Archdiocese Will Hear School Closing Appeals

PHILADELPHIA - Archdiocese of Philadelphia officials now say they will hear final appeals from any of 49 schools set to close this summer, in what amounts to a Hail Mary pass for students and teachers.

Slideshow: Students Protest On Monday At Three Schools

UPDATE (Click Here): Complete Closings List

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In a statement on Tuesday, Archdiocese of Philadelphia officials said they will hear appeals and make the closing list absolutely final in about one month..

The Archdiocese also changed statements on its www.faithinthefutre.com Web site published on the weekend that Archbishop Chaput's decision was final. Now, the site outlines the appeals process.

The Archdiocese met with representatives from the 49 closing schools earlier on Tuesday and issued the statement after the meeting.

“Today, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia outlined a review process for parish and school administrators who wish to request that the recommendation of a closure, partnership or regionalization be reconsidered for their school,” the statement said.

The Archdioceses has set up two Review Committees-one for parish elementary schools and one for high schools-to facilitate these requests, it said.

Pastors, elementary school principals and high school presidents will be allowed to present an appeal

At the meetings, members of the Blue Ribbon Commission will present facts used in its recommendation, while those seeking an appeal can present facts and documentation.

Archbishop Charles Chaput will then make a final decision by mid-February.

A rally was held at Archbishop Prendergast and Monsignor Bonner High Schools on Monday  morning. Students and parents were making an attempt at saving their school from closure.

The two Delaware County high schools were on the list of those recommended for closure.

There were similar scenes at Saint Mark's in Bristol and at West Catholic High School

The Archbishop Of Philadelphia, David Chaput, spoke with Fox 29 on Monday night about the decision process.

He said he received a lot of mail over the weekend and some of it was negative.

“It is part of my responsibility to listed to the people who have other ideas and who let me know they weren’t pleased with the decision,” he said.

The Archbishop said if there are appeals, they need to be based on facts, not on emotion.

“Emotion is part of our life. It’s not something we can divorce ourselves from,” said Archbishop Chaput. “But the advice that came to me was for a serious reason. We just can’t continue doing what we are doing, bleeding financially and our enrollment is very low in some of our schools.”

“So we have to do something about that. To save the whole system we have to make some cuts.”

Chaput said the rallies show the importance of education to parishioners.

“We will be with the people through the next weeks,” Chaput said.