Originally published at National Catholic Register
The Catholic Church has the oldest intellectual tradition in history. So why do we let our kids leave with only flimsy caricatures of the faith?
I was once telling my wife how sad it was to me how many young people were leaving the Church on account of not knowing about how intellectually compelling, deep and beautiful Catholic philosophy and theology can be.
It seemed to me that children were learning little more than childish caricatures of what the Church believes, caricatures that pale in comparison to the rigorous education students receive in all the other subjects. It seemed that the other disciplines were like giants strolling around in the minds of teenagers while Church teaching was like a little bug running desperately to avoid the footfalls of the enormous beings that might trample them. That, at least, was an image from my own mind as a young person.
These little metaphorical insects, of course, are nothing more than straw-men versions of the faith and the philosophy that assists it. Later in life, during my conversion, it was overwhelming to learn about the faith and Catholic philosophy at a higher intellectual level. All the answers to all of life’s
