For many years, I have attended meetings of local “ministry associations” where Protestant and Catholic clergy serving in a particular city or area gather to discuss issues that impact our people and our faith communities. One topic that is often raised at these clergy gatherings is the issue of prayer in public schools.

I have noticed that it is usually the Protestant ministers who bring up this issue as a concern while the Catholic clergy in attendance often show little interest or add only few comments during the discussion. In fact, I cannot remember a single time when the issue of prayer in public schools has been raised in a group of Catholic clergy as a major concern. I also cannot recall any Catholic parent who has ever urged me to press the issue of prayer in schools among local school officials.

Why is it that the issue of bringing prayer into public schools does not seem to be a hot topic among Catholics in general or Catholic clergy in particular? Upon reflection, I think there are several reasons for this lack of interest.

First of all, we believe that the most important “school” for prayer is in the home. Children should learn to pray in the family setting, following the example of parents who have made prayer a part of their daily lives. The parish community is there to support parents in this important ministry of introducing children to prayer but not take over their responsibility.

Secondly, Catholics have been cautious about supporting prayer in public schools because of concerns about the kind of prayer that their children might be exposed to (even subjected to) in the classroom. Whose kind of prayer would become the norm in a public school, especially in areas of the country where Catholics are a small minority of the general population?

A third reason why some Catholics might not be so interested in discussing the issue of prayer in public schools is because they are blessed with the opportunity to send their children to Catholic schools where personal and public prayer is a regular part of the school day.

I look forward to the day each week when I celebrate the Eucharist with students from our school at Sacred Heart. It is a highlight of my week and I hope it is the same for many of our students. I hasten to add, however, that a weekly celebration of the Eucharist does not satisfy our responsibility to our students and families.

As a Catholic school, our goal is to integrate prayer into all the activities of the school day – classes, meetings, practices, meals, assemblies and so on. That is the model we want our students to live by when they leave our schools.

I don’t know if prayer will ever become part of the daily routine of the public schools in our country. Learning the habit of prayer, however, is not dependent on a change is the present laws. The teaching and example of parents, supported by our parishes and by the powerful witness of our Catholic schools, are the most important foundation stones for prayer in our children’s lives.