Catholic schools enjoy the reputation of providing an excellent education in all core subjects while also educating students in their faith and in the Gospel values. Furthermore, Catholic schools seek to serve all students, regardless of financial circumstances or cultural background. However, this recognition and stature did not come easily. The success of the Catholic school system is the product of the ongoing efforts of the leaders in the field. Beginning with the missionaries in the New World and continuing through today, Catholic educators have overcome great odds.
Missions in the New World
Prior to the Reformation, the continent of Europe was predominantly Catholic. European Missionaries from France and Spain traveled to the New World
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By the mid-18th century, the French Ursuline order of nuns established a school for girls in New Orleans. The Ursuline Sisters are considered the model for Catholic education, to this day. Their mission was to serve all girls and women, irrespective of race or social standing. In doing so, the Ursuline Sisters were witnesses to “Christ’s directive to teach all nations.” (Kealey & Kealey, 2003, p.14). Ursuline Academy opened its doors to African-American and Native American students, and served as a refuge to victims of Catholic religious persecution. The Ursulines continued their work in contradiction of laws prohibiting the teaching of Native …show more content…
However, Katherine was raised by a step-mother who taught charity and forbearance. Katherine came to understand her responsibility to those who were less fortunate than her. Both Katherine’s father and step-mother worked tirelessly to help the poor in Philadelphia pay their rent, in addition to supporting orphanages and other institutions. As an adult, Katherine, along with her sister, took up work as a lay apostolate to help serve the needs of Native Americans. Additionally, Katherine founded a trade school for orphaned boys, supported the first African-American parish in Philadelphia and contributed to Native American missions. Her work with these groups led Katherine to religious life; she joined the Sisters of Mercy and made her vows in 1891. She served her community until her death in
The Protestant Reformation made some really big impacts on the settlement of the New World and the Western Hemisphere. One factor that helped push the settlement of the New World was all of the religious conflicts going on at that time. The Reformation was mainly focused on reforming the Catholic Church. Before the Reformation Catholicism was the most widespread and accepted religion in Europe. Martin Luther was a Catholic church that saw the corruption of the church He gained many followers of the Protestant movement simply by posting his 95-theses on the door of a church. In his 95-theses he spoke of how he thought it was wrong that people’s sins could be hidden or bought off of God with money. He believed that everyone should be allowed
“The Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati is an apostolic Catholic community of women religious that exists to carry out the Gospel of Jesus Christ through service and prayer in the world” (qtd. in “About the Sisters of Charity”). The Sisters are led by their mission statement to be “[u]rged by the love of Christ and in the spirit of [their] founder, Elizabeth Ann Seton, [the] Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati strive to live Gospel values. [They] choose to act justly, to build loving relationships, to share [their] resources with those in need, and to care for all creation” (qtd. in “Mission Statement”). Through this mission, they dedicate themselves to “the education of children, care of orphans, the poor and the sick” (qtd. in “Sisters of Charity Cincinnati”). These values are exemplified in numerous ways but specifically have been shown with the creation of educational institutions, orphanages, and their selflessness during the civil war.
In 1846, the Sisters of Mercy exchanged their lives in Ireland and explored the city of Chicago while discovering immigrants’ needs for a hospitals, orphanages, and Catholic schools. Despite encountering opposition for community members the Sisters brought many firsts to Chicago.
Do you know how many of your County neighbors are barely making ends meet—often not earning enough to cover just one unexpected expense? A recent survey revealed that about 46% of Americans don’t feel they have enough money to cover a $400 emergency expense. Rather than paying it outright, these individuals and families have to put the expense on a credit card or simply cannot cover it.
Summary: One of the most debated issues in education today is how public funding ought to be allocated between different types of schools. This article specifically focused on private schools affiliated with the Catholic faith. Diane Ravitch begins the article by stating her strong admiration for Catholic schools because of their foundation in ethics that come from faith. She then expresses her admiration for public schools as well that “enroll nearly 90% of our children.” She additionally praises public schools because of their commitment to teach academics, roles of citizenship, and the ability to interact with those different than oneself. She then offers an overt opinion of how she thinks of the two should be related- they shouldn’t. She says that if anyone desires religion mixed with education then they should pay out of pocket for it and that funding ought to come from philanthropists. She finished the article on an off-topic idea about charter schools attempting to compete with Catholic schools, but Ravitch
Roman Catholics were the first genuine religious social occasion to move to the New World, as pioneers in the areas of Portugal and Spain and later France, were obliged to fit in with that certainty. English settlements included Anglicans, Dutch Calvinists, English Puritans, English Catholics, Scottish Presbyterians, French Huguenots, German and Swedish Lutherans, and also Quakers, Mennonites, Amish, Moravians and Jews of distinctive nationalities. Various social events of pioneers went to the Americas searching for the benefit to practice their religion without abuse. The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century broke the solidarity of Western Christendom and incited the course of action of different new religious groups, which consistently
Well I grew up in a Catholic family with a grandmother who was very spiritual, and even had her own room with hundreds of saints, and she would pray to them for different requests. I never really understood church or many of the Bible stories. The church services were so discipline to me, and felt like a punishment because of the standing and kneeling all through out the service. I moved away with my mother and siblings and we ended up staying at this homeless shelter that was ran by a non denominational church, so part of our agreement to stay was to attend this church. I found this church to be open to anyone and everyone, and during our time their I got baptized. I enjoyed this church. From that time I never really considered myself Catholic, because I could never
It is important for me to attend Bishop McNamara Catholic High School because I want the best possible education I can get in high school. I need to be prepared for college and Bishop McNamara is the school that I feel would best prepare me for my college years. Bishop McNamara is also my ideal school because of the Catholic education I will receive and is very appealing because of the small size, allowing more one-on-one with the teachers.
My desire to work in the Catholic School system stems primarily from the ability to share my faith openly in such an environment, however, the Catholic School’s focus on the growth of the whole person, spiritual and academic and its commitment to service in the community and the world are also very important to me.
Pope Francis once said, “An education in the fullness of humanity should be the defining feature of Catholic schools.” To me, this sentiment sums up why a Catholic education is so important for many reasons. I have attended many different types of schools: public, private, Catholic and homeschool as a result of my father’s career in the military. However, only my experiences at Catholic schools provide me with a truly well-rounded education because, at Catholic schools, I receive the opportunity to learn about the amazing gift of God’s love every day during school hours. I love studying Scripture and seeing ways in which God is present in our lives. It is such a special experience to be able to do that in a school environment where you can really learn the fundamentals of our faith, as well as experiencing many different aspects of our Catholic faith, from prayer to Mass as a part of
In America today, Americans have progressively paid more attention to the schooling process, trying harder to get the best education possible for their children. Catholic schools and Public schools both have advantages and disadvantages. Today, parents choose whether they would like to have their child in a public or private school. Both schools provide education and opportunities for students, but the decision of where to go is based on preferences of the parents. As educational institutions, Catholic Schools and Public schools are similar, yet different.
The Catholic Social Teachings are understood within the context of the entirety of faith. The fourth Catholic Social Teaching principle is the option for the poor and vulnerable. According to this principle, Christians are called to care and protect those who are poor and vulnerable due to the existing inequities in the distribution of power. Each person receives the goods of creation. Individuals are required to eliminate sinful inequalities that prevent people from meeting their basic needs. Overall, the deprivation of the power of the poor affects the whole community.
Catholic Schools are educational institutions that are devoted to teaching and developing young individuals under the faith and guidance of Jesus Christ (Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia, 2009). Central to the vision of Catholic schools is the belief that Jesus is in the heart of all young Catholic believers (CECWA, 2009). Therefore in order to fulfil the mission and proclaim the gospel students are required to learn about how to live out the life that God intended through the lessons of Jesus Christ (CECWA, 2009). This paper aims to outline unique features that distinguish Catholic education from that of other educational institutions through linking peer-reviewed sources to a school based analysis. The school that will be
The school has Gospel values, which is the basis of Christianity and catholic doctrines. The religious instruction, education, and the values provide students with a solid foundation of children’s good development.
I’ve always had a very vague understanding and relationship with Catholicism. Growing up, my family never did anything to practice our faith. For example, the only time we would go to church would be for family events like baptisms or funerals. I didn’t think much of it and whether it was good or bad that we didn’t practice. I also never understood why my parents put my sister and I into catholic school instead of public school. Whenever I asked, they would answer with “We went to catholic school so we want you guys to get the same education too.” I would always wonder why I went to a catholic school if my family never did anything to show our faith. Not trying to say that catholic school was bad for me, but shouldn’t kids who practice Catholicism a lot attend the schools.