Amid declining enrollment in Catholic schools across the country, Wisconsin parents of Catholic school children have responded to the change in public sentiment. 

In one such case, Chris Rickert of the Wisconsin State Journal has written repeatedly about St. Maria Goretti Parish in Madison and its school, where he paints a picture of an unhappy community roiled by unwelcome changes from the new leadership. However, Wisconsin Catholic school parents have responded differently, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

“I don’t think we ever felt super worried, in the midst of people pulling their children away from school," said Kirstin, a parent at St. Maria Goretti. "I don’t know Chris Rickert at all, and I don’t know anybody that was quoted in his story. I don’t know or recognize any of the people quoted in that story. I feel like I know a lot of people at St. Maria Goretti, but I don’t know how involved in the parish these people quoted in the piece are in the parish.” 

Monica Simpson is a longtime member of the area Catholic community and wrote an open letter defending the parish and school, suggesting that the negative media attention was unfounded and came from people who knew nothing of the community, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. 

"The press has St. Maria Goretti and St. Mary's of Pine Bluff under the same microscope it has had since Bishop Robert Morlino. St. Mary's of Pine Bluff is the pet Catholic scapegoat," said Simpson, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. 

In total, enrollment has dropped by about 75 students at St. Maria Goretti Parish. Whether or not this is the fault of the school's stances on mask mandates and religion, or the media itself, is still up for debate. 

“The educational experience our child is having is based in the sacraments, and teaching our children to be Catholic. That God loves them and that they are beloved children of God and that we can have a relationship with Him in the Sacraments," said Kirstin. "We’ve been going to the parish since we moved here, and we help run the parish marriage prep program, where we mentor couples about to get married. We love meeting with people after the Mass, and we’ve met most people who stay around after Mass. We don’t know anyone quoted in the article at all, and we’re as active as we can be in the parish.”