Religious education director at parish morally incorrect

[Fogwalker]

If your pastor is so out of touch with his staff that he doesn’t know his own DRE feels so strongly about these things, then your parish has bigger problems than this DRE’s off the cuff comments. If your parish lacks the sense of community where it is ok for you and the DRE to discuss this calmly 1-on-1, then your parish has bigger problems than an out-of-touch pastor. And if your sister looks to you and your parents for the final word on religious education, then your parish’s religious ed program is better than you are giving it credit for.

 

[mommy_k]

Gone are the days when religion teachers keep personal opinions out of lessons. It has taken me a long time to find schools that put a traditional spin on religion, following the diocesian approved workbooks and catechism, without personal opinion.

I find even the right teachings, presented in the wrong way can be harmful, so this is no easy task. A huge red flag for me is when the workbook is not filled out, and what assignments are given. This will give an insight to what is being taught and the method, and if needed, it provides facts to present to the dre or priest when an incident arises such as this.

 

[MomaMary8]

I’m 22 and have a rich catholic background I commute to college and was driving my sister as a favor. I appended my last post to say another credible witness came forth with a sophomore in the program who became uncomfortable with the discussion and was too scared to speak up! I just asked for advice. I talked to the priest with my mom he didn’t seem like he cared what she taught he said dissent can be good. As with questioning Church’s beliefs. To become more like Christ.

Thank you!!! Thank you for being concerned for your sister’s salvation and the salvation of the other children in those classes. Not all parents have the time to “hang out” and hear and see what is going on in the class rooms. There is a lot of trust involved when sending kids to a lesson or school, so it is with a lot of gratitude that I thank you (and all others) who are able to spend time to see and hear what is going on in the lessons.

My children once attended a catholic school and in drips and drabs the heretical information the teachers were imparting came out during dinner conversations. If only I had known the 2nd grade teacher believed in woman ordination I would not have trusted her to teach my child the Catholic faith! I was also poo-poo’d but eventually enough families left the school that they took notice. Now we have a good and faithful priest and faithful principal. Poor teaching has left its mark and I just had a sad conversation with a parishioner, 15 minutes after receiving Holy Communion, as to why I believe it is important to be a Catholic and how she saw no difference in the Christian religions ((sigh)) But what do you expect? She wasn’t ever taught well and neither were her children.

So, take your concerns to whom you may. Use charity when discussing the matter, but don’t be afraid to make corrections (with charity!) when you need to. If you can opt out of the religious ed classes, I would. There are many programs you can choose from to help educate your sister.

 

[Irishmom2]

‘Charitable’ has become some sort of trigger word with Catholics. It’s like calling someone who disagrees with you a ‘hater’. Pointing out error is charitable just like when Jesus told the adulteress women not to sin anymore.

+1

 

[BlueEyedLady]

You are wrong. Why should she view her sister as not understanding what she heard? I would be angry too. But then I have seen and heard this before. More than one DRE I know of is for women being priests, birth control, speak out against the Pope and similar comments to that of the OP. I went the route of asking the pastor to address this and nothing was done.

If the Church is going to preach one way and act another I don’t see how she expects to be believable. This woman should not be a DRE if she is speaks or teaches contrary to the teachings of the Church. The Pastor needs to do his job and investigate this allegation. If he will not then the Archdiocese should. Heaven knows they have fired people for less than this.

I’m not saying anything contrary to what you are. All I’m saying is that when a 10 year old overhears something, the responsible and fair thing to do, especially when it is something this egregious, is to verify with the instructor in question before reporting third hand hearsay to her boss.

Even when I was a child in public school, if there was a problem with a teacher, my mom always went to the teacher first before going to the principal. She just wanted to make sure that there wasn’t a misunderstanding between the teacher and the child (me), that could be easily clarified. Usually, it was not a misunderstanding and she had to take the next step. But it was right of her to go to the source first, and give her an opportunity to explain before affecting her job and reputation. Same principle applies here.

And for the record, I don’t believe that the OP’s sister is lying. I am just not ruling out the possibility of a misunderstanding. Just think, if the instructor had started the sentence with “You’ll hear a lot of people sat that…”, and the sister just didn’t hear it, the whole situation changes drastically.

 

[mfdc]

My mother and I went and talked to her I told her what my sister had overheard and she seemed defensive. "My views are important and inextricably linked in what I take from my Catholicism. As with anything, the Church has problems and these young people need to know. It’d be hypocritical to teach stuff that I don’t agree with without giving my views. "We were nice about it we told her we didn’t want to spread false rumors about her faith or the class. I asked if I could have a chocolate chip cookie without chocolate chips. How can one have a chocolate chip cookie without the chocolate chips? Then it’s not a Chocolate chip cookie. Pick what you like from the Church and teach opposite then it’s no longer Catholicism.

 

[Irishmom2]

I asked if I could have a chocolate chip cookie without chocolate chips. We were nice about it we told her we didn’t want to spread false rumors about her faith or the class. How can one have a chocolate chip cookie without the chocolate chips? Then it’s not a Chocolate chip cookie

Excellent. The Church doesn’t have problems. She is not there to teach them what she and others have problems with. She us there to teach what the Church believes, not opinions.

 

[mfdc]

Because it’s not really run by the diocese but an order we have left the info for the office of religious ed they can do what is needed

 

[EasterJoy]

Because it’s not really run by the diocese but an order we have left the info for the office of religious ed they can do what is needed

Parishes are under the control of the bishop, even if the bishop has a religious order priest serving as a pastor. As for religious orders, they have superiors, but many are so spread out that this pastor may be the local superior for his order! If the priest you talked to is a pastor, the bishop ought to know what sort of attitudes this pastor is pronouncing* in the official capacity granted to him by the bishop*. (If you are in a diocese where even the bishop thinks “dissent is a good thing,” you have some real problems!)

In either case, the vicar of clergy would have good advice about how to approach a priest in such a situation. If the superior of the order needs to be notified, a comment from the chancery office is likely to carry more weight, too, as it will be something investigated by a party qualified and in authority to do so. Again–go looking for solutions and to learn skills for dealing effectively with priests, clearly not asking for reprisals, and I think you’ll get good help. You may even find what you learn will serve you well for a lifetime.