History and Catholic Education

Editor:

Anyone who thinks learning Church history is irrelevant should think again.

I’ve had people with 12 years of Catholic schooling tell me that "The Da Vinci Code" was a tremendous education for them. "I was never taught this stuff in Catholic school," they say.

One reason why so many Catholics swallow Dan Brown’s whoppers is that they are ignorant of Church history. I was.

After my own 12 years of Catholic schooling, I had no clue who, say, Arius and St. Athanasius were. That’s a bit like not knowing about Benedict Arnold and George Washington after years of classes in American history.

That I went to arguably the best Catholic high school in the St. Louis area only amplifies this scandal. Any Catholic parent, teacher or priest dismayed at the widespread acceptance of Brown’s lies and blasphemies and wondering why should look first in the mirror.

Paul S. Rhodes
Collinsville, Ill.

An enlightening indictment of Catholic education. Hopefully, this will change as more parents and others become aware of the failures to adequately prepare children, not only in the faith, but in Catholic history and apologetics.

Paul is a frequent contributor to discussions at CatholicStLouis

Source: St Louis Review