Nabi Sayeth: Many years ago the American Negro College Fund publicized the fund’s motto widely: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” How true! But Nabi sayeth that this motto while important falls short of what could easily be the motto of Catholic schools: “A soul would be a terrible thing to waste.”
This leads to a most important question:
Why would the Lavender Mafia dons and their climbing associates be so opposed to something so seemingly important to the future of the Catholic Church as Her schools, especially when so many of them had been educated in Catholic schools and during the days when tuition prices were so inexpensive compared to current prices?
Why would the Lavender Mafia dons and their climbing associates be so opposed to something so seemingly important to the future of the Catholic Church as Her schools, especially when so many of them had been educated in Catholic schools and during the days when tuition prices were so inexpensive compared to current prices?
Nabi is aware of two statements made in years gone by that shed light onto the thinking of the Lavenders’:
One recently former Lavender vicar said years ago that he would not pay the required parish subsidy because “the Central Catholic High school in Wheeling was filled with rich kids whose parents can afford to pay their way.” He withheld parish support to the school until which time he was forced to do so by bishop Hodges.
Another clergyman (the same clergyman who had raped a boy two weeks into his 18th birthday years earlier while at St. Stephens in Ona, WV) stood up at a “deanery” meeting and said that it was wrong to take parish money that could be used to improve the public school system and give the money to support Catholic school students (this is a tired old Marxist - like position).
The former Lavender vicar pushed for a policy of funding Catholic schools modeled after the one used in the failing diocese of Pittsburg known as the ⅓, ⅓, ⅓ policy. One third of school support would come from the parish, one third from tuition, and one third from “third source income” (gambling and development efforts).
But under that policy schools will continue to decline and close. Why? As tuition prices rise, more and more students, especially those from middle and lower income families are shut out. The overburdened parents can’t afford it.
Recently, a wonderful parish priest stationed at Our Lady of Peace parish/school was ordered to significantly increase tuition prices. Being a good shepherd he argued with FORMER bishop Bransfield that doing so would cause many families to leave because they would no longer be able to afford a Catholic education for their children.
The result? The good father was banished to the desert of Cabell County. If the parish and parish school were doing quite well, why not just leave them alone?
It was not about the priests’ being “obedient”....no, he was not SUBMISSIVE, and there’s a big difference between the two concepts.
At St. Michael parish in Wheeling in the 90’s, the school enrollment was well over 500 students and tuition prices were 300.00 dollars per year for a single student and 600.00 dollars for the entire family of children. Yes, if one had four children in the parish school the tuition rate for the entire year for ALL four children was 600.00 dollars. How was the parish able to do this, especially when other parish schools around the area charged several times more for tuition? The answer is simple: CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP. The pastor modeled the parish and parish school after the practices found in the diocese of Wichita which for many years has charged NO TUITION. The pastor’s reward for this accomplishment? He, too, was banished to the desert of Cabell County. More will be said about this topic another time.
What about the necessity of Catholic schools does the Lavender crew not understand nor care to understand?
1. Making Catholic education a priority is a parish’s way of saying, “Life is a gift. Our children are a precious gift from God for whom we are willing to pay a great price to love, support and educate.”
2. CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. Are the Lavender boys not concerned about the future of our beloved Church??? Hmmmmm.
3. Money contributed towards Catholic schools is not meant to educate a few, “rich kids”. The doors must be open to all. There is a place for public schools. But public school teachers cannot witness to Catholic values: On marriage, on abortion, on stewardship, on pretty much everything Catholic.
4. Catholic schools cost a fraction to operate compared to their public counterparts. Interesting, Catholic school parents who pay tuition at the same time pay taxes to support public schools!
5. Catholic schools serve as a light and anchor of the communities in which they exist. An important study was done by two Catholic scholars which revealed that when a Catholic school closes, the community around it decays. Their book is important: Lost Classroom, Lost Community: Catholic Schools' Importance in Urban America Hardcover – April 11, 2014 by Margaret F. Brinig (Author), Nicole Stelle Garnett (Author) Several years ago the diocese closed St. Anthony Parish school on the west side of Charleston in spite of the objections of many parishioners. The school was home to many poor, black children (hmmmm). The community has declined miserably since. Could the Lavender bishop and his clergy kapo not have seen the school as a mission effort and dug into the 500 million dollar reserve account in order to subsidize the school? The same could be asked about the former Cathedral grade school in Wheeling which was quickly shuttered to make room for the 14 million dollar chancery. And then there’s the former Bishop Donahue Catholic High school…..
6. And the most disgustingly tragic irony of all: By the end of this year, the hierarchy will have payed out 3 BILLION dollars to the victims of clergy/hierarchy rapes and cover ups. Can you imagine how many Catholic children poor, rich or middle income could have received a Catholic education at no tuition with 3 BILLION DOLLARS??? SHAME on the hierarchy and their Lavender cohorts. SHAME on them all! They will, indeed, answer to God for this gross injustice.
Nabi must stop for now because God’s Word feels quite sour in the stomach at this time….Stay tuned..
I live in the St. Louis Archdiocese. The funding formula for the high schools here is that parents pay 100% of the costs. The Archdiocesan high school tuition is in the $16k ballpark. Who can afford that?
ReplyDeleteI am bitter and crabby about this issue. There are statements from the archbishop about the importance of Catholic education, but there is no real effort to make it affordable.
Complicating matters here is that there are a number of religious orders that run high schools and those are seen as better schools. The parents that are able to afford $16k, will send their children to those schools. The diocesan high schools are perceived as second rate. They don't draw the families that can afford Catholic high school. I will be very surprised if any of the diocesan high schools survive much longer.
The co-ed, diocesan school our older two attended is now closed. The archdiocese claims it was declining enrollment. I don't doubt that. When our oldest attended, enrollment was close to 400 students. By the time our younger child graduated, enrollment was down to 280ish. Was that due to increased cost? Competition from the other high schools? Lack of support from the archdiocese? Or did the prime real estate on which it sat drive this? Not long after the announcement was made to close the school the President of the school was showing around representatives from the entity that bought the school.
If you ask around, most families heavily involved will say that the archdiocese sandbagged admissions to justify selling.
I am bitter because our older son set a school record for 50m breaststroke at this school. Our younger child, who is a faster swimmer, will not have a chance to break his brother's record. He is attending a public high school with no swim team. Also no Kairos, no daily prayer, no retreats or all school masses. I am still heartbroken over this.