"We're not killing you; we are simply withdrawing your oxygen": Chicago's Catholic Education Crisis and the Providence-St. Mel School Debate

Abstract:Amid a financial crisis afflicting its schools, on March 28, 1978, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced its closure of the West Side's only Catholic high school: Providence-St. Mel. The debate over funding Providence-St. Mel highlights how archdiocesan officials, students, parents, school staff, and others understood and reacted to the crisis in inner city Catholic education—one of the most significant racial issues confronting the Church. For Archbishop John Cody, the issue was money and religion. Throughout the later 1960s and 1970s, the Chancery Office allayed the school crisis with increased financial aid; however, this contributed to a growing archdiocesan budget deficit. Because Providence-St. Mel consistently needed funding, Cody argued it was difficult to maintain financial support. Aside from monetary considerations, he characterized Providence-St. Mel as "not basically Catholic," a designation meant to relieve the archdiocese of its fiscal responsibility. For Providence-St. Mel supporters, the primary issue was providing a quality Catholic education for students in a low-income black community. Consequently, the archdiocese's closure decision was seen as evidence of the Catholic Church's lack of concern for the inner city and the black community.