Originally published at crisis magazine
Last year, a school at which I had taught, Saint Joseph Prep in Brighton, Massachusetts, was one of a number of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Boston to close permanently. The problem of failing Catholic schools in the region has become egregious enough to concern even secular publications.
I have spent much time trying to imagine a solution, yet I recently discovered an apparent contradiction in my view of it. On the one hand, I have advocated for vouchers or other forms of government assistance to Catholic schools. Such schools provide an essential public service—education and moral formation—so it seems just for them to receive public funds. Having taught in multiple Catholic schools, I can attest the salary tends to be insufficient for supporting a family. Raising tuition makes costs prohibitive for families who rely most on schools, and the lack of public funds makes parochial teaching careers unsustainable, with the result being teacher turnover, institutional instability, and school closure.
On the other hand, too much public assistance can cause people to identify the Church with the government—and thus with the moral compromises of politics—thereby tainting their view of the Church; political corruption rubs off on ecclesial institutions, becoming
