‘If you had been here, my brother
would not have died...’
The fifth week in the Church’s Lenten journey is spent with Lazarus
and his two sisters, Martha and Mary. All were Jesus’ dear friends.
Lazarus died and Martha, in her grief and from her faith, complained
that Jesus had not saved him (John 11: 21-22). Jesus, however,
used even death as a sign to show who he is and he raised Lazarus
from the dead. Finally, Jesus used his own death to defeat death
for all of us.
Jesus is Lord of life and of death, because only he can lay down
his life and pick it up again. His Church makes it possible to
live in Christ and thereby conquer death. The journey of faith
weaves back and forth between what gives life and what gives death;
and we can read Church history in the same light. The mission
of each local Church is to find and strengthen what gives life
and to avoid what gives death.
The Archdiocese of Chicago long ago chose to give life to each
generation of young people through conducting schools: elementary
or parochial schools, high schools, colleges and universities.
Jesus was a teacher and his words give life. The Church teaches
because she imitates her Lord. Schools live and schools die, while
the teaching mission of the Church continues. Nevertheless, because
Catholic schools have been life-giving, our understanding of the
Church’s mission here is closely connected to our schools, and
each generation of Catholics has given much to keep them alive.
This past week, efforts to find help for parents sending their
children to Catholic schools have occupied much of my time and
influenced even my reading of the story of Lazarus in the Sunday
gospel!
What is at stake in the debate around helping parents pay tuition
through the use of tax credits? Finally, I believe, the life of
the Catholic schools of the Archdiocese, at least in the manner
they now exist. To make the case, it is necessary to tell the
story: if there were a school system which educated 131,000 students
in Cook and Lake counties for much less than the cost of the government
schools and with generally better results, if it was supported
for 80 percent of its expenses by the parents and grandparents
of the students and the other 20 percent was picked up by a sponsoring
faith community, if it complied with all government regulations
for accreditation, curriculum and standards and the state gave
less than $6 million a year to help parents pay for transportation
and textbooks, if it was open to children and young people of
all faiths and included schools where 80 and 90 percent of the
students did not belong to the sponsoring faith community, a lot
of people would call this a public service and a public bargain.
If the parents and grandparents of the students, good taxpayers
but now threatened with the closure of their children’s schools
because of economic constraints, went to the public authorities
and asked for some help for tuition expenses, a lot of people
would say they have a good case. The Illinois General Assembly
is considering that case in the form of legislation to provide
tax credits for parents to help with school expenses. Gov. Ryan
and the leadership of the Illinois House and Senate have, in varying
degrees, expressed support for their request.
The tax credit bill passed the Illinois House and now being considered
in the Senate would allow a family with children in any school,
including public schools, to claim 25 percent of expenses over
$250 for tuition, books and lab fees to a maximum tax credit of
$500 per year. Most families, however, would probably realize
a $300 per year tax credit. This is a direct reduction in the
amount of tax the families pay. It is a small step that could
help any family with school expenses but which would, unless the
public schools change their fee structure, primarily help families
who choose to send their children to a non-government-supported
school. Among these are schools sponsored by the Lutheran and
some other Christian faith communities and the Jewish schools;
but most non-government schools are Catholic schools. Educating
all the students in the Catholic schools in Cook and Lake counties
would cost the state and the school districts an additional $1
billion annually, most of which would have to come from higher
property taxes.
The tax credit would mean a lot to inner city parents who struggle
to pay tuition which is sometimes ten percent of their income.
The Archdiocese of Chicago has kept schools open in poor neighborhoods
even though it costs the parishes and the Archdiocese annually
more than $52 million dollars in subsidies, beyond parents’ tuition,
to maintain the school system. As presently financed, the system
is not sustainable. It cannot pay its teachers adequately, and
it cannot meet many capital expenses.
As legislation granting educational tax credits moves through
the General Assembly, some groups who would apparently like to
see non-governmental schools disappear have mounted a campaign
to defeat the bill. While their views are undoubtedly sincere
and should help shape public debate, they should also be judged
by the facts of the case. Tax credits will no more take money
from public schools than does road repair; and helping parents
pay tuition in a non-public school is no more unconstitutional
than helping patients pay their bill at a Catholic hospital.
Every thinking citizen wants a stronger public school system.
The majority of children of all faiths are in the public schools.
Each time, in recent years, the public school authorities have
asked the Catholic Church for support in debates over funding,
support has been given, and willingly so. One of the ironies of
the present debate is that some of those who have themselves gone
to parochial schools or who presently send their own children
to those schools can be found resisting any legislative attempt
to sustain those schools in poor neighborhoods. They should talk
to the children.
For over five generations, Chicago and the state of Illinois have
directly benefited from Catholic schools. Originally staffed by
religious sisters and brothers who, while professionally trained,
worked as volunteers, the schools have formed hundreds of thousands
of young people to serve society as educated citizens. They have
done this in an ambience shaped by a public faith that trains
people to be responsible and is open to the study of all of reality,
including God. This is a public service which the church has understood
to be part of her mission to individuals and society. If the Catholic
schools disappear, the public mission of the Church will continue
in other forms; but society will be the poorer.
It may be that the death of schools each year through closures
will be the occasion for Christ to direct the Church’s mission
in other ways; but each time a school closes I find myself paraphrasing
Martha: “Lord, if you had been here, this school would not have
died!” Then I hear Jesus answering, “...whoever lives and believes
in me will never die.” (John 11:26). That is the greatest lesson
of all, in school and out of school. God bless you.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
