Reaction to the pope’s speech on education: What’s the state of Catholic schools today?

Karen Ristau (Photo courtesy of NCEA)   On Thursday afternoon, April 17 Pope Benedict XVI delivered a major address to college presidents and diocesan superintendents about the importance of Catholic Education. [For a full report of what Pope Benedict said, CLICK HERE.] Catholic Digest asked two participants -- Reverand Brian Shanley, OP, President of Providence College in Providence, RI, and Karen Ristau, President of the National Catholic Education Association, to share their thought on the pope's address and what it means for Catholic education today. To read the Q&A with Reverend Brian Shanley, CLICK HERE.

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“He very clearly knows what a sacrifice it takes to continue this today.”

CD: You were present when the pope gave his speech about education. What were your expectations going into the address?

RISTAU: I really did not know what to expect. There was some negative speculation that he was coming to scold us. That absolutely, positively turned out to be untrue.

CD: What was the speculation?

RISTAU: Some thought he would be giving a very stern message about how Catholic our schools and colleges are and that we needed to pay more attention, to be much more strict. He didn’t venture in that direction at all. What was so wonderful about yesterday’s meeting was that he expressed his gratitude for the good work that, across all levels of education, is happening here in Catholic schools, Catholic colleges and universities. That acknowledgment and that gratefulness were very touching and inspiring. And he very clearly knows what a sacrifice it takes to continue this today. The thing he stressed was that this has to happen in collaboration with the whole community. It is the entire community of believers that needs to figure out ways to support Catholic education broadly. He talked a great deal and rather deeply about the role of Catholic education — that its core purpose is to pass on the faith and help people develop their own conscience as their guide, to really understand what it means to be one of God’s people. The other thing that happened yesterday that was remarkable was when he asked people to be very professional, to witness their own faith, but also not to abandon the poor. And to make the schools and the colleges accessible to anyone who wants to come there. When he made a special plea to the religious not to abandon the school ministry but also to renew their commitment to the poor, I would say that all of us would go along with that. It was a place where people clapped.

CD: His message about the importance of Catholic schools comes against a backdrop of news reports about the drop in the number of Catholic schools in the U.S. today. How would you best describe the state of Catholic schools today?

RISTAU: It’s complex, it’s multi-leveled, and, yes, there still are schools closing or merging. That has to be put in a context of the region [and] what else is going on there. We usually read about what’s going on in the inner city and some places where there are no children, or where people have moved and there are no immigrant groups. On the other hand, I want to point out to you that in certain other regions of our country last year we opened 40 new schools — southwest, the west, even a couple of places in the far Midwest. Where’s there’s growth, where there’s jobs, schools are opening. And those schools are filled and have waiting lists. So that’s a very important piece to get out. And the other important piece is that people have come up with some very innovative ways to solve the economic situations. In Wichita the church there feels responsible for the education of all the children so they have a good model of stewardship, which means that the children who come to school don’t pay tuition as such. But the whole community is putting money into a fund that supports all children. So their parents, their parish, others are putting into this fund. That’s a real sense of community there. And then you’ve got places like Memphis, Tennessee, where they’re reopening schools. We have

A closer look at Dr. Karen Ristau The thing about Pope Benedict XVI that most impresses her: He’s a very learned man. I admired the positive message that he brought to us and his gratitude for us in this country. I also admire so much that he spoke directly to the abuse problem. And I admire without end the fact that very quietly he met with abuse victims and no fuss was made over that; it wasn’t even known until it was over. Because the Church, he speaks for the Church, has to acknowledge the harm that was done and apologize and I think that happened. He’s a man who has learned what some people never learn: to face problems directly to solve them. Favorite book: I recently read The Translator. It’s a story of a man who grew up in Darfur and he can speak many languages because he had an education. And when people come to that region to see what’s really going on, he’s the translator. He tells about the misery in Darfur. It’s a small, beautiful book. Favorite travel destination: I am just kind of a dyed-in-the wool Midwesterner. So if I can be anywhere near Lake Michigan I’m very happy. I worked in Minnesota for over 20 years; that’s one of my all time favorite places. Favorite food: Other than chocolate, coffee, and ice cream, I think I have a preference for good Italian food. Favorite saint: My middle name is Martha and I kind of talk to Martha once in a while because she didn’t get the best press. She was doing the good hard work that needs to be done. Best piece of advice ever received: I guess I would say it’s kind of like “the truth will set you free.” I think if a person is always honest, kind of direct with candor and compassion, that it will save the day. A birthday present for the pope: The day before, I had the privilege of meeting the pope and being able to give him a birthday present. I had an opportunity to see how gracious and soft-spoken he is. It was kind of an extra thrill to be able to do that. We (the National Catholic Education Association) knew he would be celebrating his birthday when he was here, so we started a campaign asking people in schools, parish programs, seminaries, high schools, if their students who were doing community service would do it in honor of the pope and pledge those hours to him. So we were able to give him a birthday present of 1.7 million community service hours done in his name. I wanted him to know that our students not only understand, but they are taking action on, Jesus’ message to take care of one another.

places like Indianapolis, Providence, Washington, other places where in inner cities people are coming together and they’re finding ways to save money and pool resources. Then we’ve got the Christo Rey models of schools. People are coming up with ways to keep and sustain the schools where there are economic hardships.

CD: The Holy Father acknowledged that some might question the need for Catholic schools these days. Do you feel an increasing need to justify Catholic education, its expense, its philosophy?

RISTAU: He’s throwing that out sort of as a rhetorical question, and what he’s saying is, someone might say the state schools are good and they are. So we have to be really clear about the kind of education we offer; it’s so much more of a whole education because the spiritual dimension of our lives is not left out.

CD: Right, he talked about scholarship and education as instruments of hope.

RISTAU: Absolutely. Here is a man whose first letter to us is about love, his second letter to us is about hope. And those things were radiated there.

CD: Do you think in general the reaction of the other Catholic educators was as positive as yours?

RISTAU: I would say so. There was a wonderful reception afterward so people visited socially. I think people were saying this is really good. People were also kind of saying what I was thinking: I need to get a paper copy of this and read it, because he does speak softly, though nobody had trouble with his accent. Sometimes because he was reading he’d go a little quickly. The middle part that is on philosophy — we need to read that and think about it. And at the very end, again he spoke about hope. He told us to bear witness to hope. We’re not giving up.

CD: What do you hope for in the future of Catholic education?

RISTAU: What I would really like is to continue to try to get the message out of the good work that we’re doing. I’d like more attention paid to where new schools are happening, where new models are happening, where people have come together and said this is so important we’ll solve this problem. I’d also like people to know more about the good work that happened in the Gulf Coast region. Those people opened those Catholics schools three or four weeks after the hurricane, because they knew that those kids needed normalcy in their lives. And where we truly are helping and making such a difference in the lives of so many children especially in the inner city where I truly, honestly believe we’re saving lives because kids are getting an education. We need to continue to find ways to get out the stories that give people hope. That’s my hope and work: just to keep promoting the true goodness that is happening in this country in Catholic education. CD

Kerry Weber is the associate editor of Catholic Digest.