Catholic Schools Wanted Prayer Instead of a Walkout on Gun Violence
- By Kelly Frazier --
- 14 Mar 2018 --
Organized Prayer Service and Discipline on National Walk Out Day
Today over 180,000 students in America walked out of school at 10:00 am EST and stood for 17 minutes to protest the lack of effort to stop gun violence and serve as a memorial to the 17 students killed in the mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Catholic Schools Wanted Prayer Instead of Walking Out on Gun Violence[/tweetthis]
Our favorite signs from today's #NationalWalkoutDay. ✊?✊?✊?✊?✊? pic.twitter.com/EQKgEP9FQS
— MAKERS (@MAKERSwomen) March 14, 2018
But Catholic schools had a different idea. They organized religious services. Some held mass, others had a prayer service about gun violence, while others held religious discussions. All were held on campus. Very few Catholic schools allowed their students to leave campus to join the nationwide protest movement.
WATCH: California students spell out #Enough during protest against gun violence#NationalWalkoutDay pic.twitter.com/YQUGcqdhQs
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 14, 2018
St. Joseph Academy students, faculty and staff walked out of their classrooms Wednesday, the school saying on social media that they "chose to pray as a community…in remembrance of those affected by gun violence." #NationalWalkoutDay https://t.co/nm32Zgg8fO pic.twitter.com/9SOdawdJKI
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 14, 2018
This does not mean that prayer was done entirely in absence of any other action. Some schools spoke to children about how Catholics are against all gun violence and some church officials gave students advice about how to write to their legislators in creating change on gun laws in the United States. The belief was that staying on campus and focusing on prayer better fulfilled both the educational and religious missions of the institutions.
This does also not mean that the protest movement did not have religious components. For example, some schools in the Mid-West held a prayer service after the walkout. The key difference is leaving the school and using the teachings of a particular religious denomination.
Several schools, including most Catholic ones, gave warnings that students would be held to disciplinary action if they walked out. It is unclear how many students decided to follow the national movement and ignore the religious alternative that was offered.
Single student walks out of class on #NationalWalkoutDay under threat of suspension from her New Jersey School. “I want to show I care about it, so I want to do something about it.” https://t.co/xveiiEr9KG pic.twitter.com/6uB61Jpql4
— ABC News (@ABC) March 14, 2018
On #NationalWalkoutDay, the media isn't showing that in many Red districts, teachers are locking students in classrooms, threatening them with 5-10 day suspensions if they walk out.
These districts tout the 2nd Amendment but refuse allow their students to embrace 1st Amendment!
— Ed Krassenstein ? (@EdKrassen) March 14, 2018
And another. #NationalWalkoutDay pic.twitter.com/IiLZPELOPY
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) March 14, 2018