Inspired by Amy Welborn’s posts on Catholic education, which is a particular area of interest for me, I want to post some thoughts (grammar school and high school only- University is another kettle of fish):

Catholic schools are not strictly necessary, in the sense that the faith can be passed on without them. This is the case in some countries. This has to be said since many people act as if closing a Catholic school is the worst thing that could be done. In fact, Catholic schools are sort of a luxury and should be thought of that way. In areas that once had a large Catholic population but now do not, Catholic schools have to be closed. This is true of New York City where many schools have a very high percentage of non-Catholic students. This is very politically incorrect and unpopular but the primary purpose of Catholic schools is to teach the faith to Catholics and if Catholics move from an area, then the schools must move with them. (Cardinal O’Connor hated the idea of closing schools and his heart was in the right place but Catholics can’t be expected to foot the bill for educating all children).