The fight to keep St. Dominic Academy’s high school in Auburn open continues.As Maine’s Total Coverage reported in June, the Catholic Diocese of Portland gave final approval to a decision to close the school for good at the end of the 2024-2025 school year, saying projected fundraising and tuition revenue wasn’t enough to sustain funding for the entire year.In making the initial announcement in March of plans to close, Bishop James Ruggieri said the Saint Dominic Academy high school program is not “financially solvent” given its current enrollment, which stands at 137 students. The bishop added that enrollment would have to surge and hold steady to sustain the high school into the future.Monday, supporters of the school announced that Canon lawyers Dr. Laura Morrison and Dr. Silvia Pavone have formally petitioned Ruggieri, saying the March 28 closure announcement “breached canon law and ignored essential consultation with parents, alumni, and the Presbyteral Council.”The petition calls on the Bishop and Diocese to overturn the decision to close the high school and issue a canonical decree so that the school can reopen. The petition also asks Ruggieri to “enter into good-faith dialogue about a lay-led association to ensure our school continues as a true Catholic institution.”In a statement, the diocese says the process and ultimate decision to close the school back in March did follow “the proper canonical steps.””The Diocese of Portland has now received a canonical petition from canon lawyers representing the independent St. Dominic Regional High School board,” spokesperson Molly DiLorenzo said in a statement. “Bishop Ruggieri will continue to follow and honor the canonical process as it relates to this petition.” Supporters say if the Diocese does not take the action they are requesting, they will take their case to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Catholic Education in Rome.
The fight to keep St. Dominic Academy’s high school in Auburn open continues.
As Maine’s Total Coverage reported in June, the Catholic Diocese of Portland gave final approval to a decision to close the school for good at the end of the 2024-2025 school year, saying projected fundraising and tuition revenue wasn’t enough to sustain funding for the entire year.
In making the initial announcement in March of plans to close, Bishop James Ruggieri said the Saint Dominic Academy high school program is not “financially solvent” given its current enrollment, which stands at 137 students. The bishop added that enrollment would have to surge and hold steady to sustain the high school into the future.
Monday, supporters of the school announced that Canon lawyers Dr. Laura Morrison and Dr. Silvia Pavone have formally petitioned Ruggieri, saying the March 28 closure announcement “breached canon law and ignored essential consultation with parents, alumni, and the Presbyteral Council.”
The petition calls on the Bishop and Diocese to overturn the decision to close the high school and issue a canonical decree so that the school can reopen. The petition also asks Ruggieri to “enter into good-faith dialogue about a lay-led association to ensure our school continues as a true Catholic institution.”
In a statement, the diocese says the process and ultimate decision to close the school back in March did follow “the proper canonical steps.”
“The Diocese of Portland has now received a canonical petition from canon lawyers representing the independent St. Dominic Regional High School board,” spokesperson Molly DiLorenzo said in a statement. “Bishop Ruggieri will continue to follow and honor the canonical process as it relates to this petition.”
Supporters say if the Diocese does not take the action they are requesting, they will take their case to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Catholic Education in Rome.