Catholic school

Catholic students of the Cathedral Church of St. John

This article is about Catholic schools in general, for specific schools named Catholic High School, see Catholic High School (disambiguation).

Catholic schools are educational ministries of the Roman Catholic Church. These schools aim to develop their students through participation in the sacramental life of the Church, study of religion and theology, a full curriculum in secular subjects, and a variety of extra-curricular activities.

Religion is included in the learning experience, and school uniforms are often a requirement for students. While it is common for Catholic schools to require non-Catholic students to take Catholic religion classes and attend the various religious exercises of the school (except in Muslim nations where this is prohibited by law), a requirement that the student must be Catholic to attend a Catholic school is extremely rare.

1 Canada
- 1.1 Public schools in Québec
2 United States
3 New Zealand
4 See also
5 External links
6 Categories

Canada

In Canada, publicly funded Catholic schools are referred to as 'separate schools'. While historically Catholic schools received public funding in many provinces, currently most do not. A UN committee has accused the Ontario Ministry of Education of discriminating against non-Catholics funding Catholic separate schools, but not funding other separate schools. In every province (including Ontario) there are private Catholic schools that do not receive public funding. For more information see Education in Canada.

Public schools in Québec

Public schools in the province of Québec were organized along confessional lines until amendments to the Education Act took effect on July 1, 1998. Thus there existed parallel Catholic and Protestant school boards, financed and controlled by the province, which assured public education. Prior to 1998, most non-Catholics attended Protestant schools because they did not overly emphasize religious devotion, perhaps due to the variety of beliefs in Protestantism. Catholic schools, on the other hand, incorporated preparatory courses for the Sacraments into the curriculum, celebrated Mass on major feast days, organized retreats and promoted prayer at the beginning of the school day and before meals. Until the changes of 1998, the law required all religion teachers in Catholic schools to be practising Catholics. Religion courses at the time, while dealing with theology and Church history, were more pastoral in nature, especially in elementary schools. It was thus assumed that a non-believer could not properly instruct children in the Faith.

The reforms of 1998 organized school boards along linguistic lines--English and French--and reduced their number, among other things. Masses are no longer celebrated in former Catholic schools and teachers cannot lead children in prayer which is not inclusive (for instance, the Hail Mary is particular to Catholics). The move towards secularism, however, is not yet complete. Religion courses are still offered in schools, though students can choose to follow moral education courses instead. Furthermore, while schools in multicultural neighbourhoods quickly removed their crucifixes and requested name changes (most Catholic schools had been named after saints), many schools in Catholic or immigrant neighbourhoods passively resisted the changes. For example, crucifixes still hang on classroom walls in many schools in the east end of Montréal, which is predominantly French and Italian.

Prior to the reforms of 1998, each Catholic and Protestant school board had an English and a French sector. The importance of either sector varied from region to region and board to board.

For more information see Education in Québec.

United States

In the United States, Catholic schools are accredited by independent and/or state agencies, and teachers are generally certified. Catholic elementary and secondary schools receive virtually no government funding and are supported through tuition payments, and fund raising. Most Catholic schools are operated by a local parish community, a diocese or archdiocese, or a religious order. The majority of Catholic schools in the United States accept students of all religions, ethnic backgrounds and ability. However, it is a common expectation that non-Catholic students take Catholic religion classes and participate in the religious exercises of the school.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, Catholic schools are termed 'integrated schools' for the purposes of funding. Effectively, this means that Teachers' salaries and learning materials are publically funded, but school property is not. New Zealand Catholic schools are built on land owned by the diocese; if the government was to fund Catholic school property it would be transferring wealth to the bishop, breaking the separation of church and state.