Dear Editor: I’m sure that the value of the high school seminary is discerned, analyzed, and evaluated on a regular basis, but the value of Cathedral Prep can not be measured solely by the number of men who immediately continue ordination studies after graduation.

A four-year education at Cathedral Prep gives students a knowledge of and a closeness to the Church that other Catholic high schools simply do not provide. Its graduates become not just priests, but also lay leaders for the diocese and its parishes (on occasion even the editor of the diocesan newspaper!).

This year, 9 percent of graduates will continue to study for the priesthood immediately (“Continuing Studies for Priesthood on College Level,” The Tablet, June 30-July 7).

What great things will the other 91 percent do for the Church? There’s tremendous value in that as well.

MIKE VEKASSY

Via website