Tom Heinen reports in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Concerned for years about parents who seldom attend Sunday Mass after registering as church members to get a tuition discount, Father John Yockey finally decided to take action at St. Jerome Parish School in Oconomowoc.
Parents who attend fewer than ten Sunday Masses a quarter will not get the $1,400 per child reduction from the usual $4,500 annual tuition. So far, no parents have said it's worth $35/week to both send their kids to Catholic school and skip Mass. Parish School Board President Beth Boyer-Ryan said
"I think the reason we're not receiving calls is it would be somewhat difficult for someone to say how unfair it is that I have to go to church."
The story continues,
Requiring Mass attendance may be unusual for Catholics nationally. Brian Gray, a spokesman for the National Catholic Education Association, has not heard of other examples.
In Sunday School, I teach that it is required by the first precept of the Church, see Catechism of the Catholic Church 2042.
Our parish requires a parent work at bingo once a month in order for the child to attend Catholic school! I'd take Mass over bingo every day of the week.
ReplyDeleteThis is excellent. More Catholic schools should follow this example. How do they enforce it though?
ReplyDeleteI think they use the weekly envelope to take attendance.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't that be a nice reversal. You could check a box if you enclosed a prayer intention, or had a question, or need some non-emergency assistance, and last you could check if a donation was enclosed.