The ten marks of a Catholic school

What makes a school Catholic?

It's name?

Not necessarily, in fact, I would not regard most Catholic schools in the UK as being Catholic in the sense that they reflect the teachings of Holy Mother Church.

Most do not.
Most employ a large number of non Catholic teachers who cannot reasonably be expected to embrace the Catholic "ethos", if that is the correct word to describe an institution that looks, sounds and behaves as a Catholic school should.
Ambience is not quite right either; and "identity" is a shade obscure, perhaps "spirit" is the word to be used.

Anyone wearing this could not have
attended a real Catholic school!

Does school X reflect the Catholic spirit?

Here are ten points that would entitle a school to claim that it has the "Catholic spirit"

1. Morning class prayers or school assembly
2. Crucifix on the wall of every classroom
3. Weekly school Mass
4. Catechism as the keystone of religious education studies
5. No ‘sex education’ programmes (in the secular sense) taught
6. School choir versed in plainchant
7. Latin in the curriculum
8. School ‘houses’ named after saints rather than animals or (worse) rock bands
9. An ordained priest as School Chaplain
10. A strict but fair regime of discipline



Photo credit: Traditional Catholic and originally from Fr Simon Henry