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Pennsport's last two Catholic schools plan a last-ditch protest
Two South Philadelphia Catholic schools are planning one last stand against the Archdiocese's closure plans.
Pennsport's last two Catholic schools plan a last-ditch protest
Archbishop Charles Chaput has given a reprieve to 18 of the 24 Catholic schools that were up for closure. But among the six schools still set to be shuttered: Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Sacred Heart of Jesus, the last two Catholic schools in Pennsport. Neighbors see it as a critical blow to their South Philadelphia neighborhood — and they claim that the Blue Ribbon Commission, which mapped out the closure plan, never even came through their schools. (The Commission disputes that.)
The schools are organizing a rally at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow, at Third and McKean streets, to send a message to the Archbishop and the archdiocese's Blue Ribbon Commission: South Philadelphia needs their schools. Further, they argue that the proposal Chaput accepted, for "revitalized" schools elsewhere in the area, made questionable assumptions about the two schools' financial outlooks.
Sacred Heart parent Kenneth Dougherty says Chaput didn't really listen to the school community: “We feel we didn’t have our chance to plead our case. We want to make them aware that we want to be heard.”
Joseph Nelson, a parent at Mount Carmel, agrees. “The archdiocese needs to know they made a decision without coming to our buildings, without seeing our numbers. Our Lady of Mount Carmel is debt free. We’re a unified team, and we are not having it. We won’t lose the option of Catholic education in South Philly. This is where St. John started Catholic education. What kind of message does that send, that we aren’t worthy of educating our kids in our neighborhood?”
Whether the effort will be too late is another question. Dougherty acknowledges that perhaps the schools should have spoken up more loudly sooner: "We are tired of being quiet. We were quiet and it got us nowhere.”

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