Ask Father: It Is Mortal Sin for Parents to Send Their Children to Public Schools?

Given the state of public 'education' today, it is not only a sin but a serious form of child abuse. No child should ever set foot in a public school.

From Fr Z's Blog

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

With the recent dustups involving education curriculum in the United States I feel this is an important question to ask.

Some on social media have suggested that, with what’s going on public schools these days, it is mortal sin for parents to send their children to public schools.  Some have also pointed out that older examens have said that sending your children to a school where they receive an education dangerous to their faith is a sin to be confessed, and this would exclude all public schools.

So my question is, is it truly a sin to send your children to public schools?  Most parents unfortunately cannot afford Catholic school and don’t have the time to homeschool.

In an absolute sense, no, it is not a mortal sin to send you children to a public (in the USA sense) school.  However, each lived instance out there is different and a one size answer cannot possibly fit all.

I know that there are readers out there who will be very interested in this topic.  I also know that some of them have dealt with this and who have found solutions.  Whether or not the solutions are perfect is a matter of debate.   We also must not fall into the trap of making the perfect the enemy of the good.

That said, you sort of have me boxed in.   You say that old examens say that it is a sin to put your child’s faith in danger.  I agree.  That might happen at a public school, especially these days, so that position of the examen seems even stronger.   And we have to admit that some Catholic schools are pretty dangerous to the faith of children.

Catholic schools can have a wide range of tuition options: some can be expensive, others less so.  Almost all of them have some sort of plan for parents whose incomes are lower, or have several children.   Therefore, you really have to go talk to the (probably) parish priest in charge of the school.   Find out your options.  Find out what homeschool groups there are in the area.

But, if you say you really can’t afford Catholic school, even having checked on things, and you really can’t homeschool, what am I supposed to say about public school as the last resort?

If I had been reading a lot of Dickens these days, instead of what I am reading (not Swift’s Modest Proposal), I would tell you to farm out your kids to a cobbler or blacksmith or an undertaker and have done with the whole thing.  Sad to see the last of them?  Sure, for a while.  But be assured of a sudden reappearance after a couple of decades and adventures.

It could be that readers here will have somewhat less Victorian solutions.