We Were Made for These Very Times

Our Principles of Catholic Education by Bishop James Conley at Southern Nebraska Register. God made each one of us, in his own image and likeness, for truly extraordinary lives. He made us for greatness of soul, and mind, and heart. In the Diocese of Lincoln, we strive to prepare students to face a world that is often hostile to the Christian faith. We no longer live in a culture that supports our values and respects our Christian worldview. Therefore, our students need to be prepared to deal with these challenges. To be authentically Catholic today, is to necessarily be countercultural. There is no other way around it. We shouldn’t be at all surprised when we meet resistance in our society. But we should face that resistance with joy, confidence, and, above all, deep charity—the love of our neighbor. For we were made for these very times. God wants to use each one of us, with all our gifts and all our shortcomings, to bring the light of Christ and his hope, peace and joy, to a world that is filled with division, hatred and hopelessness. Read

New Biden Administration Rule will Tie Federal Education Fundingto LGBT Mandates by Casey Harper at Just the News. An upcoming Biden administration rule change will tie billions of dollars in federal education funding to an array of LGBT policies, forcing school districts and universities to implement controversial rules on issues like transgender athletes in order to receive federal funding. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said this month it will change how it interprets Title IX prohibitions on discrimination based on sex “to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” That change means that schools that accept any kind of funding, including students receiving FAFSA or Pell grants or students who receive federally subsidized school lunch funding, will be subject to the new Title IX LGBT interpretation. Read

Ohio School District Adopts Policy of Hiding Gender Transitionsfrom Parents by Jeremiah Poff at Washington Examiner. An Ohio school district is the latest to adopt a policy restricting staff from informing parents if a child chooses to adopt a transgender identity unless compelled to do so by law. The policy adopted by the Olentangy Local School District, near the state capital of Columbus, obtained by the parent activist group Parents Defending Education, expressly instructs staff to avoid notifying parents when their child chooses to express a transgender identity while on school grounds. Read

Cardona Refuses to Say if Schools Should Tell Parents aboutGender Transitions by Jeremiah Poff at Washington Examiner. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona refused to say that parents should be informed if their child is undergoing a gender transition at school during congressional testimony on Thursday. The secretary’s non-answer came under questioning before the House Education and Labor Committee by Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), who repeatedly asked Cardona if he thought schools should keep a student’s gender transition secret from their parents…. Numerous school districts across the country have adopted policies restricting staff from notifying parents if their child chooses to identify as transgender while at school, with many citing Department of Education guidelines as the justification for the policy. Read

Catholic Pro-Life Student Attacked at Public School, SchoolCriticized for Lack of Protection by Joe Bukuras/CNA at National Catholic Register. Seven students have been suspended from Hunterdon Central Regional High School in New Jersey—and seven “extended detentions” given, with more disciplinary measures possibly to come—after a rowdy pro-abortion protest by students resulted in the physical and verbal assault of a sophomore holding a pro-life sign. Read

California Senate Passes Bill No Longer Requiring Teachers ToReport Certain Student Incidents To Law Enforcement by Charlotte Pence Bond at The Daily Wire. The California State Senate passed a bill lifting requirements for teachers to report certain incidents to law enforcement just days after a gunman in Uvalde, Texas, shot and killed 19 children and two teachers in an elementary school.... The California State Sheriffs Association (CSSA) is against the bill, stating in early May that “[s]chool officials and law enforcement should work collaboratively, especially when it comes to students whose behavior violates the law and jeopardizes school safety.” Read

Throwback Thursday

Learning for Liberty by Joseph Clair at First Things on December20, 2019. The true aim of a college education is the development of a citizen: a free person. A free person is not merely freed from certain things, but is freed to and for certain things. This picture of education that came down to us from Greek, Roman, and Christian sources (with important contributions from Jewish and Islamic thought and culture) tells the story of freedom for a way of life—a way of life understood as the movement from slavery to freedom to service above oneself. The story consists of four interlocking notions of freedom: intellectual, political, economic, and spiritual. Read