CONGREGATION FOR CATHOLIC EDUCATION
(for Seminaries and Educational Institutions)
THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL
ON THE THRESHOLD
OF THE THIRD MILLENNIUM
Introduction
1. On the threshold of the third millennium education faces new challenges which
are the result of a new socio-political and cultural context. First and foremost,
we have a crisis of values which, in highly developed societies in particular, assumes
the form, often exalted by the media, of subjectivism, moral relativism and nihilism.
The extreme pluralism pervading contemporary society leads to behaviour patterns
which are at times so opposed to one another as to undermine any idea of community
identity. Rapid structural changes, profound technical innovations and the globalization
of the economy affect human life more and more throughout the world. Rather than
prospects of development for all, we witness the widening of the gap between rich
and poor, as well as massive migration from underdeveloped to highly-developed countries.
The phenomena of multiculturalism and an increasingly multi-ethnic and multi-religious
society is at the same time an enrichment and a source of further problems. To this
we must add, in countries of long-standing evangelization, a growing marginalization
of the Christian faith as a reference point and a source of light for an effective
and convincing interpretation of existence.
2. In the specifically educational field, the scope of educational functions has
broadened, becoming more complex, more specialized. The sciences of education, which
concentrated in the past on the study of the child and teacher-training, have been
widened to include the various stages of life, and the different spheres and situations
beyond the school. New requirements have given force to the demand for new contents,
new capabilities and new educational models besides those followed traditionally.
Thus education and schooling become particularly difficult today.
3. Such an outlook calls for courageous renewal on the part of the Catholic school.
The precious heritage of the experience gained over the centuries reveals its vitality
precisely in the capacity for prudent innovation. And so, now as in the past, the
Catholic school must be able to speak for itself effectively and convincingly. It
is not merely a question of adaptation, but of missionary thrust, the fundamental
duty to evangelize, to go towards men and women wherever they are, so that they
may receive the gift of salvation.
4. Accordingly, the Congregation for Catholic Education, during this time of immediate
preparation for the great jubilee of the year 2000, and as it celebrates the thirtieth
anniversary of the creation of the Schools Office(1) and the twentieth anniversary
of The Catholic School, published on 19th March 1977, proposes to "focus
attention on the nature and distinctive characteristics of a school which would
present itself as Catholic".(2) It therefore addresses this circular letter
to all those who are engaged in Catholic schooling, in order to convey to them a
word of encouragement and hope. In particular, by means of the present letter, the
Congregation shares their joy for the positive fruits yielded by the Catholic school
and their anxiety about the difficulties which it encounters. Furthermore, the teachings
of the Second Vatican Council, innumerable interventions of the Holy Father, ordinary
and extraordinary Assemblies of the Synod of Bishops, Episcopal Conferences and
the pastoral solicitude of diocesan Ordinaries, as well as international Catholic
organisations involved in education and schooling, all support our conviction that
it is opportune to devote careful attention to certain fundamental characteristics
of the Catholic school, which are of great importance if its educational activity
is to be effectual in the Church and in society. Such are: the Catholic school as
a place of integral education of the human person through a clear educational project
of which Christ is the foundation ;(3) its ecclesial and cultural identity;
its mission of education as a work of love; its service to society; the traits which
should characterize the educating community.
Joys and difficulties
5. We retrace with satisfaction the positive course of the Catholic school over
the past decades. First and foremost, we must recognize the contribution it makes
to the evangelizing mission of the Church throughout the world, including those
areas in which no other form of pastoral work is possible. Moreover, in spite of
numerous obstacles, the Catholic school has continued to share responsibility for
the social and cultural development of the different communities and peoples to
which it belongs, participating in their joys and hopes, their sufferings and difficulties,
their efforts to achieve genuine human and communitarian progress. In this respect,
mention must be made of the invaluable services of the Catholic school to the spiritual
and material development of less fortunate peoples. It is our duty to express appreciation
for the Catholic school's contribution to innovation in the fields of pedagogy and
didactics, and the strenuous commitment of so many men and women, especially of
all those religious and laity who see their teaching as a mission and true apostolate.(4)
Finally, we cannot forget the part played by Catholic schools in organic pastoral
work and in pastoral care for the family in particular, emphasizing in this respect
their discreet insertion in the educational dynamics between parents and their children
and, very especially the unpretentious yet caring and sensitive help offered in
those cases, more and more numerous above all in wealthy nations, of families which
are "fragile" or have broken up.
6. The school is undoubtedly a sensitive meeting-point for the problems which beseige
this restless end of the millennium. The Catholic school is thus confronted with
children and young people who experience the difficulties of the present time. Pupils
who shun effort, are incapable of self-sacrifice and perseverance and who lack authentic
models to guide them, often even in their own families. In an increasing number
of instances they are not only indifferent and non-practising, but also totally
lacking in religious or moral formation. To this we must add — on the part of numerous
pupils and families — a profound apathy where ethical and religious formation is
concerned, to the extent that what is in fact required of the Catholic school is
a certificate of studies or, at the most, quality instruction and training for employment.
The atmosphere we have described produces a certain degree of pedagogical tiredness,
which intensifies the ever increasing difficulty of conciliating the role of the
teacher with that of the educator in today's context.
7. Among existing difficulties, there are also situations in the political, social
and cultural sphere which make it harder or even impossible to attend a Catholic
school. The drama of large-scale poverty and hunger in many parts of the world,
internal conflicts and civil wars, urban deterioration, the spread of crime in large
cities, impede the implementation of projects for formation and education. In other
parts of the world, governments themselves put obstacles in the way, when they do
not actually prevent the Catholic school from operating, in spite of the progress
which has been made as far as attitude, democratic practice and sensitivity to human
rights are concerned. Finance is a source of further difficulties, which are felt
more acutely in those states in which no government aid is provided for non state
schools. This places an almost unbearable financial burden on families choosing
not to send their children to state schools and constitutes a serious threat to
the survival of the schools themselves. Moreover, such financial strain not only
affects the recruiting and stability of teachers, but can also result in the exclusion
from Catholic schools of those who cannot afford to pay, leading to a selection
according to means which deprives the Catholic school of one of its distinguishing
features, which is to be a school for all.
Looking ahead
8. This overview of the joys and difficulties of the Catholic school, although not
pretending to exhaust its entire breadth and depth, does prompt us to reflect on
the contribution it can make to the formation of the younger generation on the threshold
of the third millennium, recognising, as John Paul II has written, that "the future
of the world and of the Church belongs to the younger generation, to those
who, born in this century, will reach maturity in the next, the first century of
the new millennium".(5) Thus the Catholic school should be able to offer young people
the means to acquire the knowledge they need in order to find a place in a society
which is strongly characterized by technical and scientific skill. But at the same
time, it should be able, above all, to impart a solid Christian formation. And for
the Catholic school to be a means of education in the modern world, we are convinced
that certain fundamental characteristics need to be strengthened.
The human person and his or her education
9. The Catholic school sets out to be a school for the human person and of human
persons. "The person of each individual human being, in his or her material and
spiritual needs, is at the heart of Christ's teaching: this is why the promotion
of the human person is the goal of the Catholic school".(6) This affirmation, stressing
man's vital relationship with Christ, reminds us that it is in His person that the
fullness of the truth concerning man is to be found. For this reason the Catholic
school, in committing itself to the development of the whole man, does so in obedience
to the solicitude of the Church, in the awareness that all human values find their
fulfilment and unity in Christ.(7) This awareness expresses the centrality of the
human person in the educational project of the Catholic school, strengthens its
educational endeavour and renders it fit to form strong personalities.
10. The social and cultural context of our time is in danger of obscuring "the educational
value of the Catholic school, in which its fundamental reason for existing and the
basis of its genuine apostolate is to be found".(8) Indeed, although it is true
to say that in recent years there has been an increased interest and a greater sensitivity
on the part of public opinion, international organizations and governments with
regard to schooling and education, there has also been a noticeable tendency to
reduce education to its purely technical and practical aspects. Pedagogy and the
sciences of education themselves have appeared to devote greater attention to the
study of phenomenology and didactics than to the essence of education as such, centred
on deeply meaningful values and vision. The fragmentation of education, the generic
character of the values frequently invoked and which obtain ample and easy consensus
at the price of a dangerous obscuring of their content, tend to make the school
step back into a supposed neutrality, which enervates its educating potential and
reflects negatively on the formation of the pupils. There is a tendency to forget
that education always presupposes and involves a definite concept of man and life.
To claim neutrality for schools signifies in practice, more times than not, banning
all reference to religion from the cultural and educational field, whereas a correct
pedagogical approach ought to be open to the more decisive sphere of ultimate objectives,
attending not only to "how", but also to "why", overcoming any misunderstanding
as regards the claim to neutrality in education, restoring to the educational process
the unity which saves it from dispersion amid the meandering of knowledge and acquired
facts, and focuses on the human person in his or her integral, transcendent, historical
identity. With its educational project inspired by the Gospel, the Catholic school
is called to take up this challenge and respond to it in the conviction that "it
is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes
clear".(9)
The Catholic school at the heart of the Church
11. The complexity of the modern world makes it all the more necessary to increase
awareness of the ecclesial identity of the Catholic school. It is from its Catholic
identity that the school derives its original characteristics and its "structure"
as a genuine instrument of the Church, a place of real and specific pastoral ministry.
The Catholic school participates in the evangelizing mission of the Church and is
the privileged environment in which Christian education is carried out. In this
way "Catholic schools are at once places of evangelization, of complete formation,
of inculturation, of apprenticeship in a lively dialogue between young people of
different religions and social backgrounds".(10) The ecclesial nature of the Catholic
school, therefore, is written in the very heart of its identity as a teaching institution.
It is a true and proper ecclesial entity by reason of its educational activity,
"in which faith, culture and life are brought into harmony".(11) Thus it must be
strongly emphasized that this ecclesial dimension is not a mere adjunct, but is
a proper and specific attribute, a distinctive characteristic which penetrates and
informs every moment of its educational activity, a fundamental part of its very
identity and the focus of its mission.(12) The fostering of this dimension should
be the aim of all those who make up the educating community.
12. By reason of its identity, therefore, the Catholic school is a place of ecclesial
experience, which is moulded in the Christian community. However, it should not
be forgotten that the school fulfils its vocation to be a genuine experience of
Church only if it takes its stand within the organic pastoral work of the Christian
community. In a very special way the Catholic school affords the opportunity to
meet young people in an environment which favours their Christian formation. Unfortunately,
there are instances in which the Catholic school is not perceived as an integral
part of organic pastoral work, at times it is considered alien, or very nearly so,
to the community. It is urgent, therefore, to sensitize parochial and diocesan communities
to the necessity of their devoting special care to education and schools.
13. In the life of the Church, the Catholic school is recognised above all as an
expression of those Religious Institutes which, according to their proper charism
or specific apostolate, have dedicated themselves generously to education. The present
time is not without its difficulties, not only on account of the alarming decrease
in numbers, but also of a serious misunderstanding which induces some Religious
to abandon the teaching apostolate. In other words, on the one hand the commitment
to schooling is separated from pastoral activity, while on the other it is not easy
to reconcile concrete activities with the specific demands of religious life. The
fertile intuitions of saintly founders and foundresses demonstrate, more radically
than any other argumentation, the groundless and precarious nature of such attitudes.
We should also remember that the presence of consecrated religious within the educating
community is indispensable, since "consecrated persons are able to be especially
effective in educational activities";(13) they are an example of the unreserved
and gratuitous "gift" of self to the service of others in the spirit of their religious
consecration. The presence of men and women religious, side by side with priests
and lay teachers, affords pupils "a vivid image of the Church and makes recognition
of its riches easier".(14)
Cultural identity of the Catholic school
14. From the nature of the Catholic school also stems one of the most significant
elements of its educational project: the synthesis between culture and faith. Indeed,
knowledge set in the context of faith becomes wisdom and life vision. The endeavour
to interweave reason and faith, which has become the heart of individual subjects,
makes for unity, articulation and coordination, bringing forth within what is learnt
in school a Christian vision of the world, of life, of culture and of history. In
the Catholic school's educational project there is no separation between time for
learning and time for formation, between acquiring notions and growing in wisdom.
The various school subjects do not present only knowledge to be attained, but also
values to be acquired and truths to be discovered.(15) All of which demands an atmosphere
characterized by the search for truth, in which competent, convinced and coherent
educators, teachers of learning and of life, may be a reflection, albeit imperfect
but still vivid, of the one Teacher. In this perspective, in the Christian educational
project all subjects collaborate, each with its own specific content, to the formation
of mature personalities.
"Care for learning means loving" (Sap 6,17)
15. In its ecclesial dimension another characteristic of the Catholic school has
its root: it is a school for all, with special attention to those who are weakest.
In the past, the establishment of the majority of Catholic educational institutions
has responded to the needs of the socially and economically disadvantaged. It is
no novelty to affirm that Catholic schools have their origin in a deep concern for
the education of children and young people left to their own devices and deprived
of any form of schooling. In many parts of the world even today material poverty
prevents many youths and children from having access to formal education and adequate
human and Christian formation. In other areas new forms of poverty challenge the
Catholic school. As in the past, it can come up against situations of incomprehension,
mistrust and lack of material resources. The girls from poor families that were
taught by the Ursuline nuns in the 15th Century, the boys that Saint Joseph of Calasanz
saw running and shouting through the streets of Rome, those that De la Salle came
across in the villages of France, or those that were offered shelter by Don Bosco,
can be found again among those who have lost all sense of meaning in life and lack
any type of inspiring ideal, those to whom no values are proposed and who do not
know the beauty of faith, who come from families which are broken and incapable
of love, often living in situations of material and spiritual poverty, slaves to
the new idols of a society, which, not infrequently, promises them only a future
of unemployment and marginalization. To these new poor the Catholic school turns
in a spirit of love. Spurred on by the aim of offering to all, and especially to
the poor and marginalized, the opportunity of an education, of training for a job,
of human and Christian formation, it can and must find in the context of the old
and new forms of poverty that original synthesis of ardour and fervent dedication
which is a manifestation of Christ's love for the poor, the humble, the masses seeking
for truth.
The Catholic school at the service of society
16. The school cannot be considered separately from other educational institutions
and administered as an entity apart, but must be related to the world of politics,
economy, culture and society as a whole. For her part the Catholic school must be
firmly resolved to take the new cultural situation in her stride and, by her refusal
to accept unquestioningly educational projects which are merely partial, be an example
and stimulus for other educational institutions, in the forefront of ecclesial community's
concern for education. In this way the Catholic school's public role is clearly
perceived. It has not come into being as a private initiative, but as an expression
of the reality of the Church, having by its very nature a public character. It fulfils
a service of public usefulness and, although clearly and decidedly configured in
the perspective of the Catholic faith, is not reserved to Catholics only, but is
open to all those who appreciate and share its qualified educational project. This
dimension of openness becomes particularly evident in countries in which Christians
are not in the majority or developing countries, where Catholic schools have always
promoted civil progress and human development without discrimination of any kind.(16)
Catholic schools, moreover, like state schools, fulfil a public role, for their
presence guarantees cultural and educational pluralism and, above all, the freedom
and right of families to see that their children receive the sort of education they
wish for them.(17)
17. The Catholic school, therefore, undertakes a cordial and constructive dialogue
with states and civil authorities. Such dialogue and collaboration must be based
on mutual respect, on the reciprocal recognition of each other's role and on a common
service to mankind. To achieve this end, the Catholic school willingly occupies
its place within the school system of the different countries and in the legislation
of the individual states, when the latter respect the fundamental rights of the
human person, starting with respect for life and religious freedom. A correct relationship
between state and school, not only a Catholic school, is based not so much on institutional
relations as on the right of each person to receive a suitable education of their
free choice. This right is acknowledged according to the principle of subsidiarity.(18)
For "The public authority, therefore, whose duty it is to protect and defend the
liberty of the citizens, is bound according to the principle of distributive justice
to ensure that public subsidies are so allocated that parents are truly free to
select schools for their children in accordance with their conscience".(19) In the
framework not only of the formal proclamation, but also in the effective exercise
of this fundamental human right, in some countries there exists the crucial problem
of the juridical and financial recognition of non-state schools. We share John Paul
II's earnest hope, expressed yet again recently, that in all democratic countries
"concrete steps finally be taken to implement true equality for non-state schools
and that it be at the same time respectful of their educational project".(20)
Climate of the educating community
18. Before concluding, we should like to dwell briefly on the climate and role of
the educating community, which is constituted by the interaction and collaboration
of its various components: students, parents, teachers, directors and non-teaching
staff.(21) Attention is rightly given to the importance of the relations existing
between all those who make up the educating community. During childhood and adolescence
a student needs to experience personal relations with outstanding educators, and
what is taught has greater influence on the student's formation when placed in a
context of personal involvement, genuine reciprocity, coherence of attitudes, life-styles
and day to day behaviour. While respecting individual roles, the community dimension
should be fostered, since it is one of the most enriching developments for the contemporary
school.(22) It is also helpful to bear in mind, in harmony with the Second Vatican
Council,(23) that this community dimension in the Catholic school is not a merely
sociological category; it has a theological foundation as well. The educating community,
taken as a whole, is thus called to further the objective of a school as a place
of complete formation through interpersonal relations.
19. In the Catholic school, "prime responsibility for creating this unique Christian
school climate rests with the teachers, as individuals and as a community".(24)
Teaching has an extraordinary moral depth and is one of man's most excellent and
creative activities, for the teacher does not write on inanimate material, but on
the very spirits of human beings. The personal relations between the teacher and
the students, therefore, assume an enormous importance and are not limited simply
to giving and taking. Moreover, we must remember that teachers and educators fulfil
a specific Christian vocation and share an equally specific participation in the
mission of the Church, to the extent that "it depends chiefly on them whether the
Catholic school achieves its purpose".(25)
20. Parents have a particularly important part to play in the educating community,
since it is to them that primary and natural responsibility for their children's
education belongs. Unfortunately in our day there is a widespread tendency to delegate
this unique role. Therefore it is necessary to foster initiatives which encourage
commitment, but which provide at the same time the right sort of concrete support
which the family needs and which involve it in the Catholic school's educational
project.(26) The constant aim of the school therefore, should be contact and dialogue
with the pupils' families, which should also be encouraged through the promotion
of parents' associations, in order to clarify with their indispensable collaboration
that personalised approach which is needed for an educational project to be efficacious.
Conclusion
21. The Holy Father has pointed out in a meaningful expression how "man is the primary
and fundamental way for the Church, the way traced out by Christ himself".(27) This
way cannot, then, be foreign to those who evangelize. Travelling along it, they
will experience the challenge of education in all its urgency. Thus it follows that
the work of the school is irreplaceable and the investment of human and material
resources in the school becomes a prophetic choice. On the threshold of the third
millennium we perceive the full strength of the mandate which the Church handed
down to the Catholic school in that "Pentecost" which was the Second Vatican Council:
"Since the Catholic school can be of such service in developing the mission of the
People of God and in promoting dialogue between the Church and the community at
large to the advantage of both, it is still of vital importance even in our times".(28)
Prot. N. 29096.
Rome, 28th December 1997, Solemnity of the Holy Family.
Pio Card. Laghi
Prefect
José Saraiva Martins
Tit. Archbishop of Tuburnica
Secretary
(1) The Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education was the new name given to the
Sacred Congregation for Seminaries and Universities by the Apostolic Constitution
Regimini ecclesiae universae, which was published on 15 August 1967 and
in force as from 1 March 1968 (AAS, LIX [1967] pp. 885-928). The Congregation now
comprised a third section, the Schools Office, intended "to develop further" the
fundamental principles of education, especially in schools (cfr. II Vatican Council,
Declaration on Christian Education Gravissimum educationis, Preface).
(2) S. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, n. 2.
(3) Cfr. S. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, n.
34.
(4) Cfr. II Vatican Council, Declaration on Christian Education Gravissimum educationis,
n. 8.
(5) John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente, n. 58.
(6) Cfr. John Paul II, Address to the I National Meeting of the Catholic School
in Italy , in "L'Osservatore Romano", 24 November 1991, p. 4.
(7) Cfr. S. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, n.
35.
(8) S. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, n. 3.
(9) II Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World
Gaudium et Spes, n. 22.
(10) John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa, n. 102.
(11) Congregation for Catholic Education, Religious Dimension of Education in a
Catholic school , n. 34.
(12) Cfr. Congregation for Catholic Education, Religious Dimension of Education
in a Catholic school , n. 33.
(13) John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata, n. 96.
(14) John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici, n. 62.
(15) Cfr. S. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School,
n. 39.
(16) Cfr. II Vatican Council, Declaration on Christian Education Gravissimum educationis,
n. 9.
(17) Cfr. Holy See, Charter of Rights of the Family, art. 5.
(18) Cfr. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris consortio, n.
40; cfr. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction Libertatis conscientia,
n. 94.
(19) II Vatican Council, Declaration on Christian Education Gravissimum educationis,
n. 6.
(20) John Paul II, Letter to the Superior General of the Piarists, in "L'Osservatore
Romano", 28 June 1997, p. 5.
(21) Cfr. S. Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses
to Faith, n. 22.
(22) Cfr. Ibid.
(23) Cfr. II Vatican Council, Declaration on Christian Education Gravissimum educationis,
n. 8.
(24) Congregation for Catholic Education, Religious Dimension of Education in a
Catholic school , n. 26.
(25) Cfr. II Vatican Council, Declaration on Christian Education Gravissimum educationis,
n. 8.
(26) Cfr. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris consortio, n.
40.
(27) Cfr. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptor hominis, n. 14.
(28) II Vatican Council, Declaration on Christian Education Gravissimum educationis,
n. 8.