By Kimberley Heatherington , OSV News

(OSV News) — First, the good news: The “One Big Beautiful Bill” — the Trump administration’s signature legislation — creates a new federal tax credit for individuals who make donations to 501(c)(3) public charities providing scholarships to elementary or secondary school pupils, an obvious potential benefit to Catholic schools seeking students.

Now for the not-so-good news: Considered only a partial victory by school choice advocates — the bill lacked universal state adoption measures, limits donation levels and is unclear about religious liberties — there’s also the very real question of supply and demand.

“There’s a lot — even in states with choice — of closed Catholic school buildings that are sitting empty,” commented Shawn Peterson, president of Catholic Education Partners, a national apostolate that advocates for school choice and access to Catholic education.

During the 1964-1965 school year, the nationwide network of Catholic parochial schools served about 5.6 million students. But since then, enrollment has dropped 70%, to around 1.7 million students today.

“There’s other issues too — you have to find teachers that can teach in those buildings,” Peterson told OSV News. “It’s not an easy task to just open up a Catholic school. But who’s working on this as a bigger problem? There’s a lot of work to do in this area; there’s a lot of states and dioceses that have not done as well as they could.”

That said, Peterson still finds the current educational environment “an especially interesting time, because in 2025, we’re coming up on the 60th anniversary of ‘Gravissimum Educationis’ — and that’s the document that we who work in the church point to as the reason why we support parental choice initiatives. That’s the document that says parents are first educators — and the state needs to do things to support parents in that choice, including financial support.”

“Gravissimum Educationis” (Declaration on Christian Education) — teaching from the Second Vatican Council issued under St. Paul VI in 1965 — notes, “Since parents have given children their life, they are bound by the most serious obligation to educate their offspring and therefore must be recognized as the primary and principal educators.”

For proponents of school choice, that recognition also extends to parents choosing where and how their offspring will be educated.

“We need to really start looking at the states that have choice,” Peterson advised. “Are we making sure there is a supply there? Are there families that want to access a Catholic school, but there’s not any open seats? Do they live in an area that doesn’t currently have — or has never had — a Catholic school? Well,” he added, “now there’s an opportunity.”

Margaret Kaplow, communications manager for the National Catholic Educational Association, shared some statistics with OSV News.

“Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia provide children the option to attend the public or private school of their parents’ choice through tax credit, voucher or scholarship,” she said. “In 2024, school choice programs expanded in 15 states — 18% of Catholic school students utilized a parental choice program, and 31% of schools enrolled students utilizing a parental choice program.”

As might be expected, some states perform better than others.

“The arch/dioceses in Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Oklahoma, Iowa and Arizona reported that over 50% of their students utilize parental choice programs,” noted Kaplow. “In Florida, 85.7% of students are utilizing parental choice programs, compared to 60.1% last year. In Ohio, 80.9% of students are utilizing parental choice programs, compared to 62.9% last year.”

Peterson is optimistic that — with potentially expanded tax funding — those numbers can increase.

“We hope it will energize a lot of states. Not only increase programs or increase access for kids in states that already have school choice, but we’re hoping a lot of the blue states will opt in as well,” he said. “Especially because it won’t cost their state anything; it won’t take any money away from public education.”

“If I were a blue state governor,” Peterson said, “I wouldn’t want a bunch of federal tax dollars leaving my state to help other states; I’d want to keep that in my state to help the children in my state. So we want blue state governors to really take a serious look at that — and decide to opt into the program.”

Still, practical challenges remain.

“There’s a couple of places in West Virginia where they have a vibrant Catholic population, but they’ve never had a Catholic school. And now they have up to $5,500 per child to spend on a great Catholic education — but they don’t have access to a school,” Peterson shared. “It’s sort of like giving someone a $100 gift card for a night out at a restaurant — but there’s no restaurant to spend it at.”

Even states recognized as favorable to school choice can face issues.

“Texas, for example,” said Peterson, “is a place that’s going to be working on the supply side as well. About a million kids are going to be eligible for school in Texas. But in the latest numbers I saw, there’s only 35,000 open seats in private schools. Not just Catholic — all private schools.”

Peterson then asked an obvious — but perhaps provocative — question.

“What are we going to do about being evangelistic, and are we going to open new schools? If there’s a community that wants a Catholic school and the parents have the funds now because of choice, are we going to trust and try to give them a Catholic school?”

In the Diocese of Venice, Florida, Jesuit Father John Belmonte, superintendent of Catholic education, is a one-man school choice promotion squad. Previously a principal in Milwaukee and a superintendent in Joliet, Illinois, he regretfully noted that some dioceses are “chronically uninterested” in school choice.

The Diocese of Venice was established by St. John Paul II in 1984, from parts of the Archdiocese of Miami and the dioceses of Orlando and St. Petersburg, Florida. Its 61 parishes serve a Catholic population of 237,483.

“We have the best tax-credit scholarship program in the country,” Father Belmonte said. “Gov. DeSantis signed into law universal school choice — so I’ve taken advantage of all of this to build our enrollment over the last five years to 40%-plus in the diocese. We have the fastest growing Catholic school system in the United States of America.”

In March 2023, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1, expanding available school choice options for all students in Florida by eliminating financial eligibility restrictions and an enrollment cap.

“We’re 15 points past any other diocese in the country in terms of enrollment growth,” added Father Belmonte. “And some of that is driven by school choice. Nearly 100% of our students receive the state scholarship for school.”

Enrollment has risen from 4,400 students to 6,700 students within five years.

“I have communicated with thousands of families over the last five years — basically through a digital platform; text messages and emails that we send out every year to families about these scholarship programs,” said Father Belmonte. “So it’s communication. It’s working with people where they are.”

But that’s not all.

“It’s about leadership. If the leadership in the diocese or the diocesan schools are not interested in this, then it’s very difficult to see the needle move,” admitted Father Belmonte.

“I have the benefit of a bishop here,” he said, speaking of Bishop Frank J. Dewane, “who’s willing to work with me on these things and help us develop our programs. And then I have pushed this into the schools and brought the principals along, so the principals are on board with what we’re doing.”

Father Belmonte was emphatic that for school choice to be successful, “we need leadership from our bishops; we need leadership from our pastors; we need leadership from our principals, our superintendents. We need leadership to make these things work.”

Still, the numbers alone should appeal to any Catholic education leader.

“The new federal tax credit program has the potential to transform Catholic education in the United States of America. It has that potential,” Father Belmonte said. “And again, it’s back to leadership. Either our leaders look at it and understand it — pay attention to it and take advantage of it — or it will go nowhere. It takes a lot of elbow grease to get these things off the ground. So we have the potential there — and I’ll just give you numbers.”

He paused, before laying out the calculus for his own diocese.

“The Diocese of Venice has roughly 250,000 parishioners. You may know people who have to pay the federal government $1,000 in taxes each year; most people would end up owing the federal government that amount of taxes each year,” Father Belmonte hypothesized. “And so if you’re able to convince them to shift their tax liability from the federal government to a school to help with Catholic schools — and you’re able to do $1,000 per 250,000 parishioners — you’re looking at $250 million, potentially coming into a school system.”

He added, “That’s the scale we’re talking about.”

So according to Peterson and Father Belmonte, effective school choice programs require — at a minimum — a combination of access, availability, leadership and communication.

“We actually haven’t done a great job promoting these programs, and making sure that our parents are getting access to them — and that’s a big job,” Peterson suggested. “But that’s going to be the church’s responsibility in our work, going forward. That’s not the responsibility of a legislator or governor. That’s going to be about what we need to do in the church.”

(Kimberley Heatherington writes for OSV News from Virginia.)

By Joseph D. White , OSV News

In the wake of the horrific Catholic school shooting in Minneapolis, what can we do to help kids stay safe while also easing the fear that their school could be the next site of such a tragedy?

Here are some tips for parents on managing children’s worries about school shootings:

— Help them remember that these events are rare.
Although even one episode of gun violence at school is too many, students in the vast majority of schools across the country will, thankfully, never experience an incident like this. Let them know that active-shooter drills are like fire drills. They are preparing for something that will probably never happen, but it’s important to have a plan just in case.

— Don’t tell them nothing will happen to them. Although we want to reassure children and teens that such a tragedy is not likely, unfortunately, we can’t promise that it will never happen.

— Reassure your child that you and others are working to make sure they stay safe, and that you would never send him or her into an environment that you knew was dangerous. Adults at your child’s school also know that student safety is their top priority. Encourage your child to listen and follow directions related to school safety and to trust that the adults who care for them are working to keep them safe.

— Encourage teens to be watchful. Many teens are glued to their smartphone screens, even when in crowded places. When in large crowds, such as school dances, graduations, assemblies and areas where students are congregating before and after school, teens periodically should look around and check their surroundings. Does anything look suspicious? Do they know where the exits are if they had to leave quickly?

— Emphasize the importance of reporting threats. There have been numerous examples of situations in which students who committed acts of violence had made threats, either on social media or in person, prior to the event. Teens are sometimes reluctant to report these threats for fear of retaliation. Highlight the importance of telling someone about what they see and hear if they think a fellow student might be planning to act out. If their concerns are dismissed, tell them to keep talking about it until someone takes them seriously. In recent months, several tragedies were averted because vigilant students and staff acted quickly when they saw signs of potential violence.

For additional tips on helping children and teens talk about school violence, see the website of the National Association of School Psychologists. At its resources and publications link, you will find multiple resources for dealing with school safety issues.

School violence is a scary subject, but we need to keep lines of communication open, both with our children and with school personnel. Continued communication and collaboration can help our kids stay safer and feel more secure.

(Dr. Joseph D. White is a child and family psychologist and associate publisher of Catechetical Resources for OSV.)

By Maria Wiering , OSV News

MINNEAPOLIS (OSV News) — As the sun set the evening of Aug. 28, mourners lingered in front of Annunciation Catholic Church before a robust memorial of flowers, stuffed animals, toys and candles.

Visitors of all ages wrote messages on large pads of paper, others in chalk on the sidewalk.

“Our hearts with you,” read one.

“You are in my prayers,” read another.

A third: “There will be a day with no more pain or suffering. Hold onto Jesus’s hand until that day. He’s got you.”

Since the morning, parishioners and school families, neighbors and others had come to the church, many with bouquets, some cut from their own late-summer gardens, all aiming to express solidarity with a Catholic community grieving the loss of life, health and sense of security in the aftermath of a school shooting.

“Your mind just can’t leave those parents who lost kids,” said Megan Kirchner, 40, who tearfully walked around the church exterior in the waning light with her partner and three children.

That afternoon, the father of a slain child, 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, stood before the memorial to address the community. Jesse Merkel recalled his son as a boy who loved family, fishing, cooking and sports.

“Please remember Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that ended his life,” said Merkel, with the hand of Annunciation Catholic School Principal Matt DeBoer on his shoulder. “We love you, Fletcher. You will always be with us.”

Fletcher was one of two students killed in church pews Aug. 27 when a shooter fired with three guns through the church’s exterior windows into an all-school Mass. The other student was 10-year-old Harper Moyski, whose parents recalled her as “bright, joyful and deeply loved.”

Eighteen others — 15 children and three adults in their 80s — were also injured and treated at nearby hospitals. On Aug. 28, one victim remained in critical condition, with two others in serious condition, according to the emergency medical team at Hennepin County Medical Center, a Level 1 trauma center in downtown Minneapolis.

The 23-year-old suspected shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the church’s parking lot, according to law enforcement, who were working to pinpoint a clear motive for the act of violence.

Boards covered seven of Annunciation’s narrow stained-glass windows, behind another memorial set against a young oak tree.

“Just words don’t work any more,” read a sign tucked into clusters of hydrangeas, sunflowers and roses.

The memorial was a spontaneous response for a reeling community, one frequently described as “tight-knit” — both as a parish and preK-8 school, and also as a neighborhood, where many school families live within walking distance.

Or running distance — as evidenced by how many parents literally ran to the school when they heard of the shooting, which occurred around 8:30 a.m., as Mass attendees were preparing to sing the “Alleluia.”

Father Erich Rutten witnessed those parents rushing on foot to the school as he followed a barrage of police cars to the church that morning. The pastor of two nearby parishes and chaplain of their shared elementary school, Father Rutten happened to be driving through the neighborhood and stopped, without knowing what had transpired, to provide pastoral assistance at Annunciation — a parish where he had served on staff decades ago, before entering seminary.

When he arrived on the scene, parents did not “know if their child was alive or dead,” he said. “They’re just panicked and scared.”

For 45 minutes, he tried to offer support to parents, especially those who appeared to be alone, and prayed the rosary with some of them. Ultimately, he spent almost three hours at the parish, and was with one family as they were informed their child had died.

“Just that kind of the bottom-of-your-soul scream of despair — that was really, really awful. Awful,” he said.

Father Rutten recalled the previous day’s events following an evening ecumenical prayer service Aug. 28 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. The service drew a range of Minneapolis religious leaders as well as hundreds of mourners who filled the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ co-cathedral.

Among them were Mary Perez, 32, and her son, Felix, a first-grader at Annunciation who had been at the all-school Mass and witnessed students shot and injured. Mary brought Felix to the prayer service so he could find comfort in the community’s support.

“I thought it’d be important for Felix to know that he’s not alone in this, that this is a safe place,” said Mary, a Catholic. “We’re all going to come back from this, and he has people behind him, and I don’t want him to be afraid of the church.”

Six-year-old Felix said that he remembers “all of it,” especially how Principal DeBoer told the students to get down. Eighth-graders protected some of the younger students, Mary said.

“A friend of mine got hit in the forehead,” Felix told OSV News. “When I was hiding, I saw somebody covered in blood, and they were wearing a green sweatshirt covered in blood.”

Mary’s brother, 24-year-old Benjamin Bozer, wept next to his wife, Penny, as he heard his nephew recount the events.

“Growing up, I was always worried that it could happen to me; but the fact that it could happen to someone so young, it’s just senseless,” he said. “Nobody should have to go through this. Nobody should have to witness this.”

Annunciation parishioner and former teacher Janet Parker, whose now-grown children once attended the school, also attended the basilica’s prayer service.

“It’s so strange to see your community in the news framed this way,” she said. “It was numbing.”

Jiyun Kim, whose Korean Catholic St. Andrew Kim Parish has worshipped at Annunciation’s church since 2023, felt similarly. The 40-year-old brought her two children, ages 10 and 13, to visit Annunciation’s memorial the evening of Aug. 28.

While her children do not attend the school, their ages make her “feel really connected and related to what happened to the families and the community,” she said. “I couldn’t imagine how I’m going to feel during the Mass every weekend.”

Yet, she said, “when I see those flowers and the people crowded here, I feel we get stronger. We support each other, and that’s how our community heals each other. So when somebody falls, somebody will hold their hands, and then somebody will support their back. That’s how we make our community.”

The Twin Cities’ Catholic clergy have played an important role in supporting Annunciation’s families. St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda has repeatedly praised the response of Annunciation pastor Father Dennis Zehren, who became the parish’s pastor in June, as well as Deacon Kevin Conneely, who was ordained in 2023.

After ministering at Annunciation to families in the hours after the shooting, Father Rutten headed to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he sat in the waiting room with families. St. Paul and Minneapolis Auxiliary Bishop Kevin T. Kenney, who serves as pastor of a downtown Minneapolis church and grew up attending Annunciation, also headed to HCMC that morning, immediately after hearing the news of the shooting.

“I was there in the waiting room as families were rushing down there, and they didn’t know what state, what condition their child was in, so they’re all panicking,” he said.

He was “just trying to give them a presence, a calm presence, a supportive presence to know they were not alone,” he added.

Meanwhile, fellow Auxiliary Bishop Michael J. Izen was called to nearby Children’s Minnesota Hospital to offer anointing of the sick to an injured Annunciation student.

In responding to a tragedy, “there’s always an initial, ‘What am I going to say? What can I do?’ And then you realize that people are just comforted and pleased by your presence” as a priest, he said.

Across the Mississippi River in St. Paul, both bishops preached Aug. 28, along with Archbishop Hebda, at a noon prayer service at the Cathedral of St. Paul.

Bishop Izen addressed key questions on the minds of many Twin Cities Catholics, especially with the shooting having occurred during Mass.

“Where was Jesus yesterday? Where was Jesus at 8:30 in the morning at Annunciation?” he asked. “Why during a school Mass? Why an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old? Why right here in the Twin Cities?”

“There’s no shortage of questions, but only one answer: Jesus Christ,” he said.

“Where was Jesus during that time, during the Mass, the shooting? He was right there on the cross suffering with them,” he said. “The Lord always wants us, in those times of suffering, to turn to the cross. So turn to our Lord. Go to Jesus.”

(Maria Wiering is senior writer for OSV News.)