The Chicago archdiocese issued guidelines by which homeschool children can receive catechism. The guidelines were summarily rejected by a major homeschooling organization: the Catholic Homeschool Network of America. This grouped was formed to safeguard the rights of Catholic homeschoolers. In a statement prepared by the group's president, Catherine Moran, the group rejected the guidelines, calling them intrusive and imposing. The homeschool group further describes the guidelines as unnecessary, stating that the parents in the homeschool group know their responsibilities as spelled out by canon law. They object to the imposition of having a pastor determine the readiness of their children.
The set of guidelines was published by the Chicago archdiocese and a Pittsburgh diocese. It affirms the parent's right to homeschool their children and provide catechesis and sacramental preparation, but maintains that the local pastor has the deciding determination as to whether the homeschooled child is properly prepared. The Pittsburgh document, at 18 pages, is more broadly developed than the Chicago statement, only 3 pages. It attempts to soften the language: "encouraging" and "inviting" parents of homeschooled children to participate in parish programs. The Pittsburgh document also acknowledges that parents of homeschoolers and pastors have sometimes come into conflict over the wide variety of interpretations of current diocese policies. They hope to create an atmosphere of dialogue between pastor and parent in the hopes of creating a written covenant between parents, pastors and children. The document also acknowledges that the homeschoolers are heavily burdened during sacramental years and that they should not have to attend additional parish religious education classes, provided they are receiving regular and thorough catechesis.
The homeschool group rejects both attempts to control parents, calling the guidelines an unnecessary imposition on a process that is working well already. The diocese responds by asserting that the guidelines are there to help families and to affirm that the parents of homeschooled children are the primary educators for their children. They claim they are only trying to promote dialogue and cooperation between parents and pastors. They assert that, according to canon law, both have their own responsibilities. The homeschool group asserts that their families are doing what is necessary to prepare their children and that the guidelines should be applied to families that need them, not to those homeschooling their children. The group says that their families are thoroughly prepared and are not in need of pastor oversight.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because "our current system of education has broken its promise..." Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.
Rothschild has authored a number of books about education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Home Education News Blog contains feature stories on alternatives in education.
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