Spanish Socialist government withholds aid for Catholic schools
The Spanish government's social and economic reconstruction plan deprives Catholic schools of financial help. Church institutions run most of these schools, but the funds for maintenance come mainly from the state. "They can destroy institutions that will not have the funds to maintain their educational projects," commented the Catholic Schools Association.
Bishop Luis Argüello, a spokesman for the Spanish Episcopate, recalled that these schools “save the state millions of euro because the cost of teaching one student is much lower there than in a state-run school (escuelas públicas). They teach children from twenty-five different nationalities, immigrants, and children from families with financial problems.”
“That’s why everyone has the right to receive help,” he added.
“Teaching in subsidised schools is not elitist as some try to convince the public, but part of the (…) ideological, civic, cultural and religious pluralism of Spanish society,” the teachers of the Catholic Schools Association wrote.
“Therefore, its exclusion is a clear segregation, inappropriate for European democracies (…) It goes without saying that the weaknesses of the Socialist Party are being used to support the programme of the far left Podemos party,” they concluded.
Source: pch24.pl
