NON-CATHOLIC STUDENTS IMPACT ON CATHOLIC TEACHERS IN FOUR CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOLS

Religious Education, Winter 2007 by Donlevy, J Kent

Abstract

This article deals with the impact on Catholic teachers resulting from the inclusion of non-Catholic students in Catholic schools. Deriving findings from focus groups of Catholic teachers drawn from four urban Western Canadian Catholic high schools, this article proffers that although inclusion heightens Catholic teachers' uncertainty regarding the difference between Catholic and Christian education and their ambiguity regarding the mandate of Catholic education, the overall impact of inclusion is positive. In particular, the Catholic teachers' experience of their faith is deepened and broadened by inclusion.

INTRODUCTION

The presence of non-Catholic students in Catholic schools (inclusion) is a phenomenon that has caused some concern in Canada, the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.1 The reasons for this concern are many and relate to the various dimensions of inclusion (Donlevy 2005a). However, although several papers have been written on the phenomenon, there has not been any academic literature produced specifically relating to the effects of inclusion on Catholic teachers (Donlevy 2005a, 2005b, 2003a; Francis and Gibson 2001; Francis 1986; Hawker 1987). That area of inquiry emerged from a study by this researcher into the phenomenon of inclusion (Donlevy 2003b). In that study, 22 urban high-school Catholic teachers participated in focus groups dealing with inclusion and revealed how they had experienced its impact.2 Five themes emerged from that data: (a) uncertainty regarding Catholicism's place in relation to other Christian religions, (b) ambiguity in teachers' understanding of the mandate of Catholic education, (c) relationships with non-Catholic students in terms of welcoming, empathy relating to non-Catholic students, (d) the effect of inclusion on the faith of Catholic teachers, and (e) the effect of inclusion on the faith community.

Part I of this article provides a commentary and review of the Church documents and literature related to inclusion and Catholic education, and the meaning of those findings to the participant teachers. Part II provides quotations from Catholic teacher participants and suggests the significance of those findings to them within each of the five themes.

PART I: COMMENTARY

Before discussing the findings in terms of the meaning and significance of inclusion to the Catholic teacher participants in the study through the use of quotations, it is helpful to provide a context for that discussion. This part of the article will briefly state the Catholic Church's invitation to non-Catholic students and the concerns expressed in the literature regarding inclusion. Thereafter, I will offer an interpretation of the meaning of inclusion to the participating teachers and to Catholic education.

The Invitation to Non-Catholic Students3

The Church Fathers of Vatican II gave the invitation to nonCatholics, Christian and non-Christian alike, to send their children to Catholic schools. In Gravissium Educationis (Vatican II 1965b), the Church stated,

the Church considers very dear to her heart those Catholic schools... which are attended also by students who are not Catholics.... This Sacred Council of the Church earnestly entreats pastors and all the faithful to spare no sacrifice in helping Catholic schools fulfil this function... especially in caring for the needs of those... who are strangers to the gift of faith, (para. 9)

In Dignitatis Humanae (Vatican II 1965a), the Fathers spoke of "the right of man to religious freedom" and "no one therefore is to be forced to embrace the Christian faith against his own will," and that "in matters religious every manner of coercion on the part of men should be excluded" (paras. 2 and 9).

The Congregation for Catholic Education (Congregation 1977) stated in The Catholic School, "the Catholic school offers itself to all, non-Christians included, with all its distinctive aims and means, acknowledging, preserving and promoting the spiritual and moral qualities, the social and cultural values, which characterize different civilizations" (para. 85).

In 1979, John Paul II in his Apostolic Exhortation, Catechesi Tradendae (John Paul II 1979, spoke of the "ecumenical dimension" of catechetics, which would apply to adult and Catholic school religious instruction, stating that,

a correct and fair presentation of the other Churches and ecclesial communities that the Spirit of Christ does not refrain from using as means of salvation ... [as] the Church herself, can exist outside the visible boundaries of the Catholic Church... [would in effect] help non-Catholics to have a better knowledge and appreciation of the Catholic Church and her conviction of being the universal help toward salvation, (para. 32)

In 1982, the same Congregation in Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith (Congregation 1982) stated,

every person has a right to an integral education, an education which responds to all of the needs of the human person (para. 3).... [and that] At times there are students in Catholic schools who do not profess the Catholic faith [sic], or perhaps are without any religious faith at all. Faith does not admit of violence; it is a free response of the human person to God as He reveals Himself. Therefore, while Catholic educators will teach doctrine in conformity with their own religious convictions and in accord with the identity of the school, they must at the same time have the greatest respect for those students who are not Catholics. They should be open at all times to authentic dialogue, convinced that in these circumstances the best testimony that they can give of their own faith is a warm and sincere appreciation for anyone who is honestly seeking God according to his or her own conscience, (para. 42)