The Archdiocese of Boston is closing some poorly performing parochial schools—schools with declining enrollments and/or unable to support themselves financially. Of course, some people think the Church just hates people and wants to hurt them. At least that’s how their complaints make it sound.
- “I’m appalled at the thought of it,” state Rep. Gloria Fox (D-Roxbury), said of the likely closing of St. Joseph’s Elementary School, which both her son and granddaughter have attended. “It’s one of the oldest community schools in the area. By that I mean governed by people in the community,” she said. ... But Fox’s son Durrell, an alumnus whose 9-year-old daughter has also attended the school, said the church isn’t interested in running the school. “Even if we raised every penny, we had a feeling the archdiocese just wouldn’t hear of any of it,” he said.
He has no evidence, no one from the archdiocese has said anything. He just has a “feeling.” Of course, the bishops have done a lot to engender mistrust in people, but come on. The school has declined in enrollment and there are only 125 kids there this year. With an economy in the dumps, people refusing to support the Cardinal’s Appeal as a form of protest, and abuse victims clamoring for compensation, something has to give. But if the cash were there, and not just for one semester or one year, but to keep it self-supporting, I am certain Bishop Lennon would order the school kept open.
Also in the same article, it discusses Scandal protesters outside the cathedral in the neighboring Diocese of Worcester. It’s interesting that people who have heavily invested themselves in a particular cause look at every event through the prism of that cause, whether it enviro-activism or anti-war or feminism or what not. In this case, it’s abuse by priests.
John Harris, an alleged victim of the Rev. Paul R. Shanley, told of witnessing the launch of the ill-fated spaceship in Florida 17 days earlier, which he called “a truly exciting moment.” Of its demise, he said, “As a survivor of clergy abuse, I can’t help but think of the dichotomy of those truly heroic acts of those seven astronauts compared to the truly cowardly acts of the bishops. For what is a hero, but one who faces danger, yet willingly does what is rightly necessary for the betterment of others.
“A coward, in contrast, is one who hides from danger, will do what he thinks is right for himself, yet avoids doing right by others.”
I don’t disagree with what he says, but I just think it’s interesting how he immediately relates the heroism of the astronauts with the cowardice of his personal antagonist, Shanley.
