From the only reliable source of Catholic news on the net, Eye of the Tiber:
Total catechism student loan debt in the U.S. has officially topped $1.8 hundred dollars.
In March, the Francis administration announced a series of changes to the Free Application For Federal Catechism Aid (FAFCA), the form for prospective catechists applying for church financial aid.
This measure was taken in the hopes of making the burden of learning the fundamentals of Catholicism more manageable. EOTT has found in a recent study that cradle Catholics ages 30 to 55 owe nearly as much money on past catechism classes as do converts to Catholicism even after years of payments, and that loan payments have become a major portion of their monthly expenses, crippling many households.
Head RCIA financial aid expert Devin Bolero recently told EOTT that more than 37% of borrowers are graduating with debt that can take them days if not weeks to pay off, significantly impacting their lives.
“I found that new Catholics who graduate with catechism debt are about 17% more likely to wait an extra week to pay off their debt before getting married and having kids,” Bolero said. “It’s an issue the USCCB seriously needs to look into.”
Bolero estimates that America’s catechism student loan debt is growing at a rapid rate, rising nearly $2 every week.
Go here to read the comments. Perhaps PopeWatch should ask for a reduction of his salary as a CCD teacher from its current extortionate rate of 0.00 per hour?
Theology classes above 8th grade CCD (high school) will run you $44K where I live.
“Children are so expensive, only the poor can afford to have them.”
then Pope Francis ought not have canned George Cardinal Pell. Come to think of it, that this is a lesson in itself.
As critic’s of the Vatican have suggested in the past, Rome should sell off some of her treasures…in this case sell the Hammer & Sickle crucifix to relieve some of the horrible catechism debt. Oh..and that red statue of Martin Luther…SELL IT! Please.
$0.00 hourly wage is somewhat extravagant. You should probably pay the diocese a fee for your time.
🙂
Catechists should be paid in order to reduce the money spent on Cultural Marxist initiatives like the USCCB.
Sadly not joking, one of the parishes in our area charges $40s and requires six weeks of two nights a week classes to be certified– for three years– to teach. (but if you register early, you can get it for only $30!)
This came up because my cousin, who goes to that parish, mentioned that they are also very short of the number of teachers they need….
They don’t say what the classes are about, but from looking at it– it’s got little to do with the binding teachings of Catholicism, although some could go both ways. (“Who is Jesus in the 21st century?”)
Correction, that’s to have done the Christian Formation Program; the three-year certificate is only $20, and four weeks…on one of the current Pope’s letters, either Misericordia et Misera or Amoris Laetitia.
To be a ministry volunteer (lector or Eucharistic minister) is thirty bucks and five weeks, although to renew is only a twenty and either one or two weeks. (term not stated)
In order to be a member of a Catholic homeschool group in that area, you are required to be certified through Virtusonline.org. (Which is not TOO bad, it’s one class and the price varies, and it’s basically a “how to recognize predatory behaviors” that lines up surprisingly well with the good anti-terrorism training I got, but….)
“What you get for free, give for free”