Pope Calls for Renewed Efforts to Bolster U.S. Catholic Schools

Pope Benedict XVI praised the U.S. Catholic community for its “remarkable network of parochial schools,” while urging steps to ensure their long-term sustainability, during an address at the Catholic University of America in Washington last week.

“Everything possible must be done, in cooperation with the wider community, to ensure that they are accessible to people of all social and economic strata,” he said in prepared remarks to several hundred education leaders from Roman Catholic schools and universities assembled on April 17. “No child should be denied his or her right to an education in faith, which in turn nurtures the soul of a nation.”

The pope’s U.S. visit came amid concern about the future of parochial elementary and secondary schools...