2012-12-13 14:48:34

Pope to governments: educate youth to correct values


(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI has called on governments to have the “courage to work on the consolidation of moral authority - understood as a call to a coherent life - necessary for a true and healthy upbringing of the younger generation”. Emer McCarthy reports listen: RealAudioMP3
The Holy Father’s words were part of an address to six countries, received in audience for the presentation of credentials. The education of young people continues to be a central theme of Pope Benedict’s pontificate and Thursday he addressed an invitation to the governments of Guinea, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Niger, Zambia, Thailand and Sri Lanka to have the "courage" to educate respecting a healthy anthropology "and a" serious reflection "on the cultural and spiritual heritage of the different nations.

“By examining the many challenges of our time, we can see that education occupies a prominent place. Today we examine it in the context of evolving lifestyles and know-how which have created human, cultural, social and spiritual fractures unprecedented in the history of humanity. Social networks, another novelty, tend to substitute natural areas of society and communications, often becoming the only reference point for information and knowledge. Family and school no longer seem to be the first and natural fertile ground where younger generations can receive the lifeblood of their existence. Moreover, in the fields of education and academic authority of teachers and professors is increasingly questioned and, unfortunately, the competence of some of them is not free from bias and lack a cognitive anthropology, excluding or reducing the truth about the human person. This is an integral being and not a sum of elements that can be isolated and manipulated according to will. Schools and universities seem to have become incapable of creative projects that contain a transcendental teleology able to seduce the young people in their inner being, so that they, nevertheless worried about their future, are tempted towards making the minimal effort, the minimum necessary to obtain an easy success sometimes by improperly using the possibilities offered by modern technology. Many desire to succeed and quickly reach a significant social and professional status while ignoring the required training, skills and experience. Today's world and responsible adults have failed to set them the necessary benchmarks. Could the dysfunction of certain public and private institutions not be explained by an imbalanced and badly understood education?

I urge your governments to courageously contribute to the advancement of our humanity by promoting the education of new generations through the promotion of a sound anthropology, which is an indispensable basis for any genuine education, and consistent with the common natural heritage. This task should first undergo a serious reflection on the various problems existing in your countries where certain political or economic options can surreptitiously erode your own anthropological and spiritual heritage[…]I again ask your leaders to have the courage to work on the consolidation of moral authority - understood as a call for a consistent life - necessary for a true and healthy upbringing of the younger generation”.

The right to an education in correct values ​​should never be forgotten or denied. The duty to educate these values ​​should never be truncated or weakened by any national or supranational political interest. This is why it is necessary to educate in truth and to the truth. But "What is truth? "(Jn 18, 38), asked Pilate, who was a ruler. Nowadays telling the truth makes you suspect, wanting to live the truth seems outdated, and promotion of the truth futile. Yet the future of humanity also lies in the relationship of children and young people with the truth: the truth about man, the truth about creation, the truth about institutions, etc.. With an education to rectitude of heart and thought, young people today need more than ever to be educated in the sense of effort and perseverance through difficulties. They must learn that any act involving the human person must be responsible and consistent with the desire for the infinite and this act accompanies a growth in the formation of a fraternal humanity free from individualistic and materialistic temptations”.












All the contents on this site are copyrighted ©.