DI BINTISEIS DJADUMINGU SIKLO B

Promé Lektura : Numbernan 11, 25-29
Salmo : Salmo 19, 7, 9, 11-13
Di dos Lektura : Hakobo 5, 1-6
Evangelio : Marko 9, 38-43. 45. 47-48

E nòmber ku nos a duna nos Iglesia "katóliko", òf sea, "universal", ta konstansia di e bunita evangelio di awe. Nos ta katóliko na midí ku nos no ta sera nos mes den nos gruponan; ora nos ta kapas pa mira ku Dios ta den kurason di sernan humano ken sea ku nan ta i di unda ku nan ta bin. Por ta ku nos ta masha fásil na ora di huzga otro. Nos no ta kompetente pa huzga sin mas, ken ta di Señor i ken no.
Hesus no ta prohibí e hòmber ei pa sigui hasi bon. Esun ku ta bon, i den loke e ta bon, no mester ser strobá pa hasi e bon ku e ta hasi, maske ta parse ku nos ta mira algun defekto i algun iregularidat den e forma di hasié. No laga nos difikultá tarea di esun ku ta hasi bon, maske e no ta "un di nos". Un di e kualidatnan ku ta parse ku un berdadero siguidó di Kristu mester tin ta libertat di kurason. Tin un kurason liber ta sa ku inklusive esnan ku no ta ku nos den nos Iglesia por hasi kos di Dios. E doktornan di lei i e fariseonan tabata papia malu di Hesus. Ta suponé ku esun ku ta usa su nòmber no ta papia malu di djE. Esnan ku ta lucha kontra maldat for di amor, tá ku Dios, maske nan no ta di nos Iglesia.
Por ta ku algun hende ta skandalisá di loke ta bisa i ta di puntra si tras di tantu "radikalismo" hopi biaha no ta skonde imadures, falta di seguridat i di pertenensia, opseshon, trouma, i ta kibrá paden... Rekonosé Dios den e otro ta eksigí separashon interno di un kurason yen di miseria humano i biba den libertat di Spiritu. Pa e personanan aki di skandalisashon fásil lo bisa nan ku ser kristian no ta ser i biba manera nan ta kere. Tin hopi ruta pa yega na Dios pero un solo kaminda: amor.
Un di dos momento di e Evangelio ta rekordá nos pa ku mester tin mashá kuidou pa no kai den maldat. Nos ta keha pasobra nos ta bisa ku ta e otronan ta esnan ku ta laga nos sufri, ta laga nos peka, etc. Den bèrdat ku por tin den e afirmashon aki, Hesus ta enfrentá nos ku nos mes. E ta hasi uso pa komparashon ku partinan di kurpa. E kurpa ta lo mas íntimo ku nos tin, ta lugá for di kua akshonnan ta sali. No ta e piká ku ta bini di pafó ku ta preokupá Hesus, e ta e piká ku ta nase di paden, di nos interior, di nos mes. Ku otro palabra: sigui Kristu sin piká ta nifiká bandoná e malu ku ta sali di nos mes.
Por ta ku bira lomba pa piká pa sigui Kristu ta laga nos manera batí, manera ku nos falta algu den nos bida, asina tantu ta e sklabitut na kua ta someté nos; pero mas grandi ta libertat di esun ku ta liberá nos. Òf nos ta mata piká den nos òf piká ta mata nos. Nos tin ku destruí e loke ta sklavisá nos.
Kua ta nos sklabitutnan?
Kada ken tin di dje. Ya na otro okashon a komentá ku ta únikamente un shelu tin, pero fièrnunan ta hopi, kada ken tin di dje. Pa esun fièrnu por ta den su kobardia i kompleho, den su imadures i den su seksualidat, den su envidia i renkor... Kada hende mester mira su mes pidi kombershon outéntiko ku ta nase di un bon kurason.
Loke ta mas tristu di un kreyente ta ku e ta konformá su mes den e situashon di piká i no ta anhelá superashon di su defektonan spiritual pa entregá su mes kompletu na Kristu.
Vatikano II ta rekordá nos ku Dios no ta privilegio di algun hende. Tur ser humano, no únikamente kristiannan, den forma ku Dios so konosé, ta partisipá den e misterio Paskual di Kristu. Ora ku egoismo di grupo aparesé, ku ta reklamá poder de Hesus komo herensia pa nan so, Hesus i kun’ E nos propio Iglesia, ta rechasá tal forma di pensa. Spiritu Santu no ta keda prezu den grupo i institushonnan, sino ku e ta infinitamente liber pa yega na kurason di kada ser humano i biba aden.
Mantené bo mes alerta; kaminda ménos bo ta pensa i ku kende ménos bo ta kere lo bo por tin un enkuentro ku Hesus.

Pontiff Ordains 5 Bishops

Urges Priests to Be Faithful, Prudent, Good Servants

(Zenit.org).- On Saturday, Benedict XVI ordained five Italian bishops in St. Peter's Basilica, and urged them to be servants that exemplify fidelity, prudence and goodness.
The Pope had been working with three of the new prelates in the Secretariat of State, and now will be sending them as his representatives to various countries.
Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia was appointed apostolic nuncio to Lebanon in July. Archbishop Franco Coppola will represent the Pontiff in Burundi, and Archbishop Pietro Parolin will be nuncio in Venezuela.
Bishop Raffaello Martinelli, a close collaborator with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was ordained by the Pontiff to lead the Diocese of Frascati, close to Rome.
The fifth newly ordained prelate, Bishop Giorgio Corbellini, who served for some time as the vice secretary-general of the Governor's Office for Vatican City State, was appointed in July as president of the Central Labor Office of the Holy See.
Priestly essence
In the homily of the ordination Mass, the Holy Father underlined the role of the bishop, and all priests, as "servant."
It is the "most profound nucleus of Jesus Christ's mission" and the "true essence of his priesthood," he said, to serve and "give yourselves" for God.
Benedict XVI pointed out that Christ has "made the term 'servant' his highest title of honor," thereby giving us "a new image of God and of man."
The Pope urged the bishops to be servants who exemplify three characteristics: fidelity, prudence and goodness.
Regarding the first of these, the Pontiff explained that the servant "is entrusted with a great good that does not belong to him."
He continued: "The Church is not 'our' Church, but his Church, God's Church.
"The servant must give an account of the way that he has taken care of the goods that have been entrusted to him. We do not bind men to us; we do not seek power, prestige, esteem for ourselves.
"We lead men to Jesus Christ and so to the living God."
"Fidelity is not fear," the Holy Father clarified, "but it is inspired by love and its dynamism."
Truly reasonable
Speaking about the second characteristic, Benedict XVI explained, "Prudence means engaging in the pursuit of truth and acting in a way that conforms to it."
He exhorted his listeners to become "truly reasonable men, who judge on the basis of the whole and not according to accidental details."
"We do not let ourselves be guided by the little window of our personal cleverness," the Pope affirmed, "but by the big window that Christ has opened up to the whole truth for us." In this way "we look upon the world and men" and from this perspective "see what truly counts in life."
The third characteristic that Jesus lauds in a servant, the Pontiff stated, is goodness.
He affirmed that God "is the Good, the Good par excellence, Goodness in person."
The Holy Father continued: "In a creature -- in man -- being good is therefore necessarily based on a deep interior orientation to God. Goodness grows with interior unification with the living God."
This was the second episcopal ordination celebrated by Benedict XVI, the first having taken place on Sept. 29, 2007.
The Pope's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, also took part in the ordination, along with the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal William Joseph Levada.

DI BINTISINKU DJADUMINGU SIKLO B

Promé Lektura : Sabiduria 2, 12. 17-20
Salmo : Salmo 54, 1-4. 6
Di dos Lektura : Hakobo 3, 16-4,3
Evangelio : Marko 9, 30-37


E Evangelio di awe ta pone nos dilanti di reflekshon riba dos tema masha importante den bida kristian: humildat i sirbishi.
Hesus ta aparesé kombersando ku su disipelnan ku no ta kaba di komprondé loke E ta bisando nan tokante Yu di hende. Nan no ta komprondé i tin miedu di hasi pregunta. Nan tabata pensa riba e reino di kua Hesus tabata papia ku nan den término simplemente humano. Señor ta tuma inisiativa i ta kontestá nan tokante nan preokupashonnan.
E promé kontesta ku Kristu ta duna ta referí na humildat.
Segun siglonan ta pasa por ta e loke ta nifiká ser humilde a kambia di su realidat original.
Asina nan tabata yama esun ku kompleho humilde, esun sin karakter, esun ku no a kaba di klara su mes interiormente, i tabata hasi referensia poniendo esaki kontra di esun ku tabatin su mes forma di ser i di pensa. Santa Teresa di Hesus tabata bisa ku "humildat ta e bèrdat", òf sea, ser humilde ta rekonosé nos mes dilanti Dios, dilanti nos mes i dilanti di otronan, tal manera nos ta, ku nos tragedia i miserianan, ku nos karisma i kualidatnan. Ken por duda ku San Pedro i San Pablo, personalidatnan mas ku fuerte, tabata personanan humilde? Sigur nan tabata pasobra nan a pone nan mes dilanti Dios tal i manera nan tabata i Dios a duna nan kontesta pa nan bida, transformando nan for di paden.
E disipelnan ei tabata programando nan futuro ambishonando puestonan haltu den e reino ei ku Hesus lo a trese, pero awor e Maestro ta plantea na nan otro tipo di ambishon. Na lugá di ambishon di ku lo hasi tur kos pa nan E ta eksponé na nan e ambishon pa hasi kos pa otro. Loke e disipelnan tabata deseá, na lugá di ser un medio pa gana preferensia den su reino, únikamente tabata sirbi pa e reino aki lo no yega.
E mundu ku ta toka nos na biba riba dje no ta lugá kaminda ta defendé humildat; lo bisa todo lo kontrario, djei un di e konfliktonan permanente ku e tipo aki di sosiedat kaminda esnan mas debil i esnan mas humilde ta esnan marginá. Nos komo kristian den e mundu di awe mester ta e mihó defensornan di esnan mas debil i indefenso, sin kere ku nos ta salbadó di ningun hende sino purbando ku di bèrdat tur hende ta konosé e úniko Salbador.
Kreyentenan den Hesus ta yamá pa ser humilde pa por sirbi. Ora komo kristian ta papia di "opshon preferensial pa esnan pober" nos no ta propagando literatura barata, sino nos ta konstatando presensia di Señor den esnan mas débil i sin poseshon.
E di dos yamada ku Hesus ta hasi na nos ta sirbishi na otro. Sirbishi desinteresá na otro,spesial pa esnan mas débil i pober di nos mundu. Nos tin ku siña laga nos egoismo i ambishonnan chikitu lòs pa komprendé e misterio di Kristu. E disipelnan tabata ke prestigio, rekonosementu humano i hasi karera, no sirbishi na otro.
Algun hende lo por bisa ku sierto rason ku "hende no meresé nada..." "... total... pa loke nan lo bai gradisíbo..." I por ta ku e afirmashonnan aki ta enserá algu di bèrdat, pero e kristian sa kiko e ta hasi i pakiko e ta hasié, i den e akshon aki e ta deskubrí boluntat i e amor di Dios den su bida.
E reino di Dios ta un reino di sirbidónan na otro. Kuantu bia den nos komunidatnan nos ta mira rumannan ku ta buskando rekonosementu humano pa nan tarea! Nan ta keda frustrá ora nan tuma nota ku dediká bida na otro no ta pa rekonosementu humano sino e profundidat dibino ku ta loke lo tin komo rekompensa.
Iglesia no mester parse strukturanan sivil, si e hasié anto e lo alehá e modelo di Kristu di su ser komunidat konvoká i yamamentu huntu di Hesus. Bèrdat ta ku den Iglesia lo mester tin un outoridat i un organisashon, pero e komportashon lo mester ta masha diferente na e outoridat mundano. Den e mundu di fe outoridat ta sirbishi.
Sirbi pa ser esun mas grandi, esaki ta un di e mensahenan mas importante ku Hesus a laga pa nos. Su ehèmpel a bai mas ayá, E no a hasi únikamente bon obra sino ku El a entregá su mes den e akshon mas grandi di sirbishi na otro i den su entrega nos ta alkansá salbashon.
Humildat i sirbishi, dos aspekto di amor na kua Dios ta kombidá nos. Komprondé den forma bibu e dos proposishonnan aki ta nifiká ku nos mester tin otro mirada pa mundu i pa nos. Mundu no por kambia e kristian. Únikamente Kristu ta esun ku por transformá nos .Kiko lo bo gana ku esaki ? No hopi kos material, ni prestigio, ni poder ni plaka, únikamente na final, den e último aeropuerto di bo bida, dos ruman mayó lo ta sperando bo... i Dios... lo demas lo no tin kasi ningun importansia...

Participants at the AEC Justice and Peace Seminar at Seminary of St.John Vianney, Trinidad

L to R starting front Row

Bishop Emeritus Anthony Dickson, Leela Ramdeen Chair Catholic Commission for Social Justice Commission (CCSJ) TT; Bishop Emmanuel Lafont of Cayenne, French Guiana Chair of AEC J&P Commission; Mr. David Brooks, Mandeville Diocese,

Mr. Gerry Granado General Secretary Caribbean Conference of Churches, Sr Roberta CCSJ, Rhonda Maingot, Living Water Community TT,

Fr Peter McIssac SJ, J&P Commission Kingston, Jamaica; Sr. Bernadette Hughes Mandeville Diocese, Attorney Sylvie Compper Cayenne J&P Commission, Attorney Maureen Tjon Jaw Chong, Suriname J&P Commission;

Bishop Neil Tiedemann Mandeville, Jamaica, Deacon Mike James General Secretary AEC, Msgr Michael Stewart Rector St John Vianney Seminary, Attorney Gino Persaud Guyana J&P Commission.

AEC Justice Seminar highlights key regional issues in light of Pope's latest Encyclical

by Mike James

“Let’s keep together.” These were the parting words of Bishop Emmanuel Lafont, Diocese of Cayenne, French Guiana and Chair of the AEC J&P Commission, to the 19 participants who attended the AEC Justice & Peace Seminar at St John Vianney Seminary on 12 and 13 September.

Inter alia, the Seminar provided a wonderful opportunity for fellowship/solidarity/strengthening relationships across the region. Representatives from French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago considered:

• the main issues arising out of Pope Benedict XVI’s 3rd Encyclical, Charity in Truth; and the challenges and opportunities of applying the Encyclical in the context of our various Dioceses/in the region;
• the role of the AEC in promoting and supporting Diocesan J&P Commissions;
• the ways in which Diocesan J&P Commissions can better address priority issues – including a concern to promote the integrity of creation – environmental/ecological issues;
• Strategies for strengthening the AEC J&P Commission.

Bishop Lafont provided an overview of the Encyclical and Msgr. Jason Gordon and Leela Ramdeen, Chair of the Catholic Commission on Social Justice of Trinidad and Tobago presented papers focusing on the applications and challenges of the Encyclical for us in T&T and on the Methodology and Structure of a J&P Commission – using CCSJ as an example. Analyses on the Human rights Challenges in Jamaica and Guyana were presented by Fr. Peter McIssac S.J. and Attorney Gino Persaud while reports were also received from the other territories represented.

General Secretary of the Caribbean Conference of Churches Gerard Granado’s participation in the Seminar helped focus attention on regional issues as well as on ways of strengthening ecumenical response and inter-faith relations even as justice and peace issues are addressed.

All Commission representatives agreed to make the workshop content the subject of study in their own Commissions and the Trinidad and Tobago representatives agreed to organize a Seminar in October to plan how to address the 6 main challenges identified at the Seminar – in light of the Encyclical and T&T Synod Resolutions

At the end of the Seminar it was agreed that in order to contextualise the Encyclical within the Caribbean context, reflections on the following themes will be submitted to Bishop Lamont by March 2010 for consideration by the AEC Bishops at their Annual Plenary Meeting in April 2010:

T&T: Climate change – taking into consideration issues arising affecting the region addressed at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, 7 – 18 Dec. 2009;
Jamaica: Racism
Guyana, Suriname and French Guyana: Youth and the challenges they face in the midst of unemployment, HIV/AIDS, crime and violence and racial divisions;

Caribbean Conference of Churches: Economic arrangements impacting on integral human development in the Caribbean e.g. addressing concerns about the sustainable development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean, in light of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union.

It is to be noted that although specific dioceses have been allocated areas of responsibility above, each diocese, including those that were not represented, will be invited to submit reflections on each of the 4 areas by March 2010. It was also agreed that all dioceses be encouraged to establish active Justice and Peace Commission to assist the Church to respond to the very pressing issues facing the region, and especially those on which the Encyclical urges priority response

A report of the presentations and the discussions that took place over the 2 days will be produced and circulated to the 20 Catholic Dioceses across the region.

It was agreed that all representatives will work in their organizations to study and reflect on the implications of this Encyclical for individuals, communities and territories. A particularly useful precis of the encyclical was noted as available on line at www.coc.org and the US Bishops also have a useful study guide on the Encyclical at www.usccb.org/jphd/caritasinveritate/

The meeting agreed with the assessment study guide assessment that Charity in Truth “provides helpful guidance for finding answers to the social, economic and moral questions of the contemporary world in a search for truth…it is a call to see the relationship between human and environmental ecologies and to link charity and truth in the pursuit of justice, the common good, and authentic human development. In doing so, the Pope points out the responsibilities and limitations of government and the private market, challenges traditional ideologies of right and left, and calls all men and women to think and act anew.”

In a world that is becoming more and more secular and in which individualism and moral relativism is rampant, the Pope’s words are pertinent: “Without God man neither knows which way to go, nor even understands who he is.”

Participants ended the Seminar full of hope, encouraged by Pope Benedict XVI's reminder that “the current crisis obliges us to re-plan our journey, to set ourselves new rules and to discover new forms of commitment, to build on positive experiences and to reject negative ones. The crisis thus becomes an opportunity for discernment, in which to shape a new vision for the future.”

DI BINTIKUATER DJADUMINGU SIKLO B

Promé Lektura : Isaias 50, 5-9a
Salmo : Salmo 116, 1-9
Di dos Lektura : Hakobo 2, 14-18
Evangelio : Marko 8, 27-35


E pasashi aki ta aparesé den e Evangelio di Marko, despues di a konta di hopi milager i palabranan sabí di Hesus. E ora ei ya Hesus a multipliká pan, ela kana riba awa, a resusitá e yu muhé di Jairo, a laga doktornan di lei i fariseonan keda ketu, a kura e esnan siegu i surdu; tur kos tabata sali Hesus bon! Tabata opvio ku tur e susesonan aki tabata spièrta den e apòstel- i hendenan ku tabata kana ku Hesus un espektativa di liberashon, di salbashon. I ta p'esei nan tabata puntra nan mes , ken esun ei ta ku ta realisá tur e milagernan ei ?

Den e pasashi aki Hesus ke aklará na nan kiko ke men siguiE.
Pa esaki ta importante e situashon inisial ku e Evangelio ta trese. “Riba kaminda Ela hasi nan e pregunta aki”. Hendenan tabata sigui Hesus i E tabata ke ta sigur ku nan lo tabata sa tras di ken nan tabata kanando, ken nan tabata siguiendo. Sentro di e pasashi aki ta den e aklarashon ku Hesus ta hasi di e palabra Mesias. Mesias no tabata nifiká poder, violensia, i dominio. Todo lo kontrali, Hesus ta kibra ku e strukturanan di violensia ku tabata hasi asina tantu daño na su pueblo i ta mustra otro manera di ta Mesias. Hesus tabatin ku sufri, muri pa e ora ei por biba den plenitut, resusitá. Esaki tabata e Bon Notisia di su Reino! No e interkambio di poder (entre Romano i Hudiunan), sino e abolishon di poder di esun riba e otro komo kaminda di realisashon di hende.

Ta p'esei Hesus ke aklará na nan: esun ku ke siguiE, mester renunsiá e set di poder i di vengansa, e mester pone un banda tur deseo di imponé su mes riba otro; e kristian (siguidó di Kristu) tin ku hisa su krus, ke men, brasa su realidat i kana den solidaridat, den karidat i pordon. Kiko Hesus ta primintí nos ora nos hasi esaki? Definitivamente ku no ta gloria di mundu, sino si gloria di Dios.

Den kuantu struktura di poder nos ta envolví! For di mucha nos ke ta grandi p'asina nan no manda riba nos; di soltero, kasá p'asina nan no bisa mi kiko mi tin ku hasi ku mi pareha; di hóben nos ke ta “liber” p'asina nan laga nos pa pas; i kasá nos no ke pa nos pareha bisa nos kon nos tin ku stim’é. Ora toka nos biba algun momento difísil pa motibu di malesa, di finansa òf amor, nos ta sufri pasobra nos no tin poder pa kambia e situashon.

Ta parse ku no semper nos ta komprondé nos papel komo kristian: nos salbashon ta den duna na kada ken “poder” di disidí i pa biba. Tal manera Kristu a bisa na e dòktòrnan di lei i e fariseonan, maske esaki lo a nifiká su morto. Nos no mester asumí krusnan di otro p'asina nos karga ku tur; esun ku ke sigui Señor, hisa su krus, esun di dje mes, esun ku realidat ta presentá na dje i asina ei lo e ta siguiendo Hesus. Laga nos habri nos kurason pa amor, laga nos purba risibí di otro loke nan ke duna nos i no loke nos ke ranka di nan ku chantahe i inklusive violensia (físiko òf moral).

Awe nos tur sa ku Hesus ta e Mesias, e Kristu, esun Ungí, e Yu di Dios, Nos Salbador. Pero kua Mesias nos ta kere ku E ta?

Ta sugerí pa nos duna nos mes oportunidat pa risibí di otro loke nan ke duna nos , pa akseptá realidat i asumí su goso i tambe su sufrimentu; pa stima manera Kristu a stima nos.

Vatican Letter on Catholic Education

Zenit.org

"Religious Education in Schools Fits Into the Evangelizing Mission of the Church"

Here is the letter the Congregation for Catholic Education sent to the presidents of the bishops' conferences on the topic of religious education in schools. The letter was published on September 8th 2009.

* * *

Your Eminence/Excellency,

The nature and role of religious education in schools has become the object of debate. In some cases, it is now the object of new civil regulations, which tend to replace religious education with teaching about the religious phenomenon in a multi-denominational sense, or about religious ethics and culture – even in a way that contrasts with the choices and educational aims that parents and the Church intend for the formation of young people.

Therefore, by means of this Circular Letter addressed to the Presidents of Bishops’ Conferences, this Congregation for Catholic Education deems it necessary to recall some principles that are rooted in Church teaching, as clarification and instruction about the role of schools in the Catholic formation of young people, about the nature and identity of the Catholic school, about religious education in schools, and about the freedom of choice of school and confessional religious education.

I. The role of schools in the Catholic formation of new generations

1. Education today is a complex task, which is made more difficult by rapid social, economic, and cultural changes. Its specific mission remains the integral formation of the human person. Children and young people must be guaranteed the possibility of developing harmoniously their own physical, moral, intellectual and spiritual gifts, and they must also be helped to develop their sense of responsibility, learn the correct use of freedom, and participate actively in social life (cf. c. 795 Code of Canon Law [CIC]; c. 629 Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches [CCEO]). A form of education that ignores or marginalizes the moral and religious dimension of the person is a hindrance to full education, because “children and young people have a right to be motivated to appraise moral values with a right conscience, to embrace them with a personal adherence, together with a deeper knowledge and love of God.” That is why the Second Vatican Council asked and recommended “all those who hold a position of public authority or who are in charge of education to see to it that youth is never deprived of this sacred right” (Declaration Gravissimum educationis [GE ],1).

2. Such education requires the contribution of many agents of education. Parents, having given life to their children, are their primary and principal educators (cf. GE 3; John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris consortio [FC], 22 November 1981, 36; c. 793 CIC; c. 627 CCEO). For that reason, it is the responsibility of Catholic parents to look after the Christian education of their children (c. 226 CIC; c. 627 CCEO). In this primary task, parents need the subsidiary help of civil society and other institutions. Indeed, “the family is the primary, but not the only and exclusive educating community” (FC 40; cfr GE 3).

3. “Among all educational instruments the school has a special importance” (GE 5), as it is “the principal assistance to parents in fulfilling the function of education” (c. 796 §1 CIC), particularly in order to favour the transmission of culture and education for co-existence. In this educational setting – and in conformity with international legislation and human rights – “the right of parents to choose an education in conformity with their religious faith must be absolutely guaranteed” (FC 40). Catholic parents “are to entrust their children to those schools which provide a Catholic education” (c. 798 CIC) and, when this is not possible, they must provide for their Catholic education in other ways (cf. ibidem).

4. The Second Vatican Council “reminds parents of the duty that is theirs to arrange and even demand” for their children to be able to receive a moral and religious education “and advance in their Christian formation to a degree that is abreast of their development in secular subjects. Therefore the Church esteems highly those civil authorities and societies which, bearing in mind the pluralism of contemporary society and respecting religious freedom, assist families so that the education of their children can be imparted in all schools according to the individual moral and religious principles of the families” (GE 7).

To sum up:

- Education today is a complex, vast, and urgent task. This complexity today risks making us lose what is essential, that is, the formation of the human person in its totality, particularly as regards the religious and spiritual dimension.

- Although the work of educating is accomplished by different agents, it is parents who are primarily responsible for education.

- This responsibility is exercised also in the right to choose the school that guarantees an education in accordance with one’s own religious and moral principles.

II. Nature and identity of the Catholic school: the right to a Catholic education for families and pupils. Subsidiarity and educational collaboration

5. The Catholic school plays a particular role in education and formation. Many communities and religious congregations have distinguished themselves, and commendably continue to devote themselves to the service of primary and secondary education. Yet the whole Christian community, and particularly the diocesan Ordinary, bear the responsibility “of arranging everything so that all the faithful have a Catholic education” (c. 794 §2 CIC) and, more precisely, of having “schools which offer an education imbued with a Christian spirit” (c. 802 CIC; cfr c. 635 CCEO).

6. Catholic schools are characterized by the institutional link they keep with the Church hierarchy, which guarantees that the instruction and education be grounded in the principles of the Catholic faith and imparted by teachers of right doctrine and probity of life (cf. c. 803 CIC; cc. 632 e 639 CCEO). In these educational centers – which are open to all who share and respect their educational goals – the atmosphere must be permeated by the evangelical spirit of freedom and charity, which fosters the harmonious development of each one’s personality. In this setting, human culture as a whole is harmonized with the message of salvation, so that the pupils gradually acquire a knowledge of the world, life and humanity that is be enlightened by the Gospel (cf. GE 8; c. 634 §1 CCEO).

7. In this way, the right of families and pupils to an authentic Catholic education is ensured and, at the same time, the cultural aims – as well as those of human and academic formation of young people – that are characteristic of any school, are fulfilled (cf. c. 634 §3 CCEO; c. 806 §2 CIC).

8. Aware of how difficult this is today, it is to be hoped that the school and the family will be in harmony as regards the process of education and as regards the individual’s formation. This will avoid tensions or rifts in the goals of education. Hence, close and active collaboration among parents, teachers and school authorities is needed. In this regards, it is appropriate to encourage means of parents’ participation in school life: associations, meetings, etc. (cf. c. 796 §2 CIC; c. 639 CCEO).

9. The freedom of parents, associations, and intermediate institutions – as well as the Church hierarchy itself – to promote schools of Catholic identity, constitutes an exercise of the principle of subsidiarity. This principle excludes any “kind of school monopoly, for this is opposed to the native rights of the human person, to the development and spread of culture, to the peaceful association of citizens and to the pluralism that exists today in ever so many societies” (GE 6).

To sum up:

- The Catholic school is truly an ecclesial subject because of its teaching activity, in which faith, culture, and life unite in harmony.

- It is open to all who want to share its educational goal inspired by Christian principles.

- The Catholic school is an expression of the ecclesial community, and its Catholicity is guaranteed by the competent authorities (Ordinary of the place).

- It ensures Catholic parents’ freedom of choice and it is an expression of school pluralism.

- The principle of subsidiarity regulates collaboration between the family and the various institutions deputised to educate.

III. Religious education in schools

a) Nature and aims

10. A concept of the human person being open to the transcendent necessarily includes the element of religious education in schools: it is an aspect of the right to education (cf. c. 799 CIC). Without religious education, pupils would be deprived of an essential element of their formation and personal development, which helps them attain a vital harmony between faith and culture. Moral formation and religious education also foster the development of personal and social responsibility and the other civic virtues; they represent, therefore, am important contribution to the common good of society.

11. In a pluralistic society, the right to religious freedom requires both the assurance of the presence of religious education in schools and the guarantee that such education be in accordance with parents’ convictions. The Second Vatican Council reminds us: “Parents have the right to determine, in accordance with their own religious beliefs, the kind of religious education that their children are to receive […].The right of parents are violated, if their children are forced to attend lessons or instructions which are not in agreement with their religious beliefs, or if a single system of education, from which all religious formation is excluded, is imposed upon all” (Declaration Dignitatis humanae [DH] 5; cf. c. 799 CIC; Holy See, Charter of the rights of the family, 24 November 1983, art. 5, c-d). This statement finds confirmation in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art. 26) and in many other declarations and conventions of the international community.

12. The marginalization of religious education in schools is equivalent to assuming – at least in practice – an ideological position that can lead pupils into error or do them a disservice. Moreover, if religious education is limited to a presentation of the different religions, in a comparative and “neutral” way, it creates confusion or generates religious relativism or indifferentism. In this respect, Pope John Paul II explained: “The question of Catholic education includes […] religious education in the more general milieu of school, whether it be Catholic or State-run. The families of believers have the right to such education; they must have the guarantee that the State school – precisely because it is open to all – not only will not put their children’s faith in peril, but will rather complete their integral formation with appropriate religious education. This principle must be included within the concept of religious freedom and of the truly democratic State, which as such – that is, in obedience to its deepest and truest nature – puts itself at the service of the citizens, of all citizens, in respect for their rights and their religious convictions” (Speech to the Cardinals and collaborators of the Roman Curia, 28 June 1984, unofficial translation).

13. Based on what has been said, it is clear that teaching the Catholic religion has its own specific nature vis-à-vis other school subjects. In fact, as the Second Vatican Council explains, “Government therefore ought indeed to take account of the religious life of the citizenry and show it favor, since the function of government is to make provision for the common welfare. However, it would clearly transgress the limits set to its power, were it to presume to command or inhibit acts that are religious” (DH 3). For these reasons, it is for the Church to establish the authentic contents of Catholic religious education in schools. This guarantees, for both parents and the pupils themselves, that the education presented as Catholic is indeed authentic.

14. The Church identifies this task as its own, ratione materiae, and claims it for its own competence, regardless of the nature of the school (State-run or non-State-run, Catholic or non-Catholic) in which such teaching is given. Therefore, “The Catholic religious instruction and education which are imparted in any schools whatsoever are subject to the authority of the Church […]. It is for the conference of bishops to issue general norms about this field of action and for the diocesan bishop to regulate and watch over it” (c. 804 §1 CIC; cf. also, c. 636 CCEO).

b) Religious education in Catholic schools

15. Religious education in Catholic schools identifies the educational goals of such schools. In fact, “the special character of the Catholic school, the underlying reason for it, the reason why Catholic parents should prefer it, is precisely the quality of the religious instruction integrated into the education of the pupils” (John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi tradendae, 16 October 1979, 69).

16. In Catholic schools, as everywhere else, the religious freedom of non-Catholic pupils must be respected. This clearly does not affect the right/duty of the Church “in [its] public teaching and witness to [its] faith, whether by the spoken or by the written word”, taking into account that “in spreading religious faith and in introducing religious practices everyone ought at all times to refrain from any manner of action which might seem to carry a hint of coercion or of a kind of persuasion that would be dishonorable or unworthy” (DH 4).

c) Catholic religious education from the point of view of culture, and its relationship with catechesis

17. Religious education in schools fits into the evangelizing mission of the Church. It is different from, and complementary to, parish catechesis and other activities such as family Christian education or initiatives of ongoing formation of the faithful. Apart from the different settings in which these are imparted, the aims that they pursue are also different: catechesis aims at fostering personal adherence to Christ and the development of Christian life in its different aspects (cf. Congregation for the Clergy, General Directory for Catechesis [DGC], 15 August 1997, nn. 80-87), whereas religious education in schools gives the pupils knowledge about Christianity’s identity and Christian life. Moreover, Pope Benedict XVI, speaking to religion teachers, pointed out the need “to enlarge the area of our rationality, to reopen it to the larger questions of the truth and the good, to link theology, philosophy and science between them in full respect for the methods proper to them and for their reciprocal autonomy, but also in the awareness of the intrinsic unity that holds them together. The religious dimension is in fact intrinsic to culture. It contributes to the overall formation of the person and makes it possible to transform knowledge into wisdom of life.” Catholic religious education contributes to that goal, in which “school and society are enriched with true laboratories of culture and humanity in which, by deciphering the significant contribution of Christianity, the person is equipped to discover goodness and to grow in responsibility, to seek comparisons and to refine his or her critical sense, to draw from the gifts of the past to understand the present better and to be able to plan wisely for the future” (Address to the Catholic religion teachers, 25 April 2009).

18. The specific nature of this education does not cause it to fall short of its proper nature as a school discipline. On the contrary, maintaining this status is a condition of its effectiveness: “It is necessary, therefore, that religious instruction in schools appear as a scholastic discipline with the same systematic demands and the same rigour as other disciplines. It must present the Christian message and the Christian event with the same seriousness and the same depth with which other disciplines present their knowledge. It should not be an accessory alongside of these disciplines, but rather it should engage in a necessary inter-disciplinary dialogue” (DGC 73).

To sum up:

- Religious nature is the foundation and guarantee of the presence of religious education in the scholastic public sphere.

- Its cultural condition is a vision of the human person being open to the transcendent.

- Religious education in Catholic schools is an inalienable characteristic of their educational goal.

- Religious education is different from, and complementary to, catechesis, as it is school education that does not require the assent of faith, but conveys knowledge on the identity of Christianity and Christian life. Moreover, it enriches the Church and humanity with areas for growth, of both culture and humanity.

IV. Educational freedom, religious freedom, and Catholic education

19. In short, the right of parents and pupils to education and religious freedom are concretely exercised through:

a) freedom of choice of school. “Parents who have the primary and inalienable right and duty to educate their children must enjoy true liberty in their choice of schools. Consequently, the public power, which has the obligation to protect and defend the rights of citizens, must see to it, in its concern for distributive justice, that public subsidies are paid out in such a way that parents are truly free to choose according to their conscience the schools they want for their children” (GE 6; cf. DH 5; c. 797 CIC; c. 627 §3 CCEO).

b) The freedom to receive confessional religious education in schools, integrating one’s own religious tradition into the school’s cultural and academic formation. “The Christian faithful are to strive so that in civil society the laws which regulate the formation of youth also provide for their religious and moral education in the schools themselves, according to the conscience of the parents” (c. 799 CIC; cf. GE 7, DH 5). In fact, the Catholic religious instruction and education which are imparted in any school are subject to the authority of the Church (cf. c. 804 §1 CIC; c. 636 CCEO).

20. The Church is aware that in many places, now as in earlier periods, religious freedom is not fully in force; both in law and in practice (cf. DH 13). In these circumstances, the Church does her best to offer the faithful the formation they need (cf. GE 7; c. 798 CIC; c. 637 CCEO). At the same time, in keeping with her mission (cf. Vatican Council II, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, 76), she never stops denouncing the injustice that takes place when Catholic pupils and their families are deprived of their educational rights and their educational freedom is affected. She urges all the faithful to commit themselves so that those rights may become effective (cf. c. 799 CIC).

This Congregation for Catholic Education is certain that the above-mentioned principles can contribute to finding ever greater consonance between the educational task , which is an essential part of the mission of the Church and the aspiration of Nations to develop a society that is fair and respectful of each person’s dignity.

For her part, the Church, exercising the diakonia of truth in the midst of humanity, offers to each generation the revelation of God from which it can learn the ultimate truth about life and the end of history. This is not an easy task in a secularized world, characterized by the fragmentation of knowledge and moral confusion. It involves the whole Christian community and constitutes a challenge for educators. We are sustained, in any case, by the certainty that – as Pope Benedict XVI affirms – “the noble goals of [...] education, founded on the unity of truth and in service of the person and the community, become an especially powerful instrument of hope” (Address to Catholic educators, 17 April 2008).

We request Your Eminence/Excellency to make the content of this Circular Letter known to all those concerned with the educational service and mission of the Church. We now thank you for your kind attention and, in communion of prayer with Mary, Mother and Teacher of educators, we take the opportunity to express our sentiments of highest esteem, consideration and respect, remaining

Yours in the Lord,

Zenon Card. GROCHOLEWSKI, Prefect

+Jean-Louis BRUGUÈS, O.P., Secretary