Dr. Tim's Blog
by Dr. Tim Uhl
2023-2024 School Year
March 26
Last week, NCEA released its 2023-24 data report, available here to all members. The good news is that the enrollment didn’t decline nationally although certain regions like our own saw a decrease. I was struck that one aspect of the data report brought attention–namely, the nearly 25 percent enrollment of non-Catholics. The argument apparently is that Catholic schools are not fulfilling their mission to educate the next generation of Catholics by filling seats with non-Catholics.
Let’s look at this another way…
What if we looked around at Sunday Mass and discovered that 25 percent of the congregation weren’t Catholic? Wouldn’t we be surprised? I imagine we’d be shocked to discover that non-Catholics were giving their free time to join Catholics at liturgy. Quickly, however, we’d be interested in inviting them to join the Church.
Why can’t we view the enrollment of so many non-Catholics in the same way? What an incredible opportunity to evangelize. After all, they find something appealing about what we do. Why can’t we build on that?
Happy Holy Week!
March 12