Chicago, Ill., Jun 19, 2005 / 22:00 pm
The Archdiocese of Detroit may have new faith-based schools by the fall. The archbishop of Detroit, Adam Cardinal Maida, said he intends to announce details of the new plan next month.
The cardinal spoke to the Detroit Free Press about his intentions last week at the spring meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Chicago.
The cardinal said he would not reverse the decision to close 18 inner city schools and leave only 12 Catholic schools open in the city. But he said his staff is negotiating to form partnerships that will provide new faith-based schools for Detroit students by the fall.
"My focus right now is entirely on giving more opportunities to poor children in the city with these new partnerships we're putting together," the cardinal told the newspaper.
However, educators back in Detroit, like former principal Sr. Jolene Van Handel and principal Michael Reece told the newspaper they never heard of the plan.