May 13, 2015 – Excerpted from Put Out Into the Deep, Bishop DiMarzio’s column in The Tablet:

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

Mid-May begins the graduation season, first for colleges and universities, and then high schools and eventually for elementary schools. It is always heartwarming to see proud graduates be recognized for the hard work which they put in for being good students. And justly proud they should be for the commitment they have had to using all God’s talents given to them and improve them through the educational process.

It is truly a loss to our society and Church if our young people do not pursue an education to the highest level available to them. The problems today that impede young people from seeking a college education, or even higher education, usually comes in the form of daunting tuitions and interminable loans that need to be taken in order to continue the education process.

Some have even questioned if a college education or professional education is truly worthwhile. From the monetary point of view, research shows that college graduates earn more through a lifetime than those who have not graduated college. It is so much more difficult to calculate, however, the contribution that those educated make to our society.

Read the full text of the Bishop’s column on The Tablet website.