Parenting & Family Quote by Mark Foley

Values are doing a lot of political work here. Foley frames Catholic schooling not as a sectarian option but as a kind of public good: a “long-term” investment in “healthy character and scholastic development.” The phrasing is carefully double-barreled. “Character” reassures social conservatives who worry that public schools have gone morally soft; “scholastic” speaks to parents who just want results. Put together, it’s an argument for legitimacy: Catholic schools aren’t merely religious enclaves, they’re high-functioning institutions that produce well-rounded citizens.

The rhetorical center is “interactive setting between parents and students,” which quietly sidelines the state. Faculty become facilitators of a family-driven ecosystem rather than agents of a standardized bureaucracy. That’s the subtext: education works best when parents have meaningful leverage, and Catholic schools are positioned as the structure that makes that leverage real. It’s also a soft sell for policies that expand private-school access (vouchers, tax credits, scholarship programs) without naming them. By focusing on process (“interactive setting”) and outcomes (“development”), Foley avoids the more polarizing church-state fight.

Context matters because Foley is a politician, not a theologian. The quote reads like coalition language: affirm faith-based education while keeping the door open to non-Catholic listeners through universal terms like “values,” “healthy,” and “for all enrolled children.” Even that last clause is strategic, emphasizing inclusivity inside the institution while leaving unasked who gets the chance to enroll, and who pays.