By Linda Busetti
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the issue of 2/21/02)
About 70 homeschooling parents heard McNiff describe his meeting with Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde in August 2000, after the bishop had attended a presentation by homeschoolers Tim and Miki Hill. According to McNiff, Bishop Loverde expressed a desire to "facilitate better and more communication in the diocese with our Catholic homeschoolers," and asked McNiff to create a forum for such dialogue.
Father deLadurantaye joined McNiff in the effort. The Hills suggested five homeschooling families to include in the dialogue. This ad hoc committee met in December 2000 and two subsequent occasions to help formulate a draft position paper. The committee considered the Baltimore and Pittsburgh dioceses’ position papers.
In January 2001, Father deLadurantaye and McNiff approached pastors and parish directors of religious education (DREs) with a first draft. They solicited input from school principals. In July 2001, McNiff discussed the position paper as a panelist at the National Association of Catholic Home Educators Convention. The draft also was presented to diocesan general counsel, a firm "rooted in Canon law," according to McNiff. The draft was revised a third time in December 2001.
Father deLadurantaye presented the major parts of the draft document: Part One: What Is Homeschooling; Part Two: Foundations of Catholic Homeschooling; Part Three: Homeschooling in the Church of Arlington; Part Four: Catechesis and Sacraments; and Part Five: Diocesan Guidelines.
Father deLadurantaye called "home catechesis" the focus of the draft position paper.
Parents have primary responsibility for "educating children in the faith," Father deLadurantaye said, citing Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2223. He said the Church magisterium reaffirms the parent’s "natural right … to create within their homes, within the domestic Church, an environment where the child can be formed as the fully mature person." Parents also have the "natural right to obtain or provide Sacramental instruction …," Father deLadurantaye said.
"We want to stress in this draft document … cooperation is essential" between parents and parishes or parishes and the diocese, Father deLadurantaye said. A parish pastor "has the right and duty to oversee all forms of catechetical activity that take place within the parish. The pastor also has the responsibility of evaluating a person’s readiness to receive the sacraments," he said.
Parishes should share catechetical and sacramental guidelines with parents and parents should consult with the pastor to make sure resource materials are age appropriate and doctrinally sound.
"A child’s preparation for the sacraments calls for very close cooperation between parents, pastors, DREs, principals and the children themselves," Father deLadurantaye said. "Many of our pastors who saw that second draft wrote back and said we really feel that children who are catechized at home would also benefit from being enrolled in parish programs. …. It would be beneficial … for homeschooling families to meet with the pastor or his delegate to discuss plans for catechesis," Father deLadurantaye said.
Part Five reaffirms that, "Children whose parents do not enroll them in parish programs may not for that reason alone be denied the sacraments," Father deLadurantaye said. Homeschooled children should receive the Sacraments of Penance, Holy Communion and Confirmation at the age and time appropriate according to diocesan policy.
"We want to reaffirm, as strongly as possible, our gratitude for all that you do to educate your children," Father deLadurantaye said in conclusion. "We want, as a diocese, to support you in your vocation … We want to foster a spirit of mutual cooperation and respect between parents and their parishes."
McNiff invited feedback from parents, which will be reported to Bishop Loverde at a March 20 meeting, followed by a diocesan priests council meeting on April 9. An educational plan for the diocese will be created and distributed by the diocesan Office of Catholic Schools and Religious Education for fall 2002.
A question and answer session followed, during which McNiff and Father deLadurantaye fielded parents’ questions about the paper and the relationships between homeschoolers, their parishes and the diocese. Parents, who said they integrate religion into all the subjects they teach, expressed concern about how the guidelines might affect them as primary teachers of their children. They asked for reaffirmation by the diocese of their efforts as home catechists. McNiff recognizes homeschooling as a viable option for Catholic families.
Copyright ©2002 Arlington Catholic Herald. All rights reserved.
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