The following article was published in the Courier Journal from the Archbishop of Louisville Most Reverend Shelton J. Fabre on October 23, 2024:
Opinion: Catholic teachings support educational choice. Amendment 2 reflects our beliefs.
Educational outcomes for students improve when children benefit from the learning environment that is best for them.
On Sept. 26, the Courier Journal published an op-ed by former state Representative Jim Wayne arguing that my brother Roman Catholic bishops in Kentucky and I are “misguided” and out of sync with the teachings of our church in our support for Amendment 2.
While I am grateful for Mr. Wayne’s faith, his personal support for his parish and his support for Catholic education, I must respond to his mistaken understanding and portrayal that school choice and Amendment 2 contradict the teaching of the church and our obligation to the poor. As my predecessor, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, corrected Mr. Wayne when he raised these same concerns previously, I will again do the same.
As the Catholic Church teaches very clearly that the education of children is a key obligation of parents, the state possesses a duty to guarantee this right not only by ensuring access to a quality education but also by empowering parents to direct the course of that education—irrespective of a family's socioeconomic status.
The principles of solidarity and subsidiarity, key elements of the church’s social teaching, compel us to support both public education and educational choice programs (which afford parents the ability to choose options that best meet the educational needs of their children). Solidarity means that we are one human family and have obligations to one another, especially to those who are vulnerable or lack the means to achieve their full potential. As we believe solidarity is a matter of justice, in obedience to this principle, the bishops support public education and advocate for funding that will fully support our public schools and all the requisite services public education provides.
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