In a remarkable interfaith gesture, Fifth Annual Catholic Diocesan Youth Rally held at Reno (Nevada, USA), involving Catholic teenagers from various parts of Nevada, heard from area Muslim-Hindu-Buddhist-Jewish leaders.
Catholic teenagers listened intently in the chapel of Bishop Manogue Catholic High School to Muslim imam Abdulrahim Barghouthi, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, Buddhist priest William S. Bartlett, and Jewish rabbi Teri E. Appleby, explaining the tenets of their respective faiths, highlighting similarities. It ended with recitation of Gayatri Mantra (most sacred mantra of Hinduism from the oldest scripture Rig-Veda, dating to around 1,500 BCE) by Zed.
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And don’t think this phenomenon of providing opportunities for pupils to actively participate in the worship of false gods is restricted to Catholic schools in the USA – I had an email a couple of days ago from a parent here in Scotland, expressing shock that his daughter was being taught to sing the praises of the Hindu god Shiva.
Let’s be clear: we’re not talking about pupils being informed about other beliefs. We’re talking about Catholic schools actively promoting false religions. Put this together with our discussion about the invitation to public dissenter, ex-priest, Professor Tom Groome to lecture priests, teachers and catechists of the Archdiocese of Glasgow and you won’t be surprised to discover why we’re asking the question about parental duty.
Parents have a duty to protect and nurture the Faith of their offspring. Catholic schools share this responsibility (with the consent of the parents) but if the schools fail to teach the Faith and, instead, promote false religions, what can and should parents do about the situation?
In short, if you can think of one single reason why parents should continue to send their children to a Catholic school, whether in Scotland, England, the USA, or anywhere else, we’d like to hear from you. Or, do parents now have a clear duty to withdraw their children from Catholic schools, to prevent malformation in the Faith?
