A recent news article from PillarCatholic reported on a public spat between the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Catholic schools of that country. In a circular dated July 14, 2025, the education ministry ordered all Congolese schools to stop excluding pregnant girls during the new academic year.
About half of the DRC’s population is Catholic, and about a quarter of all schools in the Congolese education system are Catholic schools.
The priest who serves as the national coordinator of Congolese Catholic schools wrote a letter a few days later to Catholic school administrators. He explained that a previous agreement between Catholics and the government takes precedence over this new directive and that girls in Catholic schools who become pregnant will continue to be transferred to state-run schools, following the existing practice. In a video on social media, the general secretary of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo stated, “It’s not a question here of refusing, of rejecting students who are in this situation. … One of the hallmarks of our schools is discipline in matters of morals, among other things.”
Such a response to teenage pregnancy might seem shocking to Western sensibilities. A more common response by a Catholic school in the US would involve encouraging the pregnant girl to complete her education by remaining in her Catholic school or perhaps homeschooling for the sake of schedule flexibility. One would hope that in any Catholic school in any country, the young mom and her parents or guardians would have a fruitful discussion about Catholic faith and morals with school staff, as well as talk about her vocational plans and the practical matters involved in a healthy pregnancy.
But it is easy to see why it would be difficult for a Catholic school in the US to ask the young mom to leave school. After all, with easy access to abortion available through all nine months of pregnancy somewhere in the country, it would be dangerous (to the unborn baby, at the very least) to imply to a student that she could be forced to leave school if she were discovered to be pregnant.
In defense of the Congolese government, the directive is designed to ensure that girls receive an adequate education. Only about half of their female students currently complete secondary education, apparently due to teen pregnancy and marriage.
But the response of the Congolese Catholic schools to this situation is interesting. Since pregnant girls can still receive an education at state schools, their practice of asking those girls to leave Catholic schools allows those schools to emphasize that Catholic students are expected to live lives of virtue. Granted, abortion is also legal in the DRC, so there is a danger that this practice could encourage young moms to seek abortions and end the lives of their unborn children.
But maybe Congolese Catholic schools can establish this higher standard of moral behavior for their students because Catholics make up half of the country’s population. And, one could argue, their Catholic parents expect it.
Since the advent of the Sexual Revolution, it has become a common belief that no one should suffer any negative consequences for any sexual act. Consent is all that is required to make any act “right,” at least by modern standards. But relativist standards are not God’s standards.
One historical example demonstrates another situation from a different culture and time that might be helpful in this discussion.
In 1891, religious foundress Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917) was invited to come to Granada, Nicaragua, and establish a school. The wealthy citizens of that city had decided that they wanted her Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to educate their daughters. Mother Cabrini knew that once she opened a school for the children of the rich, she could develop the funds, contacts, and reputation required to open schools for the children of the poor as well.
Within a few months of her arrival, Mother Cabrini realized that she had a serious problem. While there were plenty of families who wanted to register their children in her school, most of those children were illegitimate. Although the population of Granada was heavily Catholic, the residents of the city seemed not to know about the existence of the Sixth Commandment. Even prominent citizens kept mistresses and did not bother to marry the mothers of their children. Local church leaders recognized the problem existed, but had simply thrown up their hands.
Mother Cabrini could have ignored the problem, but she was far too serious about her faith in Christ and His Church to condone a widespread disregard for the sacrament of matrimony. She let it be known that her school would not accept illegitimate children.
At first, some parents were merely irate. Public outbursts of anger against her accelerated to threats and violence, as groups of men surrounded her convent night after night, firing their guns and banging on the doors to try to scare her into backing down.1 Instead, she simply accepted the fact that she might be assassinated.2
But she did not give in.
And, wonder of wonders, then her enemies began to repent—or rather to get married. It started with one nobleman who legitimated his daughter, and then others followed suit. What the entire Catholic hierarchy of Nicaragua could not accomplish, one religious sister did by fearing God’s judgment more than the threats of men.3
This example from the life of Saint Frances also points out the importance of the person who is often omitted from the discussion of how best to help an unwed mother: the child’s father. As Marvin Olasky and Leah Savas point out in their examination of the state of unwed motherhood in seventeenth-century America:
Community pressure on young men meant that pregnant, unmarried women could generally count on marriage before going into labor. If young men hesitated, older men intervened. They rarely needed shotguns, but every father had one. To be married under shotgun pressure carried no disgrace, and most marriages were by (at least informal) parental arrangement anyway.4
The Story of Abortion in America also points out that abortion became a more popular response when girls and women moved to large cities during the Industrial Revolution. Separated from their families, young moms did not have the financial ability to support themselves, and they lacked a community of men to “encourage” the fathers of their children to take responsibility for their actions.
These four circumstances are not as unrelated as they might seem. In all four situations, Catholics have made decisions about how to respond to those who have failed in the virtue of chastity. Since that failure could happen (and probably has happened) to every adult, it should not be that difficult for us to find ways to help others with compassion as well as faithfulness.
It is tempting to be scandalized that Catholics in different cultures and times respond differently to similar moral issues. Rather than seeing the Congolese Catholic hierarchy as backward or unsympathetic to the problems of teen mothers, Westerners can use their example to better understand Western culture and challenge its weaknesses.
By God’s grace, we can learn from one another how to support the physical and emotional well-being of a pregnant teen and her unborn child without forgetting their eternal salvation—and try to love them both.
Endnotes:
1 Theodore Maynard, Too Small a World (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2024), 174.
2 Saint Frances Cabrini, All Things are Possible: The Selected Writings of Mother Cabrini (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2025), ed. Dawn Beutner, 40.
3 Mother Saverio de Maria, MSC, Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, trans. Rose Basile Green (Chicago: Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 1984), 140.
4 Marvin Olasky and Leah Savas, The Story of Abortion in America: A Street-Level History, 1652-2022 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023), 43.
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You should never get into bed with the Father of Lies. When you do, the consequences will be dire and predictable.
When my youngest child was in middle school there were so many pregnant 11-15 year olds enrolled that they had to hire a full time instructor to teach the girls apart from the rest of the student body.
The thought was to keep the young expectant mothers away from harassment and bullying. It’s not a bad strategy. Perhaps the schools in the Congo might consider that approach.
There used to be “homes for unwed mothers,” weren’t there? Whisked away and then they reappeared months later.
An older neighbor said before the highways came in the father either got on the train and disappeared or they got married.
We still have shelters for unwed mothers. Locally there’s a shelter for homeless expectant mothers. They can also bring along any other children they’ve had.
The shelter provides housing, meals, & medical care in a Christian setting. They have a Catholic chapel on site.
The shelter connects mothers to job training & education resources. And rehab. Probably 90% of the mothers who come there today have addiction issues. Abusive boyfriends are another big problem, too.
There’s leading a life of virtue and there’s not being caught because you didn’t get/stay pregnant (at least some of the girls, and all of the boys). In the case of Mother Cabrini, the parents of the illegitimate children were encouraged to put the situation right … at least for the children lucky enough to have parents who were living together, if not the children of mistresses or other multiple partners. There was a way out that didn’t involve abortion, and that improved the situation for the children in question. But in any case there’s a big difference between checking the legitimacy of a child before they are accepted into a school, and expelling a girl after they are already there because of an immoral situation which only becomes evident when they become visibly pregnant. Even assuming the girls all had complete moral, emotional and physical agency when they became pregnant, the situation is unfair for them and, I would argue, hypocritical.
Dawn,
This generally a good article. A few thoughts though.
1) We have lost the sense of shame in the west. Every Catholic School has the right to expel anyone who is a scandal to his classmates. As an educator and coach for decades, I have seen Catholic Schoolchildren flaunt their sins without the least shame, with parents cheering them on.
2) African Catholic culture maintains that sense of shame, motivated by the fear of the Holy Ghost. This should be emulated by us, Westerners.
3) Parents must be reminded from the pulpit of their life and death obligation to form their children in virtue, especially in the virtue of purity. This is never the responsibility of the school. One of the grave errors of the 60s through the 90s is the passing off of responsibility to the Catholic School, in most cases a school run by liberal revolutionary sisters and laity.
4) Each diocese should have a school or two set apart as missionary that would open its doors to the poor, marginalized, and even scandalous. You could call them Cabrini schools. In the old days, we called them reform schools. Like mother Cabrini dreamed, the wealthy’s tithes would support them.
5) These Cabrini schools must be completely faithful and obedient to the traditional magisterium, or else they forfeit their exact purpose.
Unfortunately, in most dioceses, the prelates will not support this type of endeavor. In many large cities, these types of schools have been closed for decades. Money made from the sales often paid abuse victims.
There’s a lot of work to do, I’d say.
Ave Maria!
In the US, I would say that Catholic schools are wise to encourage pregnant teens to stay in their schools. The risk is too great that teens might choose to abort their unborn children. But I found it fascinating that the Congolese Catholics have chosen another approach, apparently because Catholics make up half of the population.
If there aren’t enough Catholics in the US trying to lead a life of virtue, then that’s something ordinary Catholics can change – by examining their own consciences and sharing the Good News with others.
“Each diocese should have a school or two set apart as missionary that would open its doors to the poor, marginalized, and even scandalous. You could call them Cabrini schools. In the old days, we called them reform schools.”
It’s rather unjust to equate poverty and being “marginalized” with scandal and being in need of reform.
Leslie,
Let me put it another way for you: schools for those who cannot afford Catholic School tuition. Define the receivers of this gift however you want.
As I mentioned above, the only thing that is shamed or deemed offensive anymore is anyone who labels sin as sin.
Thank you for accusing me of injustice. I truly appreciate it. As I tell many, you can accuse, think or believe whatever you desire but the Truth does not change because of your thoughts or beliefs.
Suggesting the needy (unwed moms are the neediest demographic) could benefit from a Catholic School ( that they could afford) is injustice. Is that really what you believe?
We all need reform as sinners in need of God’s mercy, you and I both!!
May the Blessed Virgin keep you and protect you!
Ave Maria!
In my opinion, asking what to do to educate a girl who is pregnant is like closing the barn door after the horse has escaped.
The issue is to PREVENT the girl from becoming pregnant in the first place. That can only be done by hammering home the idea that sex outside of marriage is a sin which is apt to compromise the quality rest of your life, and that abortion is NOT a solution, but certainly makes the sin much, much more serious. And that a premature pregnancy is the pathway to a life time of economic struggle and probably a truncated education. Both the girls AND the boys need to hear this message, early and often at home, at school and in church. This message used to be tolerably common. It no longer is, and the consequence is plain to see. Prevention is the only cure for the problem.
Do you really want two 16 year-olds getting married? Do you want an inept and emotional 17 year old attempting to parent a live baby? And give up her education to do so? After all , a baby is a living human, not a doll, and there is certainly no guarantee the girls mother will assist her for the next 18 years.
I agree, bring back a level of personal shame, which is sadly scarce in this society now, and to which we can attribute many of the shocking stories of disgusting and violent human behavior which all too often makes our TV news. By the way, this shame should not only apply to illicit sexual activity of all stripes , but shoplifting, murder, slander, gossip, racism, and all the major and minor sins.
People need to be made strongly aware again that certain behaviors are simply not acceptable. And even those who still attend church on Sundays should be reminded that they should not be approaching for communion at Mass if they are not properly fit to do so. THAT is indeed something that needs to be stressed at church a lot more than it is presently. What I call the “tyranny of nice” does not do any favors to those who are persisting in their sins, and should be urged to rectify their behavior.
Different eras and a differing culture today but any number of teenagers used to get married, successfully raise large families, and remain married until death.
Many of us count those amongst our parents and grandparents.
These days girls as young as 12 are injected with long-term contraceptives and as a result unwed teen pregnancies have decreased.
Why are parents allowing their 12 year olds to fornicate? I’m confused as to when this would take place – out at the swimming hole or on the playground at school, or at a party?
what injection are you referring to?
DepoProvera-type injectable contraceptives or contraceptive implants that can last for a decade, knowall:
“Implanon and Nexplanon (Merck, Whitehouse Station, NJ) are both single-rod implants that contain etonogestrel, the active metabolite of the progestin desogestrel. Implants, a LARC method, are highly effective, with typical and perfect use failure rates of less than 1%32,33; they may remain in place for 3 years. The implant is inserted into the inside of the upper arm by a clinician who has completed the requisite training. Implants are ideal for adolescents who prefer a method that does not require regularly scheduled adherence and who desire an extended length of protection”
American Academy of Pediatrics
This is from 2014 but as far as I know long term contraceptives are still being recommended by pediatricians.
I don’t have the answer about why the parents of 12-17 year olds tolerate this. I do believe it’s something health practitioners push more on teens under the poverty level & those of colour.
Sorry, in answer to your question: in the case of the 11-15 year old girls at my child’s school, some had been abused by their mother’s boyfriends. Or by older males in the neighborhood while their mother was at work.
A 12 year old at another school was murdered by her mother’s live-in boyfriend who had been molesting her in the home.
So it probably varies but in our area 12 yr. pregnant old girls weren’t being abused by boys close to their own age.
Sigh, did you ever conclude that your strict parents were smarter than you ever gave them credit for?
LJ,
I agree that the barn door is long open, and all the horses are escaped. The ultimate question is when it was opened and by whom and what sequence of events.
How do we go back and start corralling the horses?
I suggest starting by convincing youth that God’s mercy is a sweet liquor and that they need it!
Ave Maria!