The Catholic Education Foundation would like to share the recent statement from the National Catholic Educational Association below:

Catholic Schools Always Have and Always Will Welcome All

Catholic schools, by nature, disrupt racism and injustice.

"At the core of their being, Catholic schools are an essential and integral part of our Church’s ministry. As members of communities across the United States and the world, turning a blind eye to the unrest and violence spurred on by the most recent tragic event is impossible for the Catholic Church and Catholic schools.

As we are Catholic first, our 6,100 schools welcome students of every faith, color and socio-economic background to be part of any of our communities. We teach our faith by knowing, living and sharing who we are as Catholics. Our schools build community, smooth the lines of socio-economic disparities and embrace and integrate cultural diversity into our ministry.

Catholic schools have an obligation to teach and evangelize because that is the mission of the Catholic Church. It is the tradition of Gospel values to explore opportunities for incorporating cultural diversity in our schools and we will continue to do this by uniting faith and reason and by setting our faith as the cornerstone of each lesson taught and each discovery made. Catholic schools establish a wonderful and lasting foundation, one built within our building walls and then shared in practice as we carry out our lives for the common good. We will continue this mission and work diligently to make sure our schools remain communities of hope for all students.

NCEA joins in prayer with Pope Francis, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and all who work to choke the roots of racism. We pray for the repose of the soul of Mr. George Floyd and all others who have lost their lives in a similar manner. Together with our Catholic school communities, we plead for an end to the violence in the wake of this tragedy and for the victims of the rioting. We pray for comfort for grieving families and friends."

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