Pope: Catholic Education at Fundamental Crossroads
(25 Apr 09 - RV) On Saturday Pope Benedict met with a large group of Italian Religion
teachers in the Paul VI audience hall. After a brief moment of prayer he spoke to
them of the role Catholic education plays in Italian society, underlining it's contribution
to modern culture. He told the men and women , their "daily work stands out because
at the heart of [their ]teaching is the dignity of every human person made in the
image and likeness of God".
Echoing
his October 2006 address to the Verona Convention on the theme of education, Pope
Benedict once again reaffirmed that the religious dimension of education is “intrinsic
to the culture of education” because it adds to the “global formation of the person
transforming consciousness into knowledge of life”.
Moreover he told the
religion teachers that their work now stands at an important crossroads; “There, the
universal tension regarding Truth and the bi-millennial witness offered by believers
meet, without confusion or clash of roles. There too meet, the extraordinary heights
of awareness and of art attained by human spirit and the richness of the Christian
message which is so imbedded in the life and culture of the Italian people”.
Pope
Benedict remarked that their main task is to communicate the beauty and truth of the
Word of God. Knowledge of the bible is an essential element of Catholic education.
But he added, “there must always be a nexus between the scholastic teaching of religion
and the deepening of students awareness of their faith”. In this he concluded “you
as teachers of the Faith must show that the God you teach in the classrooms, is the
reference point for your own lives. Your example must be a valid witness of that
constructive civil coexistence and loyal dialogue which every nation needs”.