Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Pope Benedict on Catholic Education

What is Catholic education? What makes a school Catholic? These are questions we who teach and lead Catholic schools grapple with.
During his recent visit to the United States, Pope Benedict shared his thoughts on Catholic education. His thoughts invite us to reflect on our work as educators in Catholic schools. Here is an excerpt:
Clearly, then, Catholic identity is not dependent upon statistics. Neither can it be equated simply with orthodoxy of course content. It demands and inspires much more: namely that each and every aspect of your learning communities reverberates within the ecclesial life of faith. Only in faith can truth become incarnate and reason truly human, capable of directing the will along the path of freedom (cf. Spe Salvi, 23). In this way our institutions make a vital contribution to the mission of the Church and truly serve society. They become places in which God's active presence in human affairs is recognized and in which every young person discovers the joy of entering into Christ's "being for others"... .
Click the photo to read the Pope's speech.

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