How Can We Ensure Our Children Survive a Catholic Education

 One of the greatest pains I felt in my life, was when I offered myself as a Catechist for the confirmation of children in their early teens.    I was only allowed to be a catechist because they found it difficult to say no to me, but after one year I was not invited to the catechist meetings.    My presence and my faith were unwelcome.     It was not that I started quarrelling with anyone, no, it was just that I 'had not moved on'.    But what made me sad was that many of those coming forward, otherwise decent young people, admitted they were only there because their parents had insisted.   Negative comments were made about the parents by the catechist, but of course nothing was said about the Catholic Schools, which more than any other party had turned the pupils against their parents and the Church.    When my boys were small and at the Catholic Primary School, the parents were invited one Saturday morning to hear about the new Catechism they were introducing.   It was introduced in gushing terms but I was not impressed, but I could not go into a tirade, so I just chose the most important topic and said 'If you are not teaching them anything about Holy Communion and the Blessed Sacrament, you will destroy their faith'.    But of course my words were ignored and they went on to destroy the children's  faith in almost everything Catholic.   Yet the fruits of their work were there to see, teenagers at Mass became a rare thing, and were it not for the immigration of Catholics from Eastern Europe and Asia, and some from Africa, many churches would have found themselves in financial difficulties because of the low attendance of adults.    

One of the reasons I write this blog is because I am free to do so.    Many good priests are not, since they are often under a bishop who will not allow them to do so, and if they do then they will be moved from their parish.   It was an American priest who recently brought my attention to this, when he was asked why he did not speak up.    In America there are scandals in the Church that beggar belief, and unless Catholics here fight for their faith, we will go the same way, although one blessing is that vocations became so few in the modernist Church that it is only convinced Catholic youths who go to Mass and although they were once resisted, these now are almost the only only ones who seek a vocation to the priesthood.   Hopefully they will become bishops and change Catholic Education.    Meanwhile we must use all the wonderful gifts Jesus has given us to enrich the Church in the United Kingdom,   We must be truly devoted to the Body of Jesus in Holy Communion, and adore Hus Body in our Churches, we must turn to Mother Mary and beg her to fill our hearts with love of her son.    We must take morality serious again, and end the poverty of single parent families while giving help to those women who have been cruelly aboandoned.    We must not be afraid of following the teachings of Jesus on sexual morality.    In my youth it was often said that sex outside marriage does not hurt society, but we now have ample proof that this was wrong in the , breakdown of marriage and the use of girls merely for sexual purposes.    Schools must take a lead on this.  

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.