Some years ago, our Diocese began a project called “The Church Alive”. Recently, meetings were scheduled so that concerned people could share their ideas.
Here are some:
1. Recognize that football and soccer cause countless mini-concussions that result in permanent brain damage. People do better in life without having their brains damaged by such activities. So, simply say, “Catholic schools will no longer support activities that cause brain damage. The Church Alive believes that Catholic’s brains should “be alive”.
2. Recognize that children learn more, and do better, with sound, traditional Catholic education. If the Church is alive, it recognizes that computers have done for education what UBER has done for transportation: made it better and cheaper. Some teaching can be replaced with computerized curricula. Many parents simply cannot afford tuition. So, tens of thousands of students’ families could afford the lower costs provided by study at home for three or four days a week and attending parochial schools for one or two days a week to provide access to Mass, computers, laboratories, and tutors. When parochial schools are not available, Church spaces could be utilized with parent and grand-parent volunteers.
These two recognitions would make Catholic children smarter and better able to make the kind of decisions that lead to sound, Catholic families. At the same time, more students would be safe from the anti-Catholic indoctrination of the government schools. They would learn more at lower cost.
Is “The Church Alive” enough to recognize these basic truths and see how easily they could be implemented by a strong executive? Or, will it back away from the progress that medicine and technology makes possible that would benefit all Catholics?
To be alive is to grow. The Church Alive should stop damaging children’s brains and lower the cost of parochial education with home schooling 3 or 4 days a week, 1 or 2 in class.
