Archdiocese Continues to Say Decisions Final as Nativity Seeks Community Support

The Nativity BVM School community is not accepting the Archdiocese of Philadelphia decision to house a new regional school outside of Media come next school year. But as of now, the Archdiocese doesn't seem to be changing its mind.

On Feb. 17, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced to host a regional elementary school after it and merge next school year. The Blue Ribbon Commission originally recommended the regional school be located at the Media facility.

The Nativity BVM community and many Media residents are and have started a petition to fight against the ruling.

According to All Things Media, Pa. Blog, petitions and signs are being distributed at . The goal of the petitions is to present them to Nativity Pastor Edward Bell and the Office of Catholic Education, according to the Delaware County Daily Times.

Archdiocese-wide it seems suspicions still remain about the Catholic school closings and reversals, according to this column on philly.com.

Meetings have been held, door-to-door outreach is happening, businesses are posting signs, all in the hopes that Nativity BVM School will remain open come September.

However, the Archdiocese says Archbishop Charles Chaput has reviewed the recommendations and the decisions are final.

Below is a statement provided by the Archdiocese Communication Office in response to a Media Patch request for comment regarding the Nativity/St. John issue.

We understand that this is a difficult situation and everyone was expecting one outcome but ended up with another. That makes it particularly hard. We hope that in the end the two school communities will have a good transition as they create something new.

We haven't been giving details about specific appeals but as it says on the Faith in Future website, "Archbishop Chaput has reviewed the Blue Ribbon Commission and the Review Committee recommendations, discussed these with the Regional Bishops and has accepted them. Although the restructuring of the schools will be difficult, it is necessary to not only stabilize Catholic education in the Archdiocese, but also to reinvigorate it, and therefore this decision is final."

Additionally, the goal of the Blue Ribbon Commission from the very beginning was to make sure that Catholic Education would be affordable, accessible, sustainable and continually excellent now and far into the future. The initial recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission and the results of the appeals process are reflective of those goals.

Final decisions were reached only after a very thorough, thoughtful, contemplative, and prayerful process. We appreciate and understand the passion that people have for their Catholic schools. Their identities are linked to those schools in a very special way. Change can be difficult to embrace, but we pray that everyone remains focused on the end result—ensuring that the same quality Catholic education they all received is available for future generations.