Catholic schools can become non-Catholic?

[HerCrazierHalf]

My wife was disappointed that the Catholic school she attended has officially decided to go no longer be a Catholic school recently. I’m not sure that the rules here allow me to say which school nor is it prudent to single them out. Basically their statement and faq states their approach “does not align with WCEA standards which require: “the permeation of Catholic values in all aspects of school life,””.

I didn’t know a school could cease to be Catholic. I’m not Catholic but this has me wondering. Is this a fairly common thing? Can sisters run a religious school that is not explicitly Catholic? Supposedly they’ve been discussing this with the archdiocese for some time.

 

[phil19034]

My wife was disappointed that the Catholic school she attended has officially decided to go no longer be a Catholic school recently. I’m not sure that the rules here allow me to say which school nor is it prudent to single them out. Basically their statement and faq states their approach “does not align with WCEA standards which require: “the permeation of Catholic values in all aspects of school life,””.

I didn’t know a school could cease to be Catholic. I’m not Catholic but this has me wondering. Is this a fairly common thing? Can sisters run a religious school that is not explicitly Catholic? Supposedly they’ve been discussing this with the archdiocese for some time.

What usually has happened, is that several years ago (or even decades ago) the Religious Order turned over control of the school (or college) to a Lay Board of Directors. One or a few religious sisters might still be on the board, but they are out numbered by the lay board.

If the school winds up having a student population that isn’t really Catholic, the lay board might decide to start calling a spade a spade and officially disassociate itself from the Church, becoming simply a private school.

Many protestant colleges have done this in the past: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, UPenn, Duke