From a reader:
My oldest is a [student] at all-male Catholic High School in Baton Rouge … run by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, who also have all-male schools in New Orleans (Brother Martin) and Bay St. Louis, MS (St. Stanislaus). Brother Martin is re-opening at Catholic High in the
evening hours (3:45-9:30 PM). An innovative solution – here’s a link:The parish school my younger two boys attend is absorbing 200 New
Orleans students into its student body of 1000. Other Catholic schools in
town are taking on students in similar proportions. We’ve used this as an
opportunity to teach our kids about shared sacrifice and to ask them to
help the new kids adjust.But…there is grumbling. The pastor at my folks’ parish told his
congregation during Sunday’s homily that he’s gotten complaints about the
stress on the school and that his answer is "If you don’t like it, take
your kids and your money and go – we don’t need you." I had a discussion
with one of his parishioners this morning who was unhappy with this and
thinking about seeking a transfer.For the last 25 years Baton Rouge has struggled with a federal court
order to desegregate its public schools, initially through forced
bussing. One outcome has been "white flight" to private schools and suburban
civil parishes, resulting in a public school system that is about 65%
African-American and disproportionately poor. I believe this has had a
secularizing effect on the Catholic schools (and churches) in Baton
Rouge, as there are now plenty of people influencing policy who believe that
"love your neighbor" means doing everything we can "for the kids" – our
kids…at best. We’re not often challenged to serve others. Maybe one
good that will come out of this disaster is a clearer understanding of
the Cross here in Baton Rouge.
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