I Feel Defeated

[Ziggamafu]

Update:

Guess what? I finally got a written response from the DRE. She tried to defend the situation by clarifying something. Want to know the clarification? There was no Liturgy of the Word for Children. The kids of the parish were sent out of the liturgy entirely, and the program they went to was "religious preschool". Since it was not actually a sacramental / liturgical (aka "Sunday School") activity, she basically thinks they can get away with charging for it and kicking out kids who didn't register at the beginning of the term. Unfortunately for her, the clarification only made me more angry. The children were called up by the priest (all of the children, remember) and dismissed within the context of the Liturgy of the Word. Any Catholic parent would tend to think that the children are indeed going to a Liturgy of the Word. Not so. They are actually being sent out of the Mass to a non-Church business venture.

So of course I complained. Their solution? The preschool will accept the kids before Mass begins (so the children will not be in the Liturgy of the Word at all) rather than dismiss them from the Mass, and a Liturgy of the Word for Children will be instated for kids in grades 1-5. Keep in mind that it was not so much a children's liturgy that I was pulling for, but rather that kids wouldn't be rejected and that the parish would improve its support and contributions to the social-sphere of early childhood needs and faith-development (as well as perhaps a nursery for parents to retreat to when children were fussy).

[Ziggamafu]

[quote name='USAirwaysIHS' date='15 March 2010 - 11:52 PM' timestamp='1268711570' post='2073814']
In what sense(s)?
[/quote]

In the same sense that a Catholic book club would be better than a secular book club. Sure there may be Catholics in the secular book club, and sure the Catholic book club may not be run too well or choose the most orthodox of books, but no matter which way you slice it, the Catholic book club will contribute more to the Catholic identity of its members and has a better chance of providing social support for them. Also, the more expensive Catholic schools are sometimes able to provide a better education and better facilities than local public schools. And ultimately, I like the idea of children being educated in an environment that sends them to Mass every day and surrounds them with icons, crucifixes, and various other sacramentals.

There are, I am sure, exceptions; totally atrocious examples of Catholic schools. I would not send my children to a Catholic school that did not have good facilities and great success with the academic results of its students.