Two years before a gunman killed two and injured seventeen at a Minneapolis Catholic school, religious leaders had warned of security risks. In 2023, the Minnesota Catholic Conference urged Governor Tim Walz to allocate $50 million in school safety funding, citing growing threats, including the recent Covenant School shooting in Nashville.
Despite these urgent requests, nonpublic schools were left out of major state safety programs. Religious and private schools—Catholic, Muslim, Jewish—remained ineligible for grants supporting security upgrades, emergency training, or mental health services. This exclusion, leaders warned, left thousands of students vulnerable.
After the shooting, the governor’s office defended its record, noting private schools do receive some state support. But to many, the reassurances came too late. The 2023 letter now reads like a prophetic warning unheeded, casting a spotlight on the high cost of inaction.
Beyond policy, the tragedy underscores a moral truth: all children, regardless of where they attend school, deserve protection. When pleas for safety go unanswered, and violence strikes, we’re reminded that bureaucracy can’t afford to move slower than danger.
