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CV NEWS FEED // The Diocese of San Diego has banned homeschooling groups from meeting on its properties, according to a September 1 policy in the diocesan handbook.
The policy states, “The use of parish facilities by charter schools, home school programs, or private school programs is prohibited, both because such usage can undermine the stability of nearby Catholic schools and lead people to think that the Church is approving and advancing particular alternative schools and programs.”
The policy also states that part of the purpose of parish facilities is to serve the Church’s teaching mission, adding, “Parish run schools and religious education programs are the primary means by which the Church accomplishes its teaching mission for children and young people.”
The Diocese of San Diego did not comment by the time of the article’s publication.
CatholicVote reached out to a local homeschooling group, Catholic Homeschoolers of San Diego. A representative, who did not want to be identified, explained the situation to CatholicVote over email.
The representative wrote that “a number of homeschool groups have been told they can no longer continue their weekly meetings on parish property. Other groups have been told that meetings can continue while clarification is sought from the diocese (the policy is somewhat vague.)”.
The representative wrote that local homeschool groups are formulating a tentative response to the policy; however, they will wait to publish the response until after the annual Priestly Convocation, as they are hoping for a resolution to take place there.
“….[A] number of priests close to homeschool co-ops have asked homeschoolers to wait on responding until the priests have had a chance to discuss the issue with the Cardinal directly,” the representative stated in the email. “So, we are praying for a favorable response from the Cardinal, and hoping that no further action on our part will be necessary.”
The Diocese also maintains guidelines titled “Homeschooling in Religion,” which in part relates to parents who wish to prepare their children for sacraments at home, as well as religious education more broadly.
“The religious education of children and youth is the responsibility of parents, pastors and the local parish community,” the guidelines explain.
According to the diocesan guidelines on “Homeschooling in Religion,” parents have the primary — but not only — responsibility for educating their children in the Faith.
The parental responsibility “cannot be interpreted in an isolated way, since the family is an integral part of the larger ecclesial community. All religious education must be carried out in a way that builds unity within the Church.”
The guidelines continue: “No home schooling can be tolerated which does not promote the understanding that being a Christian is… a personal vocation within the context of the Church lived out in the experience of the parish community.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states in paragraph 2223 that “Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children” and later in 2226 that “Parental catechesis precedes, accompanies, and enriches other forms of instruction in the faith,” adding that the parish is “the heart of the liturgical life of Christian families.”
