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Independent school is wrong target

The following letter was sent to The Catholic Review after the newspaper reported that an inde­pendent, religiously conservative Catholic school opening in loppa, Md., in September is not sanctioned by the Archdiocese of Baltimore to operate as a Catholic school.

The Catholic Review did not publish the letter.

Editor:

After reading the report on the Holy Cross Academy in the May 29 issue of The Catholic Review ("Holy Cross Academy not with archdiocese"), I concluded The Catholic Review did a hatchet job on the wrong target.

The readers would have been better served if the article focused on the status of and policy on sex education of the Archdiocese's Catholic Education Ministries.

It is my understanding that three programs are in use, or likely to be in use in the Baltimore Archdiocese: Benziger Family Life, Fully Alive and Growing in Love.

Further, I understand all three of these programs violate Church teaching on chastity education and are seriously flawed.

For a number of years, concerned, magisterium­loyal Roman Catholic parents have rejected this aspect of the Archdiocese's Catholic Education Ministries pro­grams. These concerned parents have undertaken home schooling or enrolled their children in independent schools as alternatives.

I believe this is at the heart of the strong negative reaction to Holy Cross Academy by the superintendent of Catholic schools, Dr. Ronald J. Valenti.

The real issue isn't Holy Cross Academy, but rather the continued refusal of the Catholic Education Ministries to confonn to Church teaching on sex education.

Your May 29th article quoted Monsigor Richard Woy, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, on the Holy Cross Academy situation as follows: "We're relying on The Catholic Review to be a conduit of information."

To me, what Monsignor Woy really said was: "Our Archdiocesan school system will continue to reject Church teaching on sex education and The Catholic Review will continue to provide cover."

Until this changes, home schooling and enroll­ments in independent schools like Holy Cross Academy will continue to grow for the greater honor and glory of God.

Joseph A. Frese Fallston, Md.