This is potentially misleading- the Basilica renovation was done with entirely private donations, not Archdiocesan funding. Not saying your other point(s) are right or wrong, but make sure you note that in the future- it's not as if they took from other parishes to fund the renovation of the Basilica- you should be clear on that when trying to make an unrelated point.

DR: It's not unrelated at all. The Archdiocese, under Cardinal Keeler, undertook an ambitious fund-raising effort to raise money for the basilica renovation; that was a priority and that is Keeler's legacy -- not keeping schools for inner-city children open, vibrant, well-managed and financially healthy.

Dan, are you calling the "Arch" racist? Do you have any idea how much it costs per year to run a school for a few hundred kids? Or, how about having the kids from Govans go to two other parishes within walking distance, e.g. St. Matthew's or St. Pius? And is it a "sin" for the "Arch" to spend money renovating the oldest cathedral in the US, which also is located in the inner city?

St. Mary's started the school in 1874. They can't keep a school open today that's survived two World Wars and The Great Depression, because the church is too broke now to keep it going ?

And they are closing it despite the archdiocese already being handed $3.6 million in public funds. Perhaps this is just an attempt to get more tax dollars from the state ? They have already publicly asked for an increase this year. Which reminds me, why are we giving "the richest corporation on Earth" millions of state tax dollars for the their schools (which they are closing on us anyway?)

Ugh... There are just too many things wrong there. Thanks Dan.

Dan,

I was executive director of the Mt. Vernon Cultural District when the Basilica undertook its restoration. I know firsthand that the work was prompted by advanced deterioration of the mechanical systems and parts of the structure (including the dome), and that that is where the bulk of the money,which was raised from private sources, went. As you know, the Mass is the heart of the Catholic faith, and the Basilica is the heart (the Primary See) of the Church in the United States. It seems only fitting that the building be properly cared for.

I was also formerly a parishioner at St. Mary's Govans. The hard fact is that the nuns and priests who basically worked for pennies to provide children with a decent education are no longer available and the expense of running the school was more than the parish could afford.

Finally, Catholic schools were established to provide a _Catholic_ education. If Christ is no longer the center and focus of the education because most of the students aren't Catholic or aren't interested in being Catholic, the school's reason for being no longer exists. Teaching, for Christians, has always meant conversion. "Go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." Matthew 25:19

Regards,

Jamie Hunt

Dan,

Suggesting the Cardinal placed a higher priority on restoring the Basilica, a national historic landmark and America's First Cathedral, over sustaining Catholic education is unfair and untrue.

1) Prior to the Basilica campaign, the Cardinal raised $133 million through the Heritage of Hope campaign--an unprecedented amount at the time--the funds from which were used to fund Catholic education (capital improvements, new schools and endowments), parish capital projects, and Catholic Charities' ministries.

2) Also pre-dating the Basilica restoration was the Cardinal's inner city scholarship initiative, Partners in Excellence, which generated tuition aid from local businesses--to-date it has provided over $20 million in tuition assistance scholarships.

3) Finally, the Cardinal concluded his fundraising obligations for the expansion of the new Our Daily Bread Employment Center before apporoaching local donors about the Basilica.

It should be noted that funds for the Basilica were raised from private individuals seeking to support that specific project and the majority of those funds were raised by the Cardinal personally from donors outside the Archdiocese out of consideration for the very programs you accuse him of failing to make his priorities.

Sean Caine
Archdiocese of Baltimore
Director of Communications

DR: OK, thanks for reminding us. How many inner-city schools benefited from this, how many have you closed over the last 10 years?

Wow Dan, you just love to keep up your villification of the Cardinal even though he is retired. Come on, find a new boogieman. Keeler did so much for this town. I love the way you refer "the Arch," like some refer to the "the Government" when it refers to funding. The church gets its riches from donors...which leads me to my question..., How much support have you given to Catholic education? I guess all those Basilca donors should have given your share?

Dan,

In response to your question:

27 inner city Catholic schools (there are now 32) have benefited from PIE scholarships and 25 received grants from the Heritage of Hope Campaign ($8.2 million).

Dan,

I expect to see a new school at St. Mary's within a few years.

The old model does not work in parishes with low or no birth rate.
The Cristo Rey and similar models do work with corporate and private donations to support what families can afford in tuition.

Dan, I would politely suggest that you do a little homework before making such statements. Yes, Cardinal Keeler undertook renovations of the Basilica, and as was pointed out by Mr. Caine, those renovations were funded largely by private donors. Cardinal Keeler also led the effort in securing private donations to help the schools; particularly Archdiocesan schools that serve the needs of Catholic and, I may add, non-Catholic poor in Baltimore city. Archbishop O'Brien is leading an effort to help save our schools. The Queen of Peace cluster of schools, which serves the poorest of the poor in Baltimore, is an example of how the Archdiocese is trying to maintain a presence to those children who are most vulnerable.

One of your readers posted briefly on taxpayer assistance to Catholic schools. I would like to say that $3.6 million is a mere fraction of what it would cost were the state have to pay to educate all children currently educated in Catholic schools. Other states fund private and parochial schools at much greater levels than Maryland.

DR: Everything is from private donors, isn't it? The effort that went into the Basilica fundraising could have gone into even more fundraising for the schools. Doesn't matter. The Arch has been on a retreat from inner-city schools for years. Fortunately, attendance is up in Baltimore public schools under Dr. Alonso . . .

Dan,

I have read the ongoing discussion regarding the issue of the closing of St. Mary’s and the larger issue of the decrease in Catholic Schools, especially in the inner City of Baltimore. I have to say that I am confused by your arguments on many levels.

First, I do not understand how restoring the Basilica was even brought into this discussion. By all accounts, including articles in your own newspaper, the restoration of this National Historic Landmark proved successful. Having visited the church prior to the construction, it was desperately in need of repair. Your statement on “private donations” was misleading. What, I believe, the writer meant was that the Archdiocese of Baltimore did not raise the money for the Basilica restoration, but rather the Basilica Historic Trust, a separate entity, was responsible for the project in its entirety. I know some individuals involved with the Trust and it is simply unfair that you continue to give “credit” to the Archdiocese of Baltimore for hard work performed by the Trust. Perhaps you make the connection because of Cardinal Keeler’s involvement. Yes, he was/is president of the Trust, but was it actually wrong, given his interest in historic preservation and church history, for even a Cardinal to have had a pet project? He also has helped out the Boy Scouts and lent his name to Jewish causes. Was that wrong as well?

It seems your main point about the Basilica, is that, in some way, if the project did not occur, many of those donors would have given to the schools. And that, Dan, is where your logic is way off base. First, in the interest of full disclosure, I donated to the Basilica project. As a preservationist and a Catholic, the project excited me. I have no desire to give to the inner city schools (reasons to follow.) Based on my perusal of the reopening booklet that listed the names of the donors, it is apparent that most of the major gifts for this effort came from “private donors” outside of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Do you honestly believe that a Catholic in Nashville, TN is going to give money to keep schools open in Baltimore, when his own Catholic Schools in Nashville no doubt need assistance? I am betting that this donor, and the others, gave because their interest was in historic preservation, architecture, and/or church history, not parochial schools in Baltimore.

Dan, the issue is not the Basilica; the issue is the future of Catholic schools in the City and who is going to pay for them. What puzzles me in your position is why do you insist that the Catholic Community (ie. The Archdiocese and its “private donors”) continue to fund schools for non-Catholics? If you believe that it is the church’s Christian duty to do so, they why have I not, in all of these years reading your fine work, read of your taking the various Protestant and Jewish leaders to task for not funding schools of their own in the City as well. Why is educating the poor solely a responsibility of the Catholic Church, even when the vast majority of students are non-Catholics?

What I struggle with is that my church teaches me to feed the poor, clothe the poor, and even house the poor. I admire that about my church, and I tithe regularly for Catholic Charities and their fine work. But where does the gospel say that it is also the Church’s responsibility to teach the poor Math and Social Studies? Where does it end? As a Baltimore City taxpayer I am paying for a public school system that is supposed to provide a quality education for all. I don’t make this statement sarcastically, nor do I begrudge paying taxes to provide this service. In my view, all need to get behind the public system in Baltimore, so that rather than helping the few kids who are lucky enough to attend the remaining Catholic schools, the vast majority of young people will be served. The Catholic schools in the inner city, in my opinion, let the BCSS off the hook. At the end of the day, with rising costs and the lack of nuns and priests to staff the schools for peanuts, even those schools in the counties will be in trouble.

It appears, based on accounts in your paper and the Catholic Review that the Archdiocese is going to try to make it work. Not sure this isn’t a lost cause. The best hope is that government funding will be increased much like New York and Washington, D.C., but I am betting that those efforts will fail. The kind of Catholic bigotry and ignorance illustrated by the blogger above, and those like him, (“richest corporation on Earth,”) will ensure that no funding will happen. I am also betting that with all of your apparent infatuation with these schools, that you will not be helpful in getting that government assistance either. After all, it will be easier to let the schools fade away and to just blame the Archdiocese, the Cardinal or maybe even the Basilica.

Sorry for the long response. I was in a reflective mood.
Mike from Baltimore

Just because the Catholics took the initiative to create a school system, why it is now their sole responsibility to provide a quality education to the underprivileged? I'm not Catholic, in fact I'm atheist, but I don't understand why you throw the Basilica under the bus for every single misstep (that you perceive) the Archdiocese makes. There are other projects out there that "diverted" fundraising for schools, why don't you ever go after them? You obviously have a personal agenda that is anti-Catholic, anti-Cardinal and anti-Basilica...and it clouds your judgment when you get on your soapbox.

@Jamie Hunt - If these schools are to be religious training camps, then how do you justify the millions of tax dollars being funneled into the programs ? Should the state equally give millions to Muslim training schools and to Atheist schools to teach real science ? If you want your religious school, pay for them yourself, please don't come begging at my door.

@Greg - It's improper for the church to steal my tax dollars for their parochial schools. The state should not be supporting particular religious institutions. It's even more of a crime when you consider how poor the city schools are and how rich the church is.

For the record, I was baptized and went through all the sacraments through confirmation at St. Mary's. I was married at St. Mary's. My wife's uncle was a priest there 50 years ago and presided over the ceremony. My children have all been baptized at St. Mary's.

When I was growing up, we were never rich enough to afford to attend school there, but our family did give to the church ever week. That entire community there has given to that church for over a HUNDRED years. Now, there's a budget shortfall and they are abandoning them, and abandoning their mission to the community.

It's no wonder that ex-catholics (like myself) are leaving the church in droves. We have to deal with Keeler's political agenda and public rants, the communities who have supported the church for over a century are abandoned, with all the other scandals... It seems that it's not that people are leaving the church as much as the church has left it's people.

It's sad, but the church has brought this on by it's own actions and hubris. What good is your multi-million dollar cathedral when you have no more parishioners to serve ?

...and regarding all the comments defending the $34 million spend on the basilica. I don't see where Dan suggests that the money would have been better spent on the school. You people are missing the point and being just a bit too defensive I think.

The point I got was, that if the church can raise $34 million to renovate a building, why can't it raise money to support the schools ? Or does the church think that the schools not worth the effort maybe, that the schools are less a priority than a million-dollar prayer garden ?

I know that the next time the local diocese comes asking for money from me, I'll turn them away. I'm also going to start work on preventing the state from giving them millions in tax dollars that might be better spend on the kids of Baltimore. It's a tough economy, and it should be easy to make the case that we shouldn't be giving this money to the richest corporation on the planet, especially when they abandon our communities that way they have.

Dave T.: On behalf of all of practicing Catholics, a sincere thank you for leaving the church.

It was tough to get the points that you were making through the anti-church rants, but let me try to respond and do some pro-church ranting .

First, St. Mary's parish did not close. What closed was a school that was no longer necessary, as there were not a sufficient number of CATHOLIC children in the parish to support a school. The church did not abandon the community. Its still there, and I am guessing still providing the kind of outreach that churches should provide...food pantries, clothing drives, etc. It is not my church's job to provide an education to all. That is the government’s job. And guess what, we do agree...no government support for religious schools. To my knowledge, the church has not "stolen money" from the state for schools, I am pretty sure that the legislature gives private schools the money, so maybe your beef is with the politicians and not the church.

And please, abandon the community. You are kidding? Check the directory of parishes in the city. Better still; check how many of those parishes have pastors living in the rectories right along side the church, in some of the worst areas of the city I might add. Ever notice how many of the big shot protestant ministers live outside the city, while their churches are in town? Your beef shouldn't be with the "church", but with the hundreds or thousands of St. Mary's parishioners who moved to the county and left the parish. And btw, check your facts, the church in the US, despite the scandal, is growing so not sure where the "people leaving in droves" is coming from. lol

You missed the point on the Basilica as well. The Basilica Historic Trust raised the money for that venture. I guess the Arch (and the Cardinal) raising millions for the schools, our daily bread, Samaritan center, my sisters place, etc all while the Basilica Trust was raising funds for the restoration, doesn’t' t count in your book?

Bottom line Dave. I am sure the Catholic Church isn't going to come to your door anytime soon. And please don't humor us about "the next time they ask for money, I will turn them away." lol. I am guessing you never gave them money to begin with. You probably even complained when they charged you a fee for your wedding to pay for the lights and air conditioning.

Just another rant from a know-it-all ex-catholic. Being an ex is certainly your prerogative, but please David, stop telling those of us who are still members of the church what and how we should spend OUR money.

Jacob--an envelope using Catholic

@jacob - How dare you accuse me of "ranting" - or is that just your way of dismissing all of my points in one fell swoop ? I know that St Mary's church isn't closed, I'll be there this Saturday. Why would you say that I think that ???

And how dare you impugn my family and myself regarding donations. We gave to that church for decades (we gave envelopes from my mom as well as from myself and my sister when were kids there). And I've personally donated to the fuel fund there many times (at least I know *that* money goes right into helping people and not into the Archdiocese bank account).

As far as the church accepting money that should be going to the city schools, I think it's criminal that the Catholic church is taking millions of dollars away from them. The church isn't being force-fed these tax dollars, in fact, the Archdiocese is actively lobbying the MD General Assembly for MORE money from the state this year! Please spare me the "it's the politicians fault" BS and take responsibility for your church's actions.

The church is closing a school that serves the community around it, and in doing so, they are abandoning those kids. I think I was clear on that. I'm not sure why you think that Protestant ministers are part of the problem ??? The trend throughout the city is very apparent… the churches are closing schools, people are leaving, parishes are closing… I'm not sure what fantasy world *you* are living in (oh wait, I do actually, LOL)

Regarding the Basilica money, I understand that there was an effort to raise the money for that, I don't need to hear it again... we get it, the money came from a special effort to built million dollar prayer gardens, not from the general funds. And no matter what other money the community has raised for the church for other efforts, it doesn't address the fact that they are allowing the schools to fail. I think your facts support my point more than yours, the church can raise money for all of these other efforts, why not for the schools ? Personally, I think it's just politics as usual… the church whines that there isn't money to keep schools open, then begs the state for more tax dollars and special tax credits. Hey, they are just a business trying to get ahead, they have to play these games right ?

You didn't adequately address even one point I made, and I don't appreciate the personal attacks. By the way, where do/did you send your kids to school ? I would bet you $3.6 million tax dollars that it's not St. Mary's