The document shown here is the first page of a short booklet outlining the purpose of the National Congress on Catholic Schools for the Twenty-first Century. Click here to see a PDF of the full text. Please read the excerpts below.

Excerpts

Prologue: “Catholic schools are proud and productive partners in American education. At this moment in history, Catholic schools are no longer a small number of outposts offering separation and security in a hostile culture, but a vast network of institutions lighting the lives of the communities they serve in every corner of the land. Today our Catholic schools are a beacon of hope for many, especially the poor, and a powerful model for those who are working to redefine and rebuild American education.”

Epilogue: “We dream of a future in which the 800,000 students from low-income families who attend our schools today will be joined by many more, whose parents’ choice is supported by a society that recognizes that poor children are our children, and their future is our future.”

Questions

1. How does the excerpt from the prologue illustrate the difference between Catholic schools of the past and those of the present?

2. Based on these exerpts, what group(s) do contemporary Catholic schools seek to serve?