I criticized Catholic schools for hiring people with no evident commitment to Catholic doctrine and running courses that look just like public school offerings-and for that, I am charged by a Catholic school official with, however indirectly, contributing to a killing. The statement appears in a newsletter titled “ Catholic School Matters.” The author of this allegation is Tim Uhl, the superintendent of Catholic schools in the diocese of Buffalo. The connection is threefold-the sowing of resentments, the use of bogeymen, and the anointing of the chosen. Yet there is a connection between the author’s arguments and the toxic environment which led to Saturday’s shooting. I’m not exaggerating. Here is the full paragraph: Last week, I saw an article in First Things entitled “The Sorry Situation of Catholic Schools.” I originally wrote a blog criticizing the author’s points and I was prepared to set the blog aside this week because the blog criticizes Catholic schools and my heart is stuck on last Saturday’s tragedy. I expected some grumbles and head-shakes. I did not expect to see my complaint aligned with the murders committed in East Buffalo on May 14. In my recent article, “ The Sorry Situation of Catholic Schools,” I outlined the failure of Catholic schools to uphold Catholic doctrine and avoid mimicking public school curricula.
