Most liberal Catholic school in upper NW/ Bethesda?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's an oxymoron. There are no truly liberal Catholic schools. They all have to follow the teaching of the Catholic Church. You are either fine with it or not. Don't enter a school community that espouses certain values and expect them to change their beliefs to be more liberal to appeal to parents like you. Find a school more to your liking.

I say this as someone who isn't very religious but sent my kids to Catholic for the same things you wanted - the sense of community, smaller school, as well as more traditional academics. It has been well worth it. What we never expected or demanded was the school become more liberal to match our beliefs. It was really annoying to field questions from other parents who were interested in enrolling their kids but who kept pestering about how to make it a more liberal experience for their families. I found it really disrespectful toward the school community.

That's not true. You seem to have a very narrow view of people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stone Ridge.

Administration maybe but not the parents. In recent years escpecially Stoneridge and Holy Child have become popular landing places for conservative country club oriented parents. Administration and parents do not allows align.

I think this has been the case for a while for Stoneridge. The parent population also includes wealthy foreign families, these folks are also very conservative in my experience.

Politics do not affect whether a class of parents if nice as much as other factors. Character and integrity of parents and families does affect a school community. Stoneridge is sadly having some real issues in at least one grade and I think a lot of the issues are from the parents in the grade - trickles down.

Also, Catholicism is not a political party: Catholics are nearly 50/50 in politics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's an oxymoron. There are no truly liberal Catholic schools. They all have to follow the teaching of the Catholic Church. You are either fine with it or not. Don't enter a school community that espouses certain values and expect them to change their beliefs to be more liberal to appeal to parents like you. Find a school more to your liking.

I say this as someone who isn't very religious but sent my kids to Catholic for the same things you wanted - the sense of community, smaller school, as well as more traditional academics. It has been well worth it. What we never expected or demanded was the school become more liberal to match our beliefs. It was really annoying to field questions from other parents who were interested in enrolling their kids but who kept pestering about how to make it a more liberal experience for their families. I found it really disrespectful toward the school community.

That's not true. You seem to have a very narrow view of people.

Actually I agree with the PP. Catholic schools follow the Catholic teachings. What does that mean? Marriage is between man and a woman. Abortion is a sin. Pre-marital sex is a sin. The death penalty is a sin. Jesus was our savior. There is transubstantiation during the Mass and you will literally eat the body of Christ. If you aren't comfortable with these concepts, then don't consider Catholic schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The thread is a year old. I assume OP has resolved their situation by now.

Ten years old.

lol thank you, I just saw the 3 at the end and missed the 1 before it. So yeah, I don’t think OP cares anymore. 😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stone Ridge.

Liberal?

You’re kidding right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Little Flower

Nope. So conservative from the pulpit and most boys leave for Mater Dei. It was the closest to our house and we chose Holy Trinity, the only Jesuit PK-8 in the area. Our only regret is Holy Trinity doesn’t offer high school (nor does Little Flower).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Unfortunately, I think Trinity and Woods are both out of our price range. Thank you all for the suggstions.

Trinity is like 20 K a year, how cheap exactly are you looking?

Holy Trinity has significant unused financial aid. Apply and see!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Little Flower

Nope. So conservative from the pulpit and most boys leave for Mater Dei. It was the closest to our house and we chose Holy Trinity, the only Jesuit PK-8 in the area. Our only regret is Holy Trinity doesn’t offer high school (nor does Little Flower).

+1 and lots of Trump supporters!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What age are your daughters? Also, where do you live?

If you opt for Catholic school, you need to be comfortable with whatever they serve up religiously.The “liberal Catholic school” scenario isn’t really a thing because they all adhere to the doctrines of the Church. Some may be a bit less in your face about it, but that’s the trade off for less expensive and small class size.

Re SR: it’s not an inexpensive option and agree with PP who said the administration and parent community’s vision of Catholicism don’t always align.

If they are Catholics, don't you think they already have familiarity with the Catholic church?

As mentioned, Christian Family Montessori would fit your family's needs.

[Anonymous]

I would not call any of the catholic schools liberal.

[Anonymous]

Holy Trinity is terrible and racist- so not liberal in my opinion. It’s “fake liberal” which is worse.

[Anonymous]

A Catholic school will fire a faculty member who decides to marry someone of the same sex because of their sexual orientation.
A Catholic school will not tell a student that same-sex unions are morally acceptable.
A Catholic school will not encourage students to use contraceptives.
A Catholic school will not encourage girls to become priests.

Is this what you want?

[Anonymous]

There is a lot of variation in the way an individual priest may run his parish, but it is true that Catholic is Catholic is Catholic. There is no "more liberal" or "more conservative" version. And getting involved with the idea that you can carve out some liberal secret society or lead some revolutionary change is a bit silly...

That already happened. It's called the reformation. The point of the Catholic church IS the hierarchy and the top-down leadership. If you mostly like the Catholic church but don't like the stance on gays and women priests, the good news is that there's a church for you, it's called the Episcopal Church! 80 percent same as the Catholic, especially the high Episcopal or Anglican subsets (because unlike the Catholic church w/it's heirarchy, the Episcopal/Anglican church DOES have a lot of variation).

All that said, I would argue very strongly that the Catholic church defies political classification. On issues like gay marriage and contraceptives and abortion, they are hard-core cave man right wing, but on issues like poverty and refugees they are some of the most admirable staunch advocates for doing what's right and showing mercy and generosity. And the schools, if you don't mind the churchy parts, are generally very good and while they will expose your kids to the churchy part, they are not evangelical and won't force your kids to believe anything.

So, IMHO, neither left nor right, neither good nor bad, but be realistic—the instiution and the structure ARE the point, and if you're looking for an edited version, don't waste your breath trying to edit them, go to one of the many Protestant spinoffs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A Catholic school will fire a faculty member who decides to marry someone of the same sex because of their sexual orientation.
A Catholic school will not tell a student that same-sex unions are morally acceptable.
A Catholic school will not encourage students to use contraceptives.
A Catholic school will not encourage girls to become priests.

Is this what you want?

What is wrong with these things?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A Catholic school will fire a faculty member who decides to marry someone of the same sex because of their sexual orientation.
A Catholic school will not tell a student that same-sex unions are morally acceptable.
A Catholic school will not encourage students to use contraceptives.
A Catholic school will not encourage girls to become priests.

Is this what you want?

What is wrong with these things?

I am Catholic and I do not agree with most of these things. We teach our kids to be open minded and accepting of all as we believe that is what Jesus would teach.