Last month, I submitted an editorial to the Grand Rapids Press, a newspaper in my hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The topic of the editorial was Catholic schools. Specifically, my article responded to a proposal by the Diocese of Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Catholic Secondary Schools to create two new middle schools.
Many Catholics in my diocese, including myself, understood the proposal to mandate the closure of the seventh and eight grades at each of the parish schools. Apparently, however, Catholic parents will have a choice between continuing with the parish schools or sending their children to the new middle schools. (This fact first became apparent in a recent article published in the Grand Rapids Press on November 21st. Prior to then, this was never made clear by anyone from the Diocese of Grand Rapids. Regardless, this fact does not change my analysis of the issue.)
The new middle-school proposal is presented as a solution to a steady decline in enrollment in local Catholic grade schools. Being myself a product of one of these schools, I mulled over the decision of whether to submit an op-ed to the local newspaper and spent a considerable amount of time drafting the article. The point I raised in my article is that the best way for Catholic schools to stem the decline in enrollment and convince local Catholics that the expenditure on tuition is worthwhile is to rediscover and reclaim the schools' true Catholic identity and sense of purpose. What I found especially troubling by the proposal is that it comes after a period widely noted for a failure to do this very thing.
A Look at Where Growth Is Taking Place
To support my point, I made a general reference to the religious orders, schools, and dioceses that skirted conventional wisdom and, through sheer love of and commitment to orthodox Catholic teaching and tradition, have witnessed tremendous growth in the past few years.
Incidentally, Time magazine recently ran an article about the "new nuns," the female religious orders that have experienced this growth. Overall, Time presented a decent synopsis of this renewal and seemed to capture the essence of the driving force behind it. What is causing these young women to answer the call and dedicate themselves to a lifetime of service? I find symbolism in a rather simple thing: the habit. These new nuns, as the Time article points out, wear the habit and live what it represents — a courageous announcement of their public witness, an identifiable community, a loving embrace of their religious and cultural heritage. They seek to live a certain life in a certain way, to work in the world but not be "of" it.
This news may surprise some. Nuns? Yes, nuns. They're back! For years we've prepared ourselves for their extinction, as though they were some breed inadaptable to modernity, a mere product of a bygone era that bears no relation to the present-day. Many female religious orders literally threw the habit out in the wake of the Second Vatican Council and embraced a new identity and mission. History is now providing valuable insight into those decisions: these orders are not the ones attracting the "new nuns." This same phenomenon can also be observed in the priesthood. In light of this renewal, I proposed the same courageous embrace of orthodoxy and tradition as the solution for the Catholic schools in my diocese.
Overall, the article received a positive response. "This is what I've been trying to tell our school for years," one woman told me after Sunday Mass. The article provoked much discussion around the diocese. I even received a few letters, some from home-school families who felt they had few other options: public school or a Catholic school that has lost much of what makes it Catholic. To say the least, I didn't quite expect such a widespread, positive reaction. But it is telling: a layman who does not particularly have any "expertise" or experience in the realm of education (least of all Catholic education), I merely expressed a common sentiment. But maybe this issue doesn't require any "expertise." Could it be, in fact, that this issue has suffered from a bit of over-expertise in recent decades, which has only worked to cloud the heart of the matter: what makes these schools Catholic?
Of course, there were a few adverse reactions. One letter to the editor, written by a former Dominican nun, decried my apparent call for "Churchianity" (whatever that is) and said we don't need to "re-circle the wagons" now. But that aside, my article received an answering op-ed by a former Catholic school principal. He felt my solution was "too simplistic," noting that how we got to where we are today is the result of a complex set of historical forces. Our schools' answer to such things as declining enrollment, therefore, requires something a little more than a "mere" rediscovery of their Catholic identity and mission. He cited the need for "innovation" and "new marketing strategies." In short, he felt that the proposal to build new middle schools would attract more students, noting one particular reality of the present-day marketplace: Catholic parents today are less likely to follow Church doctrine and attend Mass.
I drafted a brief reply and contacted the Grand Rapids Press again. Unfortunately, I was told that such "back and forth" is not permitted in their newspaper. (Perhaps I was merely thinking like a lawyer: in court briefings, a party is usually permitted to file a reply to the opposing party's response brief.) I thought there were a few additional points worth noting, so having brought you, dear reader, current on the discussion, I'll recite them here.
The Essentials: Identity and Mission
First, whether the topic is our schools, parish, diocese, or Church — even our own family life — we have to be extremely careful not to operate from the false historiographical premise that "where we are today" is somehow the byproduct of a set of complex, omnipotent historical forces that were unstoppable as they occurred and that are undoable now. Why are we now "here?" Because, in so many ways, this is precisely where we put ourselves. By labeling an issue "complex," we truncate our ability to analyze it fully. That amounts to nothing more than intellectual laziness.
Second, the principal cited the need to get beyond a "parochial mentality" in determining how to "move forward" with our Catholic schools. If that was meant as a call to fund our schools at the Diocesan level, with each parish contributing regardless of whether they have a school, then I certainly agree. However, as a general matter, I don't think it is some nebulous "parochial mentality" that hinders us; rather, our schools have simply lost sight of themselves. A Catholic school has the potential to provide an education that no other educational institution can provide. Regardless of whatever form a Catholic school takes — whether a new middle school or a traditional parochial grade school — the same problem will exist if the true identity and mission of those institutions is not clearly identified and focused upon as the primary aim of education. Any structural solution, absent this cultural renewal, merely shifts the problem to a different form.
Finally, by sheer logic, the identity and mission of any Catholic institution is fundamental to all other considerations. That is where the challenge lies. Without this proper starting point, the entire issue of "how to move forward" remains unripe for consideration. A truly Catholic (i.e. universal) solution will operate on this base level. It will treat the disease, not just attempt to control one of its symptoms. Our parishes, therefore, are critical to any effort to move forward. It is there where any and all efforts toward true renewal will have their greatest impact.
Far from "simplistic," this has always been our biggest challenge. Recent history has shown that where this challenge is lovingly and thoroughly embraced true renewal and growth have occurred. The "new nuns" are but one example of this valuable life lesson, something worth pondering by individual Catholics, parishes, and Catholic institutions everywhere.
