Vatican Issues MUST READ document on Catholic Education

The Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education has issued an instruction for Catholic schools. As such, it is a must-read for Catholic educators. 

Highlights

By Marshall Connolly (Catholic Online)
5/3/2022 (2 years ago)

Published in Living Faith

Keywords: Catholic, education, Vatican, school, identity, culture, dialogue

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - The Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education has issued The Identity of the Catholic School for a Culture of Dialogue. The heart of this document is instruction that addresses the concept of identity for a Catholic School. 

Catholic schools around the world are facing something of an identity crisis as the secular world closes in. With atheism and secularism on the rise, alongside other religious ideas, such as Islam, and other matters of social identity, Catholic educators are struggling to maintain the Catholic identity of their schools while dealing with the threat of becoming educational pariahs to the rest of the world. 

The document reminds all that education is a right, especially for the poorest and weakest persons. and that the Church has a mission to educate. It emphasizes that teachers must be properly formed, and the importance of cooperation between teachers and parents. The school is a community, and is part of the broader community.

Students must recieve a prudent and proper education, especially on matters of sex, culture and science, while emphasizing the importance of justice and solidarity. Of great importance is the development of a vocation and living centered on Jesus Christ. Catholic schools are eccleastical entities, so they have a mission to evangelize. 

The terms used throughout the document must be understood in a Catholic sense, not a secular one. The document clarifies the meaning of several key terms and concepts for the purpose of clarity. 

The document was completed at Vatican City on January 25, 2022, and has recently been published. It is now available in various languages here:

English - Choose another language by clicking the documents on the left. 
Available in: Espanol, Francaise, Italiano, or Portugues.