Father Ron Will, Pastor St. Francis Xavier School, St. Joseph, MO
I was ordained as a priest on June 14, 1975 in Carthagena, Ohio for the Society of the Precious Blood. I grew up in a Precious Blood parish, so I was attracted to the Community by my pastors. I entered a Precious Blood high school seminary in Canton, Ohio and continued with the Community throughout my seminary training.
Over the years, I have served in four parishes with Catholic grade schools. I think Catholic Schools are more important today than when I was a child. We live in a world with so many negative influences, especially from the media, on our development and moral values. A Catholic School provides an environment where positive influences are stronger on a child's personality and character development. The Catholic Schools provide positive role models for making decisions and forming relationships. They provide an environment where a child can personally encounter Jesus Christ and allow that relationship to lead the child in future development.
When I was a child, we didn't know how harmful second hand smoke was to a person's good health. Today we do, and we have provided environments in restaurants, offices, hotels, etc. which protect us from that harm. In a similar way, I think Catholic Schools provide an environment where a child and teenager develop with healthy influences on their present and future spiritual health, and lead to their positive influence on society. It is very important that we continue to provide Catholic Schools for our children.
