CNA Staff, Aug 7, 2020 / 09:30 am
Several leading U.S. Catholic cardinals and bishops urged congressional leaders to provide emergency private school tuition aid to low-middle income families, in a letter on Thursday.
The president of the U.S. bishops' conference (USCCB), Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, signed the letter to House and Senate leaders, along with USCCB education chair Bishop Michael Barber of Oakland.
They argued that many Catholic schools which serve low-income families are at risk of closing due to economic difficulties caused by the pandemic.
"The economic devastation that has hit so many of America's families has made it impossible for many struggling families to continue paying tuition," they wrote, adding that school closures in urban areas "are disproportionately harmful to low-income and black children" who attend.