persistently to your bishop – twice a month. Don’t give up, no matter what he does or doesn’t do. Be specific, about what you know, and about what you suggest.

Write letters to your diocesan newspaper.

Write to the principal – to tell her she and the schools are in your prayers (and why).

Talk with your fellow parishioners who have children about the situation, and ask them to speak up.

Talk with the superior of the sisters.

Talk with the teachers who left the school – tell them to do these things too.

Make a LOT of noise, relentlessly. The souls of our young people are at stake.

You are in a better situation than most – your diocese is small – your voice will be more easily heard if you keep speaking up.

Be prayerful. Be active in your parish – remain visible.

Enjoy teaching your young people.

And enjoy your rainbows and beautiful sunsets.