Would a non-Catholic feel comfortable at Bishop Ireton?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. I think we are probably going to rule Ireton out-- doesn't sound right for our family. That was my initial instinct, but wanted a gut check.

OP, I'm the PP with the non-Catholic neighbor at BI. If it's not right, it's not right, and I would trust your gut if it's telling you that. However, I hope you won't make that decision based solely on the postings on this Board. My kids are at one of the Catholic elementary/middle feeders to BI. I am not Catholic; DH is. DH wanted to our kids to go to Catholic school and our public wasn't great so I was generally on board. Then I started reading posts on DCUM about the NOVA Catholic schools we were considering and I nearly convinced myself that this wasn't right for my family for a variety of reasons. We went ahead and visited our top choice and thought it was a wonderful school. Now, several years later, my kids love their school, and we have made great friends. I got so wrapped up in the negatives posted on this Board (whether generally just that Catholic schools are inferior to public schools or digs at Catholic education or whatever), but the reality was very different once I was there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Accepting all faiths and teaching about your faith are different things. You can be accommodating to allow other points of view while still asserting catholic teachings. Why even have a catholic school if you're not going to teach the faith? Would you expect a jewish high school not to be primarily jewish and teaching about jewish history and religion? I hear stories about OLGC in Olney and feel those schools might as well sever their tie with the catholic church with the way they dismiss teachings and fill their athletic rosters from all over the world just to have top talent. OP, you'd probably feel more comfortable in that type of school, but in my mind those are just private schools pretending to also be catholic schools.

In his or her original post, the OP stated that the family was not Catholic and that they were not at all religious. They were concerned about sending their DC to the public schools and were looking for an alternative. That's not uncommon on DCUM. Non-Catholic families are worried about the public schools and are looking for lower cost alternatives to the private schools. Catholic schools seem to fill that gap. But the parents are concerned about getting too big a dose of Catholic teaching. None of that icky (or Stupid" as one poster called it) Catholicism for us, that you.

They don't seem to understand the purpose of Catholic schools. All they know is that they have a problem and are shopping around for a solution.

If that bothers you so much, why don't you write all the Catholic Schools in America and ask the Catholic schools to stop charging the more expensive, sometimes double, non-Catholic rate? Seriously, you keep saying this and saying this and it is simply not true. If you don't like the system, then get the Catholic Schools to stop accepting non-Catholics and charging the higher rates. Done.

You miss the point.

Even at the higher Protestant rate, the Catholic schools are still a bargain versus the alternatives. And that's why Protestants end up at Catholic schools.

The Catholics aren't all stupid. We know why you are there. You are hitch-hiking om a system meant to propagate the Faith and build and unite the Catholic community.

While the Catholics are sending their kids to Catholic schools because we believe in their fundamental mission, sometimes at great sacrifice, for you it's a convenience. It's the result of your own cost-benefit analysis.

I know you don't think there is anything wrong with that or if you do, you just don't care. As long as you get yours.

^^ Well, you have your answer, OP and any other non-Catholic considering paying the higher rate to have your child go to Catholic School. DON'T DO IT! Or will you be dealing with jerks like this ^^ who will think things about you that aren't true and gossip about you behind your back. I could not have asked for a better example of why we didn't like Catholic School. Because there are some very very ugly jugmental people there. "Love thy neighbor as thyself" was never heard in the walls of my kid's Catholic school.

[Anonymous]

“We shelter the homeless, educate those hungry for knowledge, and care for the sick, not because they’re Catholic, but because we’re Catholic. They are Jesus in disguise.” -- James Cardinal Hickey

Non-Catholics are welcome at our schools with the hope they will respect and support our faith practices even if they don't adhere to them. The admissions are open to all who wish to participate.

Extra fees are required of non-Catholic families, not because they are not Catholic per se but rather because they are not contributing to the sponsoring church which uses the contributions of those who are to offset the costs of education. In theory Catholic families have donated as much as those extra fees to the church and it is being returned in the form of a tuition subsidy. That does not seem unfair or punitive to me. Most high schools do not charge any extra fee to non-Catholics because they are not parochial (sponsored by a parish church) and thus funded separately. Archbishop Carroll is the the only Catholic high school sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington. The others are certainly operated under the umbrella of the Archdiocese but they have the sponsorship of a specific religious group (the Christian Brothers, Jesuits, etc) or have independent funding.

Please do not let crazies on either side of the aisle discourage you if you find a school outside your faith to be one that would fit your family's needs. There are an awful lot of us really nice people too, I promise!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“We shelter the homeless, educate those hungry for knowledge, and care for the sick, not because they’re Catholic, but because we’re Catholic. They are Jesus in disguise.” -- James Cardinal Hickey

Non-Catholics are welcome at our schools with the hope they will respect and support our faith practices even if they don't adhere to them. The admissions are open to all who wish to participate.

Extra fees are required of non-Catholic families, not because they are not Catholic per se but rather because they are not contributing to the sponsoring church which uses the contributions of those who are to offset the costs of education. In theory Catholic families have donated as much as those extra fees to the church and it is being returned in the form of a tuition subsidy. That does not seem unfair or punitive to me. Most high schools do not charge any extra fee to non-Catholics because they are not parochial (sponsored by a parish church) and thus funded separately. Archbishop Carroll is the the only Catholic high school sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington. The others are certainly operated under the umbrella of the Archdiocese but they have the sponsorship of a specific religious group (the Christian Brothers, Jesuits, etc) or have independent funding.

Please do not let crazies on either side of the aisle discourage you if you find a school outside your faith to be one that would fit your family's needs. There are an awful lot of us really nice people too, I promise!

Some of the people looking at Catholic schools though want to attend simply because they don't like their public and it's the cheapest private out there even with the extra charge for not being a parishioner. The people I'm referring to don't want anything to do with religion, catholic or other. As a catholic I've looked at private Christian schools but I've always been under the impression that if my child attended one of them, they would adhere to all the rules and follow all the traditions during school. While agnostics certainly could fit into a catholic school since they are open to the idea of a god, I'm not sure an atheist who is ardently against religion would really fit in attending any Christian school. My friend's child attended a Christian preschool where they sang about Jesus every day and the parents just sang along with the songs even though being Jewish, they knew at some point they'd have to tell their child that Jews didn't believe in Jesus. They knew going in it would be like that and just decided to support their child in a way that was also supportive of the school because they knew it was the best preschool in the area for them. Why can't parents attending Catholic schools be like this too? Is it too much to ask?

[Anonymous]

From the PP, "Some of the people looking at Catholic schools though want to attend simply because they don't like their public and it's the cheapest private out there even with the extra charge for not being a parishioner. The people I'm referring to don't want anything to do with religion, catholic or other."

Of course!

And when the "cheapest private out there" fails to live up to their lofty expectations or preferences, they are disappointed. Some bitterly. claiming that the school and the other parents did not live up to Catholic principles. They fail to see themselves as others see them. Their motives are transparently obvious. They are not near as clever as they think they are.

There have been other threads on the use of Catholic schools by non-Catholics in which posters have described de-programing their kids when they get home.

[Anonymous]

WEll, then the Catholic school in question did not do a good job in routing them out during the interviews.

[Anonymous]

I'm an atheist but have brought up my children to know that a) every person must decide what to believe for him or herself and b) one should always be respectful of the religious beliefs of others, regardless of whether or not you agree.

I am a little baffled by the PPs who are so hostile to the idea of non-Catholics at Catholic schools. Of course anyone who chooses to attend a school has to be willing to adhere to that school's rules: that's not about religion, it's about understanding that different schools do lots of things differently, and you have to be able to live with not having everything just the way you want it.

But in my view, any good school should be respectful of students coming to their own conclusions about matters of conscience. With the Spanish Inquisition long over, and Pope Francis at the Vatican, why would a Catholic school not wish to do the same? Why would a Catholic school not welcome people of other faiths and no faith at all, as long as they abide by community rules and are respectful of Catholic traditions? PP, is your childrens' faith so weak that you think having some non-Catholics around will somehow damage them? Do you need to keep them away from people who are different in order for them to feel good about themselves?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an atheist but have brought up my children to know that a) every person must decide what to believe for him or herself and b) one should always be respectful of the religious beliefs of others, regardless of whether or not you agree.

I am a little baffled by the PPs who are so hostile to the idea of non-Catholics at Catholic schools. Of course anyone who chooses to attend a school has to be willing to adhere to that school's rules: that's not about religion, it's about understanding that different schools do lots of things differently, and you have to be able to live with not having everything just the way you want it.

But in my view, any good school should be respectful of students coming to their own conclusions about matters of conscience. With the Spanish Inquisition long over, and Pope Francis at the Vatican, why would a Catholic school not wish to do the same? Why would a Catholic school not welcome people of other faiths and no faith at all, as long as they abide by community rules and are respectful of Catholic traditions? PP, is your childrens' faith so weak that you think having some non-Catholics around will somehow damage them? Do you need to keep them away from people who are different in order for them to feel good about themselves?

I think Catholic schools are very open to having students of other faiths because it is very enriching, especially for teens. One of the most active kids in my daughter's campus ministry is a Buddhist girl. It only become an issue when people (be it inside or outside the school) don't abide by community rules and are not respectful of Catholic traditions. You only have to spend a few minutes on these boards to see that Catholic beliefs are regularly and openly mocked. It's just sad because some of us are just plugging along trying to be good people and getting put down at every turn. We won't make anyone have to choose and attend our schools - just please don't bash those of us who do.

[Anonymous]

The original question was whether a non-Catholic would feel out of place at Bishop Ireton, not whether Catholicism, Catholics or Catholic schools are good or bad. No one's arguing that Catholics or Catholic schools are bad (at least not on this thread), though a few Catholics on this thread (non-representative of the larger Catholic community, I trust) are doing their best to demonstrate their own hostility to sharing schools with people of other faiths.

Back to the original question: we just have to hope that Ireton is populated mainly by folks like the 23:18 poster (welcoming and inclusive) rather than folks like the 09:46 poster (hostile and exclusionary).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an atheist but have brought up my children to know that a) every person must decide what to believe for him or herself and b) one should always be respectful of the religious beliefs of others, regardless of whether or not you agree.

I am a little baffled by the PPs who are so hostile to the idea of non-Catholics at Catholic schools. Of course anyone who chooses to attend a school has to be willing to adhere to that school's rules: that's not about religion, it's about understanding that different schools do lots of things differently, and you have to be able to live with not having everything just the way you want it.

But in my view, any good school should be respectful of students coming to their own conclusions about matters of conscience. With the Spanish Inquisition long over, and Pope Francis at the Vatican, why would a Catholic school not wish to do the same? Why would a Catholic school not welcome people of other faiths and no faith at all, as long as they abide by community rules and are respectful of Catholic traditions? PP, is your childrens' faith so weak that you think having some non-Catholics around will somehow damage them? Do you need to keep them away from people who are different in order for them to feel good about themselves?

+ 1. Well said. Also, I would like to add in any complaints I have read in this forum about non-Catholics having problems at Catholics Schools, the issues had nothing to do with complying or honoring Catholic rules and traditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an atheist but have brought up my children to know that a) every person must decide what to believe for him or herself and b) one should always be respectful of the religious beliefs of others, regardless of whether or not you agree.

I am a little baffled by the PPs who are so hostile to the idea of non-Catholics at Catholic schools. Of course anyone who chooses to attend a school has to be willing to adhere to that school's rules: that's not about religion, it's about understanding that different schools do lots of things differently, and you have to be able to live with not having everything just the way you want it.

But in my view, any good school should be respectful of students coming to their own conclusions about matters of conscience. With the Spanish Inquisition long over, and Pope Francis at the Vatican, why would a Catholic school not wish to do the same? Why would a Catholic school not welcome people of other faiths and no faith at all, as long as they abide by community rules and are respectful of Catholic traditions? PP, is your childrens' faith so weak that you think having some non-Catholics around will somehow damage them? Do you need to keep them away from people who are different in order for them to feel good about themselves?

This gets to what you think the purpose of Catholic schools is.

You seem to feel the purpose is to educate all comers? Do you believe that?

Suppose that the fundamental purpose of Catholic schools is to educate Catholics, to instruct them in the teachings of the Faith, to shepherd them through the Sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation and to propagate the Faith.

There's a history here. When the great immigration of Irish to the US they wanted their own schools. Helped, no doubt by the very cold shoulder they received from the Protestants for at least the first hundred years. This history may be at the root of the problem many Catholics have with Catholic schools serving as an alternative to the public schools and higher-priced private school for middle class non-Catholics. If these schools are not here to educate Catholics, then they have no purpose.

In DC, there are Jewish schools, Christian Schools, Schools for Germans, French, Muslims and other groups. Do these schools exist to " to keep them away from people who are different in order for them to feel good about themselves"? (You can probably add to this Schools for the Rich, Schools for the Politically Connected)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The original question was whether a non-Catholic would feel out of place at Bishop Ireton, not whether Catholicism, Catholics or Catholic schools are good or bad. No one's arguing that Catholics or Catholic schools are bad (at least not on this thread), though a few Catholics on this thread (non-representative of the larger Catholic community, I trust) are doing their best to demonstrate their own hostility to sharing schools with people of other faiths.

Back to the original question: we just have to hope that Ireton is populated mainly by folks like the 23:18 poster (welcoming and inclusive) rather than folks like the 09:46 poster (hostile and exclusionary).

"Sharing" the Catholic schools? Now who could be against "sharing"?

Just how much of a "share" are you looking for? What entitles you to any share at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The original question was whether a non-Catholic would feel out of place at Bishop Ireton, not whether Catholicism, Catholics or Catholic schools are good or bad. No one's arguing that Catholics or Catholic schools are bad (at least not on this thread), though a few Catholics on this thread (non-representative of the larger Catholic community, I trust) are doing their best to demonstrate their own hostility to sharing schools with people of other faiths.

Back to the original question: we just have to hope that Ireton is populated mainly by folks like the 23:18 poster (welcoming and inclusive) rather than folks like the 09:46 poster (hostile and exclusionary).

"Sharing" the Catholic schools? Now who could be against "sharing"?

Just how much of a "share" are you looking for? What entitles you to any share at all?

Um... the fact the most Catholic schools encourage non-Catholics to apply, maybe?

PP, sorry you hate the idea of non-Catholics at "your" schools. Fortunately for the rest of us, most Catholic schools' admissions offices do not take the same view.

If you don't like the idea that your kids might encounter children of different faiths, feel free to stay under your rock and homeschool your kids. But just as you've suggested --rightly-- that people shouldn't send their kids to schools if they feel unable or unwilling to accept that school's rules and traditions, why don't you respect the fact that most area Catholic schools have chosen to welcome applicants from other faiths?

Deal with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The original question was whether a non-Catholic would feel out of place at Bishop Ireton, not whether Catholicism, Catholics or Catholic schools are good or bad. No one's arguing that Catholics or Catholic schools are bad (at least not on this thread), though a few Catholics on this thread (non-representative of the larger Catholic community, I trust) are doing their best to demonstrate their own hostility to sharing schools with people of other faiths.

Back to the original question: we just have to hope that Ireton is populated mainly by folks like the 23:18 poster (welcoming and inclusive) rather than folks like the 09:46 poster (hostile and exclusionary).

"Sharing" the Catholic schools? Now who could be against "sharing"?

Just how much of a "share" are you looking for? What entitles you to any share at all?

Um... the fact the most Catholic schools encourage non-Catholics to apply, maybe?

PP, sorry you hate the idea of non-Catholics at "your" schools. Fortunately for the rest of us, most Catholic schools' admissions offices do not take the same view.

If you don't like the idea that your kids might encounter children of different faiths, feel free to stay under your rock and homeschool your kids. But just as you've suggested --rightly-- that people shouldn't send their kids to schools if they feel unable or unwilling to accept that school's rules and traditions, why don't you respect the fact that most area Catholic schools have chosen to welcome applicants from other faiths?

Deal with it.

The schools are just looking for those extra tuition checks.

You aren't committed to Catholic education. You are fleeing the public schools and looking for a private school you can afford.

We get your motives and they are way different from ours.

Don't look to be appreciated and accepted on an equal basis.

My advice to you is to keep a low profile and keep your mouth shut. When you tell people "We're not Catholic", they are thinking "Then why are you here?"

Deal with that.

[Anonymous]

0036, don't waste your time arguing with crazy people. Ignore them.