Spain's bishops urge Catholics to be more proactive passing on faith

24 May, 2013 - Spain's bishops urged Catholics to be more proactive in passing on the faith to children. Raising children "has always been a difficult but rewarding task. It demands common efforts by all those engaged in passing on the faith, to adapt and apply it in each diocese, parish, school and family," the bishops said in "pastoral guidelines" issued May 20. The bishops approved the guidelines in February. "The culture of our time has acquired important values, humanizing many aspects of personal, communal and social life, but we are also witnessing a crisis in transmitting these values with their specifically religious elements," the bishops said. They said Spain's current education system had fueled an "educational emergency" by failing to provide "training in moral and ethical values," or encourage "endeavor, memory, dedication and a sense of life." To preserve the faith, Catholics should "join forces, share experiences and people, and prioritize spending resources," they added.