THE ELEPHANT IN THE CATHOLIC CLASSROOM (First published in 'NZ Catholic', May 15)

New Zealand’s Catholic bishops are worried about our Catholic schools. They have good reason.

Their March statement, The Catholic Education of School-Age Children, is based on doctoral research by Chris Duthie-Jung in which more than three-quarters of young adult Catholics interviewed demonstrate ‘lack of a sense of conversion’, ‘a growing Protestant theological influence’ and a personal faith which almost never translates into Massgoing. ‘General religious illiteracy,’ says Dr Duthie-Jung, ‘has taken hold.’

The bishops say that for most, the goal of Catholic education - ‘the life-changing encounter with Christ’ - is ‘not achieved’. They cite tolerance as an example of the false coin of values now meted out at school, in place of the solid gold of Gospel virtues.

But wait, there’s more. It seems there’s an elephant in the classroom and if so, it’s a rogue.

Nowhere in the bishops’ statement or Duthie-Jung’s thesis is baptism mentioned as  prerequisite for Catholic school attendance but anecdotally, the number of children aged 7+ who at Communion time at ‘school’ Masses stay put in the pews strongly suggests it’s not. In other words, they’re not Catholic. Not even Christian.

The bishops’ first task is to teach the Gospel and communicate Christ, but how can they, in classrooms where not only students but teachers may effectively be deaf and blind? They speak of ‘the profound faith of the educator’ but many ‘Catholic’ school teachers aren’t. Are they even baptised? If not, then like many children in front of them they can have only theoretical knowledge of the inestimable worth of baptism, or the divine gifts it confers. In our dollarised society teachers need employment, ergo, full classrooms, and where the Spirit of God is lacking the spirit of mammon is bound to supply.

Duthie-Jung asserts his interviewees have ‘a deep-seated sense of the presence of God, that God will not abandon them’, but paradoxically and wrongly believes also that ‘fear for one’s soul cannot be restored as a motivation for faith practice’.

Our schools have succeeded in presenting God as a loving Father, but failed in teaching the pain caused by sin. So young Catholics know God won’t abandon them - do they realise they can abandon God? People who have no sense of sin won’t recognise it unless it’s illegal. And much is now legal which once wasn’t, precisely because of the diminution of sin.

This scenario suggests generally a rejection of the divine Teacher given in baptism, and specifically one of his gifts. Fear of the Lord, which frees us from sin, from inordinate desire for material possessions and ultimately from fear of hell, has long since been verboten in church as well as school.

 

The bishops, Dr Duthie-Jung and young Catholic adults all call for witnesses, the latter for more of the committed Catholic teachers they remember with admiration.

Young adults need heroes, heroic witnesses called forth in contemplative prayer by the Teacher who is given in baptism and who teaches us to contemplate Christ, to become other Christs.