By james art 
Prior to the week of National Catholic Schools 2025 (January 26, 1-February), OSV News spoke with Mary Pat Donogyu, Executive Director of the American Conference of Catholic Bishops Secretariat of Catholic Education, about his thoughts on the state of Catholic education in the nation.
The secretariat turns to Catholic education, where the American Catholic bishop has recognized him as such, in all his institutional conditions.
This interview is edited for length and clarity.
OSV News: Generally speaking, how would you describe the condition of Catholic schools in the United States at this time, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic?
Donoghue: I would say that after the huge losses at the beginning of the pandemic, and then the return of about half of the lost (in terms of recording), we remained stable. And I think it’s a good sign. It’s a good place to be.
I would also say that I think we have seen in the last decade – but even with more urgency in the last few years – Catholic schools have really been associated with their heritage, their mission and their purpose. And I think it’s a beautiful development.
Our Catholic School System, as we know it today, appeared to counteract the concern that we were losing our young people to the strong Protestantism of public schools in the late 1800s. Today we have the same emergency, although (before) different religion, in a sense that is secularism. It’s very ominous. And just as the bishops then decided that there would be a Catholic school in every parish – although it was not quite realized – we need the same determination, the same desire to have it on hand today for people.
There is recognition that there is something very unique in Catholic education, and this is the mission to convey the vision of life in Jesus Christ to the children, which is different from everything they will really get everywhere else.
And so the combination of this mission, the recognition that we are the heirs of a 2000-year-old beautiful, rich tradition and culture, which we convey in our schools-think, new excitement.
OSV News: What does the Catholic School Landscape of students with special needs look like?
Donoghue: There is also a very good movement on this front. The bishops voted (at their plenary meeting in June 2023) to reissue their pastoral statement for the servicing of people with disabilities.
And as a result, there are several groups of highly qualified professional Catholic teachers with special education who look at how we can help schools build capacity to accept students with different education needs.
It’s really critical. We see it as part of our imperative for life. And it also helps our children, all our disciples, to understand the nature of the body of Christ.
And there is the beauty of the true diversity of the created human personality. We want a sense of belonging. And we are also aware that they take advantage of all the children in the school. The dignity of human life teaches them.
We can look at the past, which may be different to each other to see the creator in whose image we are all.
OSV News: What does the picture of Catholic home schools look like?
Donoghue: I think this is a new border and I think this is what you really should dialogue.
There are a number of bishops who have entered this (conversation) in their own dioceses. We are happy that our (Catholic) schools are stable, but home learning is out of the growth charts and many of them happen in the Catholic community. So I think it is in our favor to see home training as now part of the landscape of Catholic education.
OSV News: In recent years, there have been several reports about the mental health crisis among children and young people of our nation. How can Catholic education help solve this problem?
Donoghue: It’s really a very good question. I think this is an opportunity and an advantage for Catholic schools, because much of the anxiety, the mental illnesses that are presented in children are rooted in something like things that do not fully understand the needs of a person.
For example, children should be out. They should touch the grass. They have to climb trees. These activities are not only fun, although they are, but they are really aids for development in many ways. And since we got involved more in technology and video games and tablets, there are less than that. And I think as a result the level of anxiety in children has increased.
The beauty of the Catholic school environment is that we see the need for these (non -technological activities). We see the need for children to play, to get rid of these things. It is a cultural and environmental priority that is important for young people.
OSV News: What are some of the specific policies that are on your radar in terms of Catholic schools?
Donoghue: We have a great, great opportunity potentially, which is the first Federal Parental Choosing Bill, the Child Education Act (a federal school federal school voucher funded by tax credit scholarships). We believe there is a very good chance of going to the next Congress.
ECCA will help millions of children across the country, many of whom will enroll in Catholic schools. This is a way to help our Catholic parents who have a dream of sending their children to Catholic schools, but cannot even imagine trying to afford this training. So this is a very, very great opportunity that is presented.
But it’s not a magic wand. We still have to be in a place where people want to choose Catholic schools. So we have to be excellent and we have to be different – through the clear Catholic way to understand what education is. I think we have the most opportunity.
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