Archdiocese of Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez Wednesday called for nationwide support to keep Catholic schools open, saying many around the country face permanent closure because of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The archbishop’s views were expressed in his weekly column in the Arcodiocese’s multimedia news platform Angelus News and were made in the context of an expected ruling by the end of the month by the U.S. Supreme Court on education funding.
Gomez shared his graduation message to the Class of 2020, which included his prayer that this year’s graduating class will be remembered as “a heroic generation that used the gifts of a Catholic education to love, serve and build a better world at a time of national distress.”
The column is available online in English at angelusnews.com/voices/catholic-schools-and-americas-future/ and in Spanish at angelusnews.com/archbishops-esp/las-escuelas-catolicas-y-el-futuro-de-estados-unidos/.
“Catholic schools are not just a concern for Catholics,” said Archbishop Gomez in the column, “Catholic Schools and America’s future.”
“America’s 6,000 Catholic schools play a vital role in our national education infrastructure, giving young people the chance to realize the American dream, especially those from minority and low-income families,” Gomez said.
Struck by the pandemic, several dioceses in the nation have announced closures at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year, according to the National Catholic Educational Association and of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
For more information on Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, visit lacatholicschools.org/.