AIBU to think weekly mass at Catholic schools feels quite intense?

[Endoftheway]

My DH and I have 3 children, we are going to be moving after summer to a new town, quite far from where we are right now.
Our children are baptised Catholic but really we don’t go to church much, I’d say it’s very much cultural Catholicism more than true belief.
Anyway the town we are moving to has one secondary school with a very good reputation, but it’s hard to get into as it’s a Catholic school, the admissions criteria right now has

1. Baptised Catholic Children attending a feeder school (any of the about 7 Catholic primary schools in the wider area)

Since that is the first line of the admissions criteria we are looking at the Catholic primary schools. Our children are currently in a Catholic primary school and I’d say the religious element is notable not all consuming, they have lots of children in the school who aren’t Catholic and many who are other religions.

What has shocked me is, the Catholic primary school we are looking at has a weekly mass, that is open to the public and all pupils attend, the above mentioned secondary school also has a weekly mass open to the public.

This has shocked me, one as the secondary school is losing a period a week to mass and as I find it hard to believe enough of the children are actually Catholic!
I understand that these are Catholic schools and I am all for prayers in assembly, and a general Catholic culture but weekly mass seems quite unavoidable for any children who aren’t Catholic or who are questioning religion.

AIBU to think this is quite intense? Even my schools growing up weren’t like this!

This is the very definition of wanting to have your cake and eat it.

Also, the majority of Catholics in the UK have sex outside marriage (and I know several
who have / do) and have no issue with same sex couples. In fact, one of DD’s classmates has two dads. Neither issue has ever been mentioned at school.

Does not surprise me at all.

Neither does wanting to go to a Catholic school and rarely going to your local Catholic church.

Weekly Mass seems quite a lot to me, but I think English schools tend to do the assembly/collective worship thing more than here in Scotland. I went to Catholic school and we did not have masses that often, perhaps once a term?

Doing what they say on the tin. If you have an issue with that send them elsewhere.

My catholic school has mass every days during lent.

If you don't like it, don't send your kids there 🤷‍♀️

FFS pisses me off so much when people get their kids baptised to get into a certain school as it’s a good school and then shocked that there are religious elements to the school life. Just go to a non secular school. Easy. But you don’t want to do that do you because this school is better.

I’m catholic , husband is an atheist. The catholic high school near us is absolutely amazing but we decided that religion should be something for the kids to decide on when they are older and make informed decision about what they believe in. I went to a catholic grammar and there were lots of masses, there is a chapel in the school and we had to take RE as a GCSE:

My Catholic primary had weekly mass and benediction. My dc secondary had regular mass- just took place instead of assembly.

I went to Catholic primary & secondary schools & we only had mass on the school saint's day and holy days if we didn't have the day off (at primary). Ash Wednesday & Candlemas being two of the days which involved ash on the forehead or candles being crossed across the throat! We stood for the angelus bell at primary, which was also the sign for dinner time.

Weekly Mass is very usual in any Catholic school.
My dd school, there was Mass 3 times a week.

You're shocked by one hour a week?
Doesn't sound like that much to me.

We had assembly every day in my primary school that had to include some element of Christian teaching. Wasn't an hour a day, but it was every day and prayers every day too. In a non-faith school.

Same at the school I attended for sixth form. I’m not Catholic and I found it all a bit odd (and I’d been to culturally very Christian/C of E primary and secondary schools). One of the main reasons I’d never send my kids to a Catholic school, even for the good reputations lots of them have.

I went to Catholic school in the 80,s too we were allowed holy days of obligation off school to attend mass .

If Catholic mass doesn't float your boat then don't go to a school that insists on attendance at Catholic mass. I deliberately did not choose to send my children to a Catholic school, it's one of the perks of living in a free country.

What is “cultural Catholicism” is it like Catholic Lite.

Well,...yes It's a Catholic school, and a Catholic should attend mass at least once a week.

We have a local catholic school to which one of my children may go for secondary - which involves weekly mass. If you want the perceived benefits of the religious school, you have to take the religion with it.

It’s a Catholic school..They tend me be religion based. 🤷‍♀️

I went to a Jewish high school and we started every day with services. Our day was a lot longer than the state high schools though as we had a double curriculum.

I think its people who were baptised Catholic but don't actually really follow Catholicism. They like the Pope, but a bit like the Brits 'like' the King. Church is not attended regularly, but they might go enough as children to learn the words and be able to say the rosary. But generally don't. And pilgrimage is only done with your mates as a school/youth group trip.

Oh, and depending where you went to school you remember not to mess with the nuns.

Or so my friend tells me.

So don't send them to that school then 🤷‍♀️.

It's a Catholic school. Their primary edict is to raise Catholics and promote Catholicism. Voted yabu because it's on you to understand this about schools you are sending your children to.

They were baptised Catholic, maybe brought up Catholic, but are now really only onboard for the perks - like good schools.

They don’t attend church or if they do it’s just for the big stuff - Easter Sunday and Christmas - which tend to be slightly jollier and they roll out the banging tunes.

They subconsciously fear going to hell and keeping their hand in gives them comfort it might be avoided.

In the 60’s and 70’s it was mass twice a week plus on Holy Days of Obligation. I was a fee-paying non Catholic (therefore considered unsalable and aka a heathen by the nuns).
Put me off religion for life.

I absolutely love the word freestyle as a substitute for homily!

Totally going to think of this at Mass on Sunday. 😆

I went to catholic school in the 80s & 90s what do you think they were saying @Mulledjuice?