Why Choose a Catholic School for My Child
The Catholic Church teaches that the duty of educating children rests primarily with the parents. “Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children in the faith, prayer and all the virtues. They have the duty to provide as far as possible for the physical and spiritual needs of their children.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2252)
In his last words to the apostles, Jesus gave them a mission: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Mt 28:19-20)
Thus, the teaching mission of the Church comes from Christ himself. The responsibility for fulfilling that mandate passes on unchanged to the bishops and to all Catholics. Within each Catholic diocese, the diocesan bishop is its principal teacher. The teaching authority of the Catholic Church, called the Magisterium, lies with all of the bishops who are led by the pope and guided by the Holy Spirit. The Catholic Church, therefore has the divine right and duty to safeguard, transmit, and celebrate the saving Gospel of our Good Teacher, Jesus Christ. The Church effectively and concretely embraces her mission in a myriad of ways, not the least of which is her work in the field of education.
The pope and bishops are the authoritative teachers in the Church. (USCCB website). They are assisted by clergy, religious, and lay men and women who serve as educators and catechists in Catholic institutions, including elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, seminaries and parishes. Catechesis is the act of handing on the Word of God intended to inform the faith community and candidates for initiation into the Church about the teachings of Christ transmitted by the Apostles. It also involves the lifelong effort of forming people into witnesses to Christ and opening their hearts to the spiritual transformation given by the Holy Spirit.
Pope Pius XI eloquently spoke on the vital importance of forming the young in Christ. “It is…as important to make no mistake in education, as it is to make no mistake in the pursuit of the last end, with which the whole work of education is intimately and necessarily connected. In fact, since education consists essentially in preparing man for what he must be and for what he must do here below, in order to attain the sublime end for which he was created, it is clear that these can be no true education which is not wholly directed to man’s last end, and that in the present order of Providence since God has revealed Himself to us in the Person of His Only Begotten Son, Who alone is `the Way, the Truth, and the Life,’ there can be no ideally perfect education which is not Christian Education. (Christian Education of Youth)