Educate me about catholic secondary schools please

[JammyDodgers3]

I have been researching Catholicism/catholic secondary schools and there are a couple of things that worry/concern me that I was hoping someone could explain more about.

Original/inherent sin - from what I can work out Adam ate an apple and because of that everyone is a born sinner.
Are children actually told they are all sinners? This worries me and seems, to me anyways, a bit demoralising.

Praying/church attendance
Again, I accept this is part of attending a catholic school. Are children forced to pray? Will they be punished if they don’t? Can they just sit quietly and respectfully through the prayer/church service if they choose to?

PSHE/RSE
Ive heard/read worrying stories that these subjects aren’t taught properly? For example, teaching that condoms are evil because they stop procreation. Are stories like this wide spread? Does it happen in all catholic schools or are these just scare stories that hit the media?

Anything else?
Is there anything else about catholic schools that people think I should know or find out about?

@CousinLucy

Having attended a Catholic school in the 1990s I have avoided them for my own children.

I can't discuss modern approaches in Catholic schools, however, I was taught contraception and abortion was morally wrong. I was told I was a sinner and needed to repent. I have only, in my 40s, been able to shake off my guilt complex.

I would wager Catholic education can be academically thorough, but at the cost of it being stricter with regards to personal viewpoints and freedoms.

You also don't sound as if you are very knowledgeable about Catholicism, if you don't mind me saying. I'm not being unkind. It is a way of life that intertwines itself deeply, steeped in history, the patriarchy and hypocrisy. It isn't always a quick Google. The very idea that Boris Johnson would've married for the THIRD time in a Catholic church blows my mind. I'm sure his other marriages weren't annulled?!

Agree with this. The Catholic schools I was at actively recruited volunteers for pro-life organisations and very much taught that abortion for any reason was totally wrong (see also sex before marriage). The church as an institution is also decades behind in all kinds of equality, so you need to think about what messages you’d be comfortable being communicated to your child.

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