What our Catholic schools should be

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From the Vatican: What our Catholic schools should be — and how to judge whether they are! Explained by Archbishop J. Michael Miller The Vatican’s emeritus Secretary to the Congregation for Catholic Education At a conference at Catholic University in the Fall of 2005, Archbishop J. Michael Miller, the man then responsible for Catholic education around the world, distilled for his audience the Church’s teachings on Catholic education. So well received were his remarks — and so important — that Solidarity Association, which sponsored the conference, asked Archbishop Miller to expand his themes into this small book, which constitutes for Catholics worldwide a clear, concise statement of what a school must be if it is to be Catholic. Explains the Five Essential Marks of Catholic Schools Since we published this book five years ago, over 18,000 parents and serious Catholic educators have turned to its pages for guidance as they seek to form young people today in accordance with the mind of the Church. Particularly helpful to parents and educators in planning — and in evaluating — their efforts are what Archbishop Miller calls "the Five Essential Marks of Catholic Schools," which serve as five standards by which to judge a school’s Catholic identity and as goals for schools that seek to educate their students as the Church wants them to be educated. Schools that lack one or more of those marks are, according to the mind of the Church, deficient. So authoritative are these Five Essential Marks — and so helpful — that one diocese recently created from Archbishop Miller's brief book a 30+ page Catholic Identity Self-Assessment Questionnaire, which all schools in that diocese must use to help bring themselves into closer conformity with the mind of the Church. You, too, can use these Five Essential Marks to measure (and if necessary, to help reform) your school or the school your children attend, knowing that in doing so, you are not imposing on others your own view of Catholic education, but are properly submitting your judgment to that of the Church Herself. Priced to encourage widespread distribution Because this book is essential reading for all Catholics who are involved in Catholic education, we're selling it for just a few cents more than the price of a cappuccino at Starbucks. And on top of that, we're offering a 20% discount on orders of five copies, hoping that (as scores of Catholics already have done) you'll buy a copy for yourself and four more to give to folks like your pastor, members of your diocesan school board, your Catholic school's principal and teachers, and other key decision makers. Together with the Vatican and Archbishop Miller, let us rebuild our beleaguered Catholic education system, one school at a time! The Holy See's Teaching on Catholic Schools by Archbishop J. Michael Miller 96 pages 4.5x6 $4.95paperback Order onlineHERE or call 1-800-888-9344 Save 20% To get 5 copies for just $20, click HERE and at checkout enter discount code: FBHST5 (Limited time offer, cannot be combined with other discounts, shipping not included.) Documents cited by Archbishop Miller include the five major documents published by the Congregation for Catholic Education since Vatican II: The Catholic School Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium Consecrated Persons and Their Mission in Schools: Reflections and Guidelines Plus: The Code of Canon Law

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