Archbishop Collins on Catholic education

OTTAWA - Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins urged Catholic school trustees not to compromise fidelity to the Catholic faith as they face government pressure to adopt policies contrary to Church teaching.

Speaking to the annual conference of the Canadian Catholic School Trustees’ Association in Ottawa Sept. 23, Collins exhorted everyone involved in Catholic education to become disciples of Christ and to fully participate in the New Evangelization, which he described as proclaiming the Word in places where the Gospel has been forgotten and God has been squeezed out.

“We are marinated in secularism,” he said, urging those present to take a look at the working document for the upcoming Synod on the New Evangelization called by Pope Benedict XVI.

“We need to maintain and strengthen the Catholic identity of our schools,” he said, noting that the faith must not only be taught, it needs to be “caught.”

Faith must be modeled through the example of faithful witnesses, who not only offer a high-quality education, but also communities of Christian love, worship and integrity. Collins expressed hope that all involved in Catholic education would be “fervent Catholics” and “faithful disciples” of Christ and evangelizers willing to proclaim the Gospel.

-snip-

He called Catholic education a “treasure” but reminded the several hundred trustees from across Canada “nothing this side of paradise” is perfect. While some might be over-enthusiastic, others blow concerns about the schools out of proportion. But he said people do need to pay attention to “hints of problems and difficulties” and answer the “worries” some face.

Collins said he’s had parents tell him they are taking their children out of the Catholic system because they don’t think the schools are Catholic enough. He tells them there are wonderful people in the Catholic schools and great students, and while the system is not perfect “we’re working on it.” But the parents tell him, “That’s fine, bishop, we wish you well, but our kids will be adults before you make a dent in it.”

It took a long time to get into the problems Catholic schools face and it will take a long time to rectify them, he said, describing the process as a “marathon” and not a “sprint.”