J
JamesCaruso
Guest
I understand and sympathize with your plight.
It looks like you are losing faith in the local parochial school system and the people who run it, which is a whole lot different than losing faith in the tenets of the Catholic faith. I mean, what would it matter if the Pastor, God forbid, robbed a bank? It has no bearing on one’s beliefs. It merely chronicles another human failing, and the world is replete with human failings both inside and outside the Church.
It is truly unfortunate if your Diocese does not have a safety net in place for such misfortunes as the one you are experiencing. I can neither condemn nor uphold the Diocese or school system, or parish or Pastor, in this, because of course I do not have all the facts. We do know some simple facts. It takes money to educate a child. The resources of the Catholic Church are not available to the parish or to the Diocese. It doesn’t work that way. If the parish is running a school, the money has to come from somewhere, generally the student’s parents and sometimes assistance from the Parish. If they don’t have enough money to accommodate your situation, it is what it is. Has your parish been negligent in failing to put aside money for just such circumstances? That would be a difficult judgment to make. Some schools are already operating by the skin of their teeth, I am sure. I am not defending the school, because I do not know their circumstances. Maybe they have plenty of money but have no charitable plan in place to help. Maybe they are barely making ends meet. Maybe they are mismanaging available funds. Maybe their heart is not in the right place. We could go on forever with the maybes, but the fact is, it looks like you are not going to get what you want, although I would not stop praying for it.
The way I look at it, we are owed nothing, not from the state, not from the parish, not from anyone. We would hope that other Catholics would be more charitable than the state, or strangers, but that is not always the case. I know two things. God has a plan for my life and my family members, and God will provide my needs. God’s plan may or may not be the Catholic education that you dreamed of for your children. It may be that God wants you to assume responsibility for their Catholic education (the religious part of it) through homeschooling. Then again, it may not. It may be that the only solution will be for CCD. Who’s at fault is not the issue; what you are going to do to make the best of your circumstances is the issue. The God of all the universe was born in a stable. He was not sent to the leading Hebrew schools of the times. He did not have the advantages that some of the other kids had. He could have been born into a rich Jewish family with all the advantages, but he chose a different way. I’d say you are in good company.
All I can do is sympathize with your plight and pray that it all works out for you. I understand what you are saying, how you have been a model parishioners and now when you need help, where is the Church? I know at one point my parents had to take my younger brothers out of parochial school because my Dad could not afford it. He was not bitter at the Church, but it did hurt my brothers IMO in that they did not have the same solid Catholic education that I had. My Dad was well liked by all so I don’t think it was a matter of people being heartless; it just came to the point where he had to make a financial decision. Maybe he lacked faith that God would provide, or maybe he just made the only decision he could make at the time. I can’t second guess him. But everything costs money, Catholic Church or not. Looking back, I wish my parents were more religious and had picked up the responsibility for educating my younger brothers in the faith themselves. I think most people at the time however assumed that CCD was sufficient. Looking back, I don’t think it was. But then, I am sure my parents did the best they could with the understanding they had and the light they walked in. And most Catholics in their day looked at Church as their Sunday obligation, a few devotions, some social events, and the sacraments. I think more emphasis was put on getting enough education (Catholic or public) so that there kids could get a good job and not suffer like they did during the Depression. Sorry for talking so much. Keep us posted how you are making out. I will pray for you and your family. Peace.
