Thursday, March 28, AD 2024 11:47pm

PopeWatch: Statues

From that only reliable source of Catholic news on the net, Eye of the Tiber:

 

SAN ANSELMO, California, August 28, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – A Catholic school in California has removed around 162 icons and statues in an effort to be more “inclusive” and avoid “alienating” non-Catholic students.

San Domenico School, a K-12 boarding and day school, is the oldest independent school in California. It was founded by Dominican sisters, who remain involved in its operations today. It is in the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

The Marin Independent Journal reported last week that parents are concerned the statues being removed is the just the latest incident that demonstrates the school’s declining Catholic identity.

“In our time here, the word ‘Catholic’ has been removed from the mission statement, sacraments were removed from the curriculum, the lower school curriculum was changed to world religions, the logo and colors were changed to be ‘less Catholic,’ and the uniform was changed to be less Catholic,” Shannon Fitzpatrick wrote in an email to school officials. The MIJ published some of her complaints.

The head of San Domenico’s board of trustees, Amy Skewes-Cox, said the school isn’t doing this because of the recent push to remove Confederate statues from public places.

There is “absolutely no connection other than it is change, and people have a hard time with change,” she said. 

“We didn’t want to further that feeling” of “alienation” non-Catholic students might have if they see statues, said Skewes-Cox. 

The statues were apparently “pitched in the basement,” according to the parent of a former student. According to the MIJ, there were 180 statues around the school. There are now only “at least 18” left.

Sister Maureen McInerney, the prioress general of the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, said it “really isn’t my place” to be involved with the school’s day-to-day operations. 

“If there has been a reduction in the number of statues but there are still many statues around the campus, I think that would be fine,” she said. San Domenico is just “making an effort to be inclusive of all faiths.” 

The school, which costs anywhere from $29,850 to $58,350 annually, says its students “tend to our garden, learn interconnectedness through our ecological literacy program, and reflect on their place within the sacred community of nature.”

 

Go here to read the rest.  Oops that is not an Eye of the Tiber story!  However, it was an easy mistake to make.  In this pontificate the line between reality and humor and satire has blurred and gets blurrier every day.

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Don L
Don L
Saturday, September 2, AD 2017 4:25am

What do the 21st Century flower children need statuary for anyway? Everyone knows real life ecology is far more important than mere salvation.

Philip Nachazel
Philip Nachazel
Saturday, September 2, AD 2017 4:57am

? sick in the heart…or sick in the head…these sisters I’m afraid, might be pitched in the basement as well.
There they can contemplate the heroic Spirit of the men and women who are depicted in the statues they pitched.

So many wolves……so many.

Philip Nachazel
Philip Nachazel
Saturday, September 2, AD 2017 5:05am

….oh….and this is a Catholic SCHOOL! (?)

Remove the teachers…keep the statues.

Clinton
Clinton
Saturday, September 2, AD 2017 5:12am

“…it is change, and people have a hard time with change.”
— Amy Skewes-Cox, head of San Domenico’s board of trustees.

Way to condescend and belittle the legitimate concerns of those
parents who are your customers, lady. “Shut up”, she explained.

At what point does the IRS determine that an institution may no longer
claim tax exemptions on the basis of religious affiliation? At what point
does a diocese determine that an institution claiming to be ‘Catholic”
is, in fact, not? Is ‘San Domenico’ able to claim it is a “Catholic”
institution on its say-so alone, or is there some Church authority whose
permission must be secured– one which can withdraw its approval
when justified?

Foxfier
Admin
Saturday, September 2, AD 2017 9:31am

Sad thing is, I had to double-check that this was from Eye of the Tiber.

Jewel Atkins
Saturday, September 2, AD 2017 8:59pm

Cowards all. Parents whine but they do not pull their kids.

John
John
Sunday, September 3, AD 2017 4:55pm

Maybe they should read Psalms Chapter 2 and see what God has to say about those in Power!

Jacqueline Bradley
Jacqueline Bradley
Sunday, September 3, AD 2017 10:19pm

Why would statues in a Catholic school offend anyone? It has never been a requirement for non-Catholic children to convert to Catholicism because they attend a Catholic school. My children all attended Catholic schools with many other children who were not Catholic. No one was ever offended and no one ever complained; they were all there for the quality education offered.
This whole controversy is a result of self appointed narcissistic individuals who want to believe they know what’s best for everyone else and have the right to force their opinions whenever and wherever they chose.

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