"You Provide a Splendid Service in the Spread of Truth"
- Here is a Vatican translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered today upon addressing a gathering of young university professors at the Basilica of the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in Madrid. The Pope is in the Spanish capital to preside at the 26th World Youth Day, which is under way through Sunday.
* * *
Your Eminence,
My Brother Bishops,
Dear Augustinian Fathers,
Dear Professors,
Distinguished Authorities,
Dear Friends,
I have looked forward to this meeting with you, young professors in the universities of Spain. You provide a splendid service in the spread of truth, in circumstances that are not always easy. I greet you warmly and I thank you for your kind words of welcome and for the music which has marvelously resounded in this magnificent monastery, for centuries an eloquent witness to the life of prayer and study. In this highly symbolic place, reason and faith have harmoniously blended in the austere stone to shape one of Spain’s most renowned monuments.
I also greet with particular affection those of you who took part in the recent World Congress of Catholic Universities held in Avila on the theme: "The Identity and Mission of the Catholic University".
Being here with you, I am reminded of my own first steps as a professor at the University of Bonn. At the time, the wounds of war were still deeply felt and we had many material needs; these were compensated by our passion for an exciting activity, our interaction with colleagues of different disciplines and our desire to respond to the deepest and most basic concerns of our students. This experience of a "Universitas" of professors and students who together seek the truth in all fields of knowledge, or as Alfonso X the Wise put it, this "counsel of masters and students with the will and understanding needed to master the various disciplines" (Siete Partidas, partida II, tit. XXXI), helps us to see more clearly the importance, and even the definition, of the University.
The theme of the present World Youth Day – "Rooted and Built Up in Christ, and Firm in the Faith" (cf. Col 2:7) can also shed light on your efforts to understand more clearly your own identity and what you are called to do. As I wrote in my Message to Young People in preparation for these days, the terms "rooted, built up and firm" all point to solid foundations on which we can construct our lives (cf. No. 2).
But where will young people encounter those reference points in a society, which is increasingly confused and unstable? At times one has the idea that the mission of a university professor nowadays is exclusively that of forming competent and efficient professionals capable of satisfying the demand for labor at any given time. One also hears it said that the only thing that matters at the present moment is pure technical ability. This sort of utilitarian approach to education is in fact becoming more widespread, even at the university level, promoted especially by sectors outside the University. All the same, you who, like myself, have had an experience of the University, and now are members of the teaching staff, surely are looking for something more lofty and capable of embracing the full measure of what it is to be human. We know that when mere utility and pure pragmatism become the principal criteria, much is lost and the results can be tragic: from the abuses associated with a science which acknowledges no limits beyond itself, to the political totalitarianism which easily arises when one eliminates any higher reference than the mere calculus of power. The authentic idea of the University, on the other hand, is precisely what saves us from this reductionist and curtailed vision of humanity.
In truth, the University has always been, and is always called to be, the "house" where one seeks the truth proper to the human person. Consequently it was not by accident that the Church promoted the universities, for Christian faith speaks to us of Christ as the Word through whom all things were made (cf. Jn 1:3) and of men and women as made in the image and likeness of God. The Gospel message perceives a rationality inherent in creation and considers man as a creature participating in, and capable of attaining to, an understanding of this rationality. The University thus embodies an ideal which must not be attenuated or compromised, whether by ideologies closed to reasoned dialogue or by truckling to a purely utilitarian and economic conception which would view man solely as a consumer.
Here we see the vital importance of your own mission. You yourselves have the honor and responsibility of transmitting the ideal of the University: an ideal which you have received from your predecessors, many of whom were humble followers of the Gospel and, as such, became spiritual giants. We should feel ourselves their successors, in a time quite different from their own, yet one in which the essential human questions continue to challenge and stimulate us. With them, we realize that we are a link in that chain of men and women committed to teaching the faith and making it credible to human reason. And we do this not simply by our teaching, but by the way we live our faith and embody it, just as the Word took flesh and dwelt among us. Young people need authentic teachers: persons open to the fullness of truth in the various branches of knowledge, persons who listen to and experience in own hearts that interdisciplinary dialogue; persons who, above all, are convinced of our human capacity to advance along the path of truth. Youth is a privileged time for seeking and encountering truth. As Plato said: "Seek truth while you are young, for if you do not, it will later escape your grasp" (Parmenides, 135d). This lofty aspiration is the most precious gift which you can give to your students, personally and by example. It is more important than mere technical know-how, or cold and purely functional data.
I urge you, then, never to lose that sense of enthusiasm and concern for truth. Always remember that teaching is not just about communicating content, but about forming young people. You need to understand and love them, to awaken their innate thirst for truth and their yearning for transcendence. Be for them a source of encouragement and strength.
For this to happen, we need to realize in the first place that the path to the fullness of truth calls for complete commitment: it is a path of understanding and love, of reason and faith. We cannot come to know something unless we are moved by love; or, for that matter, love something which does not strike us as reasonable.
"Understanding and love are not in separate compartments: love is rich in understanding and understanding is full of love" (Caritas in Veritate, 30). If truth and goodness go together, so too do knowledge and love. This unity leads to consistency in life and thought, that ability to inspire demanded of every good educator.
In the second place, we need to recognize that truth itself will always lie beyond our grasp. We can seek it and draw near to it, but we cannot completely possess it; or put better, truth possesses us and inspires us. In intellectual and educational activity the virtue of humility is also indispensable, since it protects us from the pride, which bars the way to truth. We must not draw students to ourselves, but set them on the path toward the truth, which we seek together. The Lord will help you in this, for he asks you to be plain and effective like salt, or like the lamp which quietly lights the room (cf. Mt 5:13).
All these things, finally, remind us to keep our gaze fixed on Christ, whose face radiates the Truth which enlightens us. Christ is also the Way, which leads to lasting fulfillment; he walks constantly at our side and sustains us with his love. Rooted in him, you will prove good guides to our young people. With this confidence I invoke upon you the protection of the Virgin Mary, Seat of Wisdom. May she help you to cooperate with her Son by living a life which is personally satisfying and which brings forth rich fruits of knowledge and faith for your students. Thank you very much.
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Papal Address to the Students of UK's Catholic Schools
"What God Wants ... for Each One of You Is That You Should Become Holy"
- Here is the address Benedict XVI delivered today, the second day of his four-day state visit to the United Kingdom, during a meeting with some 4,000 students of Catholic schools at the Sports Arena of St Mary’s University College in Twickenham. All the Catholic schools of England, Wales and Scotland followed the event via Internet.
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Dear young friends,
First of all, I want to say how glad I am to be here with you today. I greet you most warmly, those who have come to Saint Mary’s University from Catholic schools and colleges across the United Kingdom, and all who are watching on television and via the internet. I thank Bishop McMahon for his gracious welcome, I thank the choir and the band for the lovely music which began our celebration, and I thank Miss Bellot for her kind words on behalf of all the young people present. In view of London’s forthcoming Olympic Games, it has been a pleasure to inaugurate this Sports Foundation, named in honour of Pope John Paul II, and I pray that all who come here will give glory to God through their sporting activities, as well as bringing enjoyment to themselves and to others.
It is not often that a Pope, or indeed anyone else, has the opportunity to speak to the students of all the Catholic schools of England, Wales and Scotland at the same time. And since I have the chance now, there is something I very much want to say to you. I hope that among those of you listening to me today there are some of the future saints of the twenty-first century. What God wants most of all for each one of you is that you should become holy. He loves you much more than you could ever begin to imagine, and he wants the very best for you. And by far the best thing for you is to grow in holiness.
Perhaps some of you have never thought about this before. Perhaps some of you think being a saint is not for you. Let me explain what I mean. When we are young, we can usually think of people that we look up to, people we admire, people we want to be like. It could be someone we meet in our daily lives that we hold in great esteem. Or it could be someone famous. We live in a celebrity culture, and young people are often encouraged to model themselves on figures from the world of sport or entertainment. My question for you is this: what are the qualities you see in others that you would most like to have yourselves? What kind of person would you really like to be?
When I invite you to become saints, I am asking you not to be content with second best. I am asking you not to pursue one limited goal and ignore all the others. Having money makes it possible to be generous and to do good in the world, but on its own, it is not enough to make us happy. Being highly skilled in some activity or profession is good, but it will not satisfy us unless we aim for something greater still. It might make us famous, but it will not make us happy. Happiness is something we all want, but one of the great tragedies in this world is that so many people never find it, because they look for it in the wrong places. The key to it is very simple – true happiness is to be found in God. We need to have the courage to place our deepest hopes in God alone, not in money, in a career, in worldly success, or in our relationships with others, but in God. Only he can satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts.
Not only does God love us with a depth and an intensity that we can scarcely begin to comprehend, but he invites us to respond to that love. You all know what it is like when you meet someone interesting and attractive, and you want to be that person’s friend. You always hope they will find you interesting and attractive, and want to be your friend. God wants your friendship. And once you enter into friendship with God, everything in your life begins to change. As you come to know him better, you find you want to reflect something of his infinite goodness in your own life. You are attracted to the practice of virtue. You begin to see greed and selfishness and all the other sins for what they really are, destructive and dangerous tendencies that cause deep suffering and do great damage, and you want to avoid falling into that trap yourselves. You begin to feel compassion for people in difficulties and you are eager to do something to help them. You want to come to the aid of the poor and the hungry, you want to comfort the sorrowful, you want to be kind and generous. And once these things begin to matter to you, you are well on the way to becoming saints.
In your Catholic schools, there is always a bigger picture over and above the individual subjects you study, the different skills you learn. All the work you do is placed in the context of growing in friendship with God, and all that flows from that friendship. So you learn not just to be good students, but good citizens, good people. As you move higher up the school, you have to make choices regarding the subjects you study, you begin to specialize with a view to what you are going to do later on in life. That is right and proper. But always remember that every subject you study is part of a bigger picture. Never allow yourselves to become narrow. The world needs good scientists, but a scientific outlook becomes dangerously narrow if it ignores the religious or ethical dimension of life, just as religion becomes narrow if it rejects the legitimate contribution of science to our understanding of the world. We need good historians and philosophers and economists, but if the account they give of human life within their particular field is too narrowly focused, they can lead us seriously astray.
A good school provides a rounded education for the whole person. And a good Catholic school, over and above this, should help all its students to become saints. I know that there are many non-Catholics studying in the Catholic schools in Great Britain, and I wish to include all of you in my words today. I pray that you too will feel encouraged to practise virtue and to grow in knowledge and friendship with God alongside your Catholic classmates. You are a reminder to them of the bigger picture that exists outside the school, and indeed, it is only right that respect and friendship for members of other religious traditions should be among the virtues learned in a Catholic school. I hope too that you will want to share with everyone you meet the values and insights you have learned through the Christian education you have received.
Dear friends, I thank you for your attention, I promise to pray for you, and I ask you to pray for me. I hope to see many of you next August, at the World Youth Day in Madrid. In the meantime, may God bless you all!
- Here is the address Benedict XVI delivered today, the second day of his four-day state visit to the United Kingdom, during a meeting with some 4,000 students of Catholic schools at the Sports Arena of St Mary’s University College in Twickenham. All the Catholic schools of England, Wales and Scotland followed the event via Internet.
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Dear young friends,
First of all, I want to say how glad I am to be here with you today. I greet you most warmly, those who have come to Saint Mary’s University from Catholic schools and colleges across the United Kingdom, and all who are watching on television and via the internet. I thank Bishop McMahon for his gracious welcome, I thank the choir and the band for the lovely music which began our celebration, and I thank Miss Bellot for her kind words on behalf of all the young people present. In view of London’s forthcoming Olympic Games, it has been a pleasure to inaugurate this Sports Foundation, named in honour of Pope John Paul II, and I pray that all who come here will give glory to God through their sporting activities, as well as bringing enjoyment to themselves and to others.
It is not often that a Pope, or indeed anyone else, has the opportunity to speak to the students of all the Catholic schools of England, Wales and Scotland at the same time. And since I have the chance now, there is something I very much want to say to you. I hope that among those of you listening to me today there are some of the future saints of the twenty-first century. What God wants most of all for each one of you is that you should become holy. He loves you much more than you could ever begin to imagine, and he wants the very best for you. And by far the best thing for you is to grow in holiness.
Perhaps some of you have never thought about this before. Perhaps some of you think being a saint is not for you. Let me explain what I mean. When we are young, we can usually think of people that we look up to, people we admire, people we want to be like. It could be someone we meet in our daily lives that we hold in great esteem. Or it could be someone famous. We live in a celebrity culture, and young people are often encouraged to model themselves on figures from the world of sport or entertainment. My question for you is this: what are the qualities you see in others that you would most like to have yourselves? What kind of person would you really like to be?
When I invite you to become saints, I am asking you not to be content with second best. I am asking you not to pursue one limited goal and ignore all the others. Having money makes it possible to be generous and to do good in the world, but on its own, it is not enough to make us happy. Being highly skilled in some activity or profession is good, but it will not satisfy us unless we aim for something greater still. It might make us famous, but it will not make us happy. Happiness is something we all want, but one of the great tragedies in this world is that so many people never find it, because they look for it in the wrong places. The key to it is very simple – true happiness is to be found in God. We need to have the courage to place our deepest hopes in God alone, not in money, in a career, in worldly success, or in our relationships with others, but in God. Only he can satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts.
Not only does God love us with a depth and an intensity that we can scarcely begin to comprehend, but he invites us to respond to that love. You all know what it is like when you meet someone interesting and attractive, and you want to be that person’s friend. You always hope they will find you interesting and attractive, and want to be your friend. God wants your friendship. And once you enter into friendship with God, everything in your life begins to change. As you come to know him better, you find you want to reflect something of his infinite goodness in your own life. You are attracted to the practice of virtue. You begin to see greed and selfishness and all the other sins for what they really are, destructive and dangerous tendencies that cause deep suffering and do great damage, and you want to avoid falling into that trap yourselves. You begin to feel compassion for people in difficulties and you are eager to do something to help them. You want to come to the aid of the poor and the hungry, you want to comfort the sorrowful, you want to be kind and generous. And once these things begin to matter to you, you are well on the way to becoming saints.
In your Catholic schools, there is always a bigger picture over and above the individual subjects you study, the different skills you learn. All the work you do is placed in the context of growing in friendship with God, and all that flows from that friendship. So you learn not just to be good students, but good citizens, good people. As you move higher up the school, you have to make choices regarding the subjects you study, you begin to specialize with a view to what you are going to do later on in life. That is right and proper. But always remember that every subject you study is part of a bigger picture. Never allow yourselves to become narrow. The world needs good scientists, but a scientific outlook becomes dangerously narrow if it ignores the religious or ethical dimension of life, just as religion becomes narrow if it rejects the legitimate contribution of science to our understanding of the world. We need good historians and philosophers and economists, but if the account they give of human life within their particular field is too narrowly focused, they can lead us seriously astray.
A good school provides a rounded education for the whole person. And a good Catholic school, over and above this, should help all its students to become saints. I know that there are many non-Catholics studying in the Catholic schools in Great Britain, and I wish to include all of you in my words today. I pray that you too will feel encouraged to practise virtue and to grow in knowledge and friendship with God alongside your Catholic classmates. You are a reminder to them of the bigger picture that exists outside the school, and indeed, it is only right that respect and friendship for members of other religious traditions should be among the virtues learned in a Catholic school. I hope too that you will want to share with everyone you meet the values and insights you have learned through the Christian education you have received.
Dear friends, I thank you for your attention, I promise to pray for you, and I ask you to pray for me. I hope to see many of you next August, at the World Youth Day in Madrid. In the meantime, may God bless you all!
Benedict XVI's Address to Catholic Educators
"True Wisdom Is Inseparable From Knowledge of the Creator"
- Here is the address Benedict XVI delivered today, the second day of his four-day state visit to the United Kingdom, during a meeting with the world of Catholic Education in the Chapel and Sports Arena of St Mary’s University College in Twickenham.
* * *
Your Excellency the Secretary of State for Education,
Bishop Stack, Dr Naylor,
Reverend Fathers, Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I am pleased to have this opportunity to pay tribute to the outstanding contribution made by religious men and women in this land to the noble task of education. I thank the young people for their fine singing, and I thank Sister Teresa for her words. To her and to all the dedicated men and women who devote their lives to teaching the young, I want to express sentiments of deep appreciation. You form new generations not only in knowledge of the faith, but in every aspect of what it means to live as mature and responsible citizens in today’s world.
As you know, the task of a teacher is not simply to impart information or to provide training in skills intended to deliver some economic benefit to society; education is not and must never be considered as purely utilitarian. It is about forming the human person, equipping him or her to live life to the full – in short it is about imparting wisdom. And true wisdom is inseparable from knowledge of the Creator, for "both we and our words are in his hand, as are all understanding and skill in crafts" (Wis 7:16).
This transcendent dimension of study and teaching was clearly grasped by the monks who contributed so much to the evangelization of these islands. I am thinking of the Benedictines who accompanied Saint Augustine on his mission to England, of the disciples of Saint Columba who spread the faith across Scotland and Northern England, of Saint David and his companions in Wales. Since the search for God, which lies at the heart of the monastic vocation, requires active engagement with the means by which he makes himself known – his creation and his revealed word – it was only natural that the monastery should have a library and a school (cf. Address to representatives from the world of culture at the "Collège des Bernardins" in Paris, 12 September 2008). It was the monks’ dedication to learning as the path on which to encounter the Incarnate Word of God that was to lay the foundations of our Western culture and civilization.
Looking around me today, I see many apostolic religious whose charism includes the education of the young. This gives me an opportunity to give thanks to God for the life and work of the Venerable Mary Ward, a native of this land whose pioneering vision of apostolic religious life for women has borne so much fruit. I myself as a young boy was taught by the "English Ladies" and I owe them a deep debt of gratitude. Many of you belong to teaching orders that have carried the light of the Gospel to far-off lands as part of the Church’s great missionary work, and for this too I give thanks and praise to God. Often you laid the foundations of educational provision long before the State assumed a responsibility for this vital service to the individual and to society. As the relative roles of Church and State in the field of education continue to evolve, never forget that religious have a unique contribution to offer to this apostolate, above all through lives consecrated to God and through faithful, loving witness to Christ, the supreme Teacher.
Indeed, the presence of religious in Catholic schools is a powerful reminder of the much-discussed Catholic ethos that needs to inform every aspect of school life. This extends far beyond the self-evident requirement that the content of the teaching should always be in conformity with Church doctrine. It means that the life of faith needs to be the driving force behind every activity in the school, so that the Church’s mission may be served effectively, and the young people may discover the joy of entering into Christ’s "being for others" (Spe Salvi, 28).
Before I conclude, I wish to add a particular word of appreciation for those whose task it is to ensure that our schools provide a safe environment for children and young people. Our responsibility towards those entrusted to us for their Christian formation demands nothing less. Indeed, the life of faith can only be effectively nurtured when the prevailing atmosphere is one of respectful and affectionate trust. I pray that this may continue to be a hallmark of the Catholic schools in this country.
With these sentiments, dear Brothers and Sisters, I invite you now to stand and pray.
- Here is the address Benedict XVI delivered today, the second day of his four-day state visit to the United Kingdom, during a meeting with the world of Catholic Education in the Chapel and Sports Arena of St Mary’s University College in Twickenham.
* * *
Your Excellency the Secretary of State for Education,
Bishop Stack, Dr Naylor,
Reverend Fathers, Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I am pleased to have this opportunity to pay tribute to the outstanding contribution made by religious men and women in this land to the noble task of education. I thank the young people for their fine singing, and I thank Sister Teresa for her words. To her and to all the dedicated men and women who devote their lives to teaching the young, I want to express sentiments of deep appreciation. You form new generations not only in knowledge of the faith, but in every aspect of what it means to live as mature and responsible citizens in today’s world.
As you know, the task of a teacher is not simply to impart information or to provide training in skills intended to deliver some economic benefit to society; education is not and must never be considered as purely utilitarian. It is about forming the human person, equipping him or her to live life to the full – in short it is about imparting wisdom. And true wisdom is inseparable from knowledge of the Creator, for "both we and our words are in his hand, as are all understanding and skill in crafts" (Wis 7:16).
This transcendent dimension of study and teaching was clearly grasped by the monks who contributed so much to the evangelization of these islands. I am thinking of the Benedictines who accompanied Saint Augustine on his mission to England, of the disciples of Saint Columba who spread the faith across Scotland and Northern England, of Saint David and his companions in Wales. Since the search for God, which lies at the heart of the monastic vocation, requires active engagement with the means by which he makes himself known – his creation and his revealed word – it was only natural that the monastery should have a library and a school (cf. Address to representatives from the world of culture at the "Collège des Bernardins" in Paris, 12 September 2008). It was the monks’ dedication to learning as the path on which to encounter the Incarnate Word of God that was to lay the foundations of our Western culture and civilization.
Looking around me today, I see many apostolic religious whose charism includes the education of the young. This gives me an opportunity to give thanks to God for the life and work of the Venerable Mary Ward, a native of this land whose pioneering vision of apostolic religious life for women has borne so much fruit. I myself as a young boy was taught by the "English Ladies" and I owe them a deep debt of gratitude. Many of you belong to teaching orders that have carried the light of the Gospel to far-off lands as part of the Church’s great missionary work, and for this too I give thanks and praise to God. Often you laid the foundations of educational provision long before the State assumed a responsibility for this vital service to the individual and to society. As the relative roles of Church and State in the field of education continue to evolve, never forget that religious have a unique contribution to offer to this apostolate, above all through lives consecrated to God and through faithful, loving witness to Christ, the supreme Teacher.
Indeed, the presence of religious in Catholic schools is a powerful reminder of the much-discussed Catholic ethos that needs to inform every aspect of school life. This extends far beyond the self-evident requirement that the content of the teaching should always be in conformity with Church doctrine. It means that the life of faith needs to be the driving force behind every activity in the school, so that the Church’s mission may be served effectively, and the young people may discover the joy of entering into Christ’s "being for others" (Spe Salvi, 28).
Before I conclude, I wish to add a particular word of appreciation for those whose task it is to ensure that our schools provide a safe environment for children and young people. Our responsibility towards those entrusted to us for their Christian formation demands nothing less. Indeed, the life of faith can only be effectively nurtured when the prevailing atmosphere is one of respectful and affectionate trust. I pray that this may continue to be a hallmark of the Catholic schools in this country.
With these sentiments, dear Brothers and Sisters, I invite you now to stand and pray.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Archbishop Speaks on Aquinas and Universities
"We Must Reaffirm the Passion for Truth That Animated St. Thomas"
- Here is a compilation of excerpts from a Jan. 28 public lecture given by Archbishop Michael Miller of Vancouver, British Columbia, at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. The lecture was published April 14 by L'Osservatore Romano.
* * *
The Church's "Common Doctor:" Aquinas and the Contemporary Catholic University
St Thomas himself never put his mind to worrying about how to think about a Catholic university of his time or any other. His writings never touch upon matters of faculty, students or curriculum as they concern us today. Yet he does propose specific views about the acquisition of knowledge about truth and the relationship of faith and reason which are, I believe, of permanent value to understanding how the contemporary Catholic university should carry out its teaching and research.
After a look at the study of Thomism in centers of higher education universities and seminaries following the revival initiated by Pope Leo XIII, what I suggest in this lecture are several reasons why St Thomas is rightly called "a light for the Church and the whole world", above all the world of the Catholic Academy at the dawn of this Third Christian Millennium.
Second Vatican Council: Apex and Decline
Following the long tradition according official approval to Thomas' teaching, which the Church used so widely and successfully "as an instrument superbly adapted to her purposes, thus casting the mantle of her own magisterial authority over Aquinas", the Second Vatican Council followed suit. It highly praised Thomas, whose thought had prepared for it in so many ways.
The Decree on Priestly Formation, for example, recommended that seminarians be taught according to "that philosophical heritage which is perennially valid". Moreover, their dogmatic theology should be taught so as to illumine the mysteries of salvation as completely as possible, and seminarians "should learn to penetrate them more deeply with the help of speculation, under the guidance of St Thomas, and to perceive their interconnections".
In like fashion, the Declaration on Christian Education praised Aquinas' teaching for showing how faith and science can work in harmony in Catholic colleges and universities. For the first time an ecumenical council recommended an individual theologian for study, and they gave that honor to St Thomas, even though the Fathers themselves made less use of him in their final documents than in those previously prepared for their deliberations.
Ironically, right around the same time as the Council, a decline what some have called a "collapse" in the study of St Thomas was taking place. Several reasons for this slow falling into neglect can be suggested. First, the renewal of biblical scholarship prompted by Pius XII's Divino Afflante Spiritu, published in 1943, introduced scriptural themes and categories more directly into theology, thereby making Thomas seem outdated. This was accompanied by a more general ressourcement among theologians, a return to the study of the Church Fathers, thereby bypassing the Scholastics, including Aquinas, in favor of the tradition of a presumed earlier golden age. At the same time, creating an almost perfect storm, a third movement was in the wind, one which, even if not intending to do so, undercut the privileged place of Thomism, especially in seminaries. Aidan Nichols comments on this new emphasis that emerged: theology itself should be preachable; that is, it should be readily and immediately able to be "translated" into a Sunday homily relevant to contemporary situations. In achieving this purpose Aquinas was held to be no help; he was insufficiently biblical, excessively philosophical and too complicated. Some blame for the hasty exit of St Thomas from the Academy should also be placed on what Nichols calls "the off-putting mode of the pedagogical and literary presentation in which Thomism was often cast.... [I]ts communication in many seminaries and Catholic philosophy faculties appears to have become dessicated and ahistorical". Pius xi's admonition to "go to Thomas" was insufficiently observed. A dry summary of certain theses replaced the texts of the Master himself.
Despite this evident decline in the study of Aquinas, in 1974, Paul VI rather surprisingly expressed his delight in what he optimistically called "the extraordinary, even if unforeseen, "return' of St Thomas, which has confirmed the wisdom of the supreme Magisterium in declaring him to be the authoritative, irreplaceable guide in philosophy and theology". For his part, John Paul II hoped that the Council's encouragement, together his own particular blend of Thomism and phenomenology, would give a new impetus to the Church's intellectual apostolate. To be sure, John Paul did not propose that Thomism was the Church's only philosophy, as had Leo xiii, who had affirmed that "insistence upon the thought of the Angelic Doctor" is "the best way to recover the practice of a philosophy consonant with faith". Rather, John Paul allows for a plurality of philosophical systems, with the caveat that to be acceptable they must share Aquinas' metaphysical realism, including his position on the natural knowability of the existence of God. Certainly Thomas is a "model" for the philosopher. Nevertheless, the Pope adds, despite the high praise owed to Thomas, "the Church has no philosophy of her own nor does she canonize any one particular philosophy in preference to others".
As for theology, John Paul lauds St Thomas as "a model of the right way to do theology", adding that "the Magisterium has repeatedly acclaimed the merits of Saint Thomas' thought and made him the guide and model for theological studies".
Doctor Veritatis: Relativism and the Crisis of Truth
Much can be said about the intellectual malaise, the so-called "weak thought" of our contemporaries. Probably there is no single cause for the corruption of the modern mind. But I would submit that a good place to begin finding a cause is the penetrating analysis of Pope Benedict.
According to the Holy Father, among the major challenges to the Church of the 21st century, and one which presents "a particularly insidious obstacle in the task of educating", is the massive presence of relativism in society and in the halls of the Academy. The central problem of our system higher education is not its failure to provide strong intellectual and marketable skills, which it can do well enough, but its premise that reality does not exist independently of the human mind and cannot be known with any certainty. In this way, even if not intentionally, far too many colleges and universities stifle the students' natural desire to know, and to know the truth. This entices them to avoid the humanities and liberal arts and take refuge in the professional and practical arts alone, with their expected financial rewards.
Another consequence of this underlying assumption and one even more serious is that, even if a person practices his or her faith, such faith has nothing to do with truth; hence, nothing to do with the core purpose of a university; that is, teaching and research. In situations where what makes a university "Catholic" is not the content of what is taught in other words, the curriculum - but only the laudable concern for the "whole student", then its intellectual foundation has been weakened, perhaps beyond repair. Important as student life is to expressing one's faith, it can never replace the curriculum as the principal locus of genuine catholicity in the world of higher education.
All too often relativism and privatized faith are not only the academic's creed, but also that of the person on the street. Indeed, relativism has become a secular dogma and "it is considered dangerous and "authoritarian' to speak of truth". A "dictatorship of relativism" prevails in the now famous phrase from Cardinal Ratzinger's homily before he was elected Pope.
In fact, in many universities, seeking truth is considered a hopelessly impossible, even naive, undertaking. Academics are suspicious, if not hostile, to any claim to know the truth. They often suffer from "the widespread conviction that the possibility of attaining truth is an illusion of traditional metaphysics", accepting as true only what can be experienced.
In the university world skepticism reigns about truth: nothing is definitive except in the empirically verifiable scientific realm. If this University is going to fulfill its mission in the Church as a community of teachers and learners, its curriculum is going to have to meet this crisis of truth head-on. It can do so by arguing convincingly, with passion and respect, that the truth can be pursued and, to a limited but real extent, attained by the human mind and communicated to others. Such a service to the truth is the intellectual foundation of every Catholic university. Today we must reaffirm the "the "passion for truth" that animated St Thomas in order to harness the intellectual forces necessary for the development of a future of authentic human flourishing. Failure to engage this quest leads a scholarly community to see itself merely as an educational provider, trapped in a hall of mirrors of endless choices without focus or purpose. Consequently, as Ralph McInerny has noted in typical pithy fashion, "The main reason to read Thomas is to learn things that are true".
Catholic universities can imitate today what Aquinas did in the thirteenth century by imbuing their curricula with the desire to search freely "the whole truth about nature, man and God". Although his serene openness alarmed not a few of his contemporaries, he searched for truth diligently and lovingly among pre-Christian and non-Christian philosophers, willing to engage in intellectual dialogue with all wise teachers. Thomas showed great liberty of spirit and intellectual honest in dealing with new questions and by not rejecting secularist philosophies a priori and without examination.
Aquinas was ever alert to the truth buried in the opinion of others: "There is no false teaching which does not have some truth admixed in it", he affirmed. John Paul ii observed that for Thomas "this presence of truth even if it be incomplete and imperfect and at times distorted is a bridge uniting every man to other men and makes understanding possible when there is good will".
Whence the source of the Saint's conviction? In his unrelenting search for the good and the true, Thomas recognized that the Holy Spirit was already at work, opening the human heart and making it ready to welcome the truth of the Gospel. In a celebrated phrase he states: "any truth, no matter by whom it is spoken, is from the Holy Spirit". The action of the Spirit creates an affinity for the truth and draws the human heart towards it; he helps human knowledge mature in wisdom and in trusting abandonment to what is true. Just as he succeeded in establishing a fruitful confrontation with the Arab and Hebrew thought of his time, treating them respectfully but refusing to let himself be overawed by their authority, so must scholars and students in a Catholic university, with a similar grace bequeathed by the Holy Spirit, be free to examine the truth wherever it may be found.
Pope Paul VI sums up this attitude of Thomas to all the great masters of human thought, an attitude which might well undergird every university which strives to preserve, hand on and enrich the Catholic intellectual, moral and artistic tradition. First, he began with great admiration for the intellectual patrimony of other traditions. Second, he recognized the value and significance but also the limitations of each thinker. Finally, he was compassionate towards those who, like the philosophers of antiquity, lacked the light of faith. The Holy Father then speculated on how Thomas would confront contemporary questions:
"We are convinced that were he among us today he would be no less eager to investigate the forces that are bringing about changes in man, his conditions, his manner of thinking and his way of life. Whatever would help him now to speak of God more worthily and persuasively than ever before would be in his eyes a cause for rejoicing. Yet in all this he would never lose that serene, magnanimous sense of security which faith alone can bestow on the human mind".
The Angelic Doctor is a marvelous example of Christian scholars open to the signs of the times shaping their age and yet remaining faithful to the path marked out by faith, tradition and the Church's teaching. What a lesson this is for civilized and respectful scholarly interchange in the Academy!
Doctor Concordiae: Harmony of Faith and Reason
Besides being, par excellence, the Doctor Veritatis, Thomas is also the Doctor Concordiae; that is, he is the pre-eminent teacher of the harmony between faith and reason, the "two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth".
In addressing the University community at Leuven in 1985, Pope John Paul II affirmed: "The whole living tradition of the Church teaches us this: faith seeks understanding, and understanding seeks faith. Both the need to understand and the need to believe are deeply rooted in man's heart. It is for this reason that the Church herself was the point of departure for the creation of universities". Nonetheless, a particular challenge faces universities today in that many would detach faith from reason, and reason from faith. This challenge can be met if teachers and learners take the Angelic Doctor as their master. "With his charism as a philosopher and theologian", says Pope Benedict, "he [Thomas] offered an effective model of harmony between reason and faith, dimensions of the human spirit that are completely fulfilled in the encounter and dialogue with one another".
For Aquinas, then, faith and reason should be neither separated nor placed in competition; rather, they go hand in hand. "Both the light of reason and the light of faith come from God, he [Thomas] argued; hence there can be no contradiction between them".
On the relationship St Thomas is truly enlightening. Commenting on this, Pope John Paul II has said:
"Philosophical and theological truth converge into a single truth. The truth of reason ascends from creatures to God; the truth of faith descends directly from God to man. But this diversity of method and origin does not detract from their fundamental unity, because there is a single identical Author of truth manifested through creation, and truth communicated personally to man by means of His Word. Philosophical research and theological research are two different directions of movement of a single truth, destined to meet, but not collide, on the same road, in order to help each other. Thus reason, illuminated, strengthened and guaranteed by faith, becomes a faithful companion of faith itself and faith immensely widens the limited horizon of human reason".
Pope Benedict reaffirms his predecessors' views that Aquinas offers "an effective model of harmony between reason and faith, dimensions of the human spirit that are completely fulfilled in the encounter and dialogue with one another". Indeed, "an intellectual "culture' which is genuinely Catholic", must be "confident in the profound harmony of faith and reason". The Holy Father affirms that "a natural friendship exists between faith and reason, founded in the order of Creation itself". The synergy between the two is the linchpin of Benedict's thought. At the origin of the Christian faith there is not only the Jerusalem of the theologians but also the Athens of the philosophers.
In dealing with the harmony between faith and reason developed so exquisitely by Aquinas, the Holy Father leaves no doubt about the Christological center of this vision. For Thomas, he writes, "the definitive fulfilment of every authentic human aspiration rests in Jesus Christ". But it was the genius of Aquinas to have highlighted the autonomy of philosophy, and with it the laws proper to reason. He gave a new emphasis to the specific responsibility of reason, which was not to be absorbed by faith. According to Thomas, Christianity was obliged to argue the case for its own reasonableness.
Drawing, then, on St Thomas, Pope Benedict is convinced that it is urgent for contemporary thinkers "to rediscover anew human rationality open to the light of the divine Logos and his perfect revelation which is Jesus Christ, Son of God made man". Nor does exhort only scholars. In countless homilies and discourses he cites St Peter's injunction to every Christian: "Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you" (1 Pet 3: 15). It is the Christian faith which safeguards reason in the modern world. Indeed, faith liberates reason from its own limitations. God has revealed himself as creative Reason and, precisely as the Logos, has acted and continues to act lovingly on our behalf. "In the beginning was the Word", the Logos, and "the Word became flesh" (Jn 1: 1, 14). The divine Logos is thus the origin of the universe, and this same Logos was united once and for all with humanity, the world and history, in Christ. Moreover, this Reason is not a mathematics of the universe nor a first cause that withdrew after producing the Big Bang. Rather, it has "a heart such as to be able to renounce its own immensity and take flesh".
The Holy Father addresses directly the consequence for higher education of holding to such an understanding of reason. In his first major address to academics he affirmed: "This then is the great challenge to Catholic universities: to impart knowledge in the perspective of true rationality, different from that of today which largely prevails, in accordance with a reason open to the question of the truth and to the great values inscribed in being itself, hence, open to the transcendent, to God".
Because God is Reason, our faith has something that has to do with reason; it can be passed on through it and has no cause to hide from it. Whenever faith in God separates itself from its rational foundation, such a faith is put at risk.
Without the light of faith, however, human reason cannot find sure and fulfilling answers to today's many urgent problems. Catholic universities, if they are to remain true to the intellectual tradition which has shaped them from their beginning, are called to bear witness not only to the dignity of human reason and its capacity for knowing reality but also to the role played by faith in learning. Our universities are broader, not narrower, in their outlook, since the study of divine revelation opens up a whole area of reality beyond the reach of reason left to its own natural resources. As Fr Victor Brezik once reminded us, "the combination of the world of revealed knowledge with the world of rational knowledge gives the Catholic university a much more challenging horizon of study".
The Mall without the Chapel would be incomplete; and the Chapel without the Mall would be in exile. What we are blessed to have at UST is an architectural embodiment of a sound Thomism. The Catholic sacramental imagination demanded the completion of the Academic Mall crowned by the Chapel and we are forever grateful to Dr Joe McFadden for that. Moreover, that the Chapel bespeak a certain prominence for faith is also necessary. When the study of the world guided by reason and faith is taken seriously, a certain hierarchy of importance emerges. That is why theology and philosophy have long been accorded a kind of primi inter pares status in the University's curriculum.
Furthermore, fidelity to Thomas also demands that a Catholic university teach theology as a divine science, and not religious studies, a human one dependent on rational inquiry alone. Even though the core beliefs of Christianity are revealed and held by faith, students have to be informed of what they are. Aquinas never suggests that explaining the content of the articles of faith will bring about a response of faith, but he does think that we need to be told them. Theology courses at a Catholic university propose sacra doctrina. They set out what Christ taught in the Gospels, since he "is the first and chief teacher of spiritual doctrine and faith". Consequently, a Catholic university should be a place in where special attention is given to ensuring that students learn from theologians who propose the teaching of Christ as historical and authoritative.
Authentic Christian faith does not fear reason "but seeks it out and has trust in it". Faith presupposes reason and perfects it. Nor does human reason lose anything by opening itself to the content of faith. When reason is illumined by faith, it "is set free from the fragility and limitations deriving from the disobedience of sin and finds the strength required to rise to the knowledge of the Triune God". The Holy Father observes that St Thomas thinks that human reason, as it were, "breathes" by moving within a vast horizon open to transcendence. If, instead, "a person reduces himself to thinking only of material objects or those that can be proven, he closes himself to the great questions about life, himself and God and is impoverished". Such a person has far too summarily divorced reason from faith, rendering asunder the very dynamic of the intellect.
What does this mean for Catholic universities today? Pope Benedict answers in this way: "The Catholic university is [therefore] a vast laboratory where, in accordance with the different disciplines, ever new areas of research are developed in a stimulating confrontation between faith and reason that aims to recover the harmonious synthesis achieved by Thomas Aquinas and other great Christian thinkers". When firmly grounded in St Thomas' understanding of faith and reason, Catholic institutions of higher learning can confidently face every new challenge on the horizon, since the truths discovered by any genuine science can never contradict the one Truth, who is God himself.
- Here is a compilation of excerpts from a Jan. 28 public lecture given by Archbishop Michael Miller of Vancouver, British Columbia, at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. The lecture was published April 14 by L'Osservatore Romano.
* * *
The Church's "Common Doctor:" Aquinas and the Contemporary Catholic University
St Thomas himself never put his mind to worrying about how to think about a Catholic university of his time or any other. His writings never touch upon matters of faculty, students or curriculum as they concern us today. Yet he does propose specific views about the acquisition of knowledge about truth and the relationship of faith and reason which are, I believe, of permanent value to understanding how the contemporary Catholic university should carry out its teaching and research.
After a look at the study of Thomism in centers of higher education universities and seminaries following the revival initiated by Pope Leo XIII, what I suggest in this lecture are several reasons why St Thomas is rightly called "a light for the Church and the whole world", above all the world of the Catholic Academy at the dawn of this Third Christian Millennium.
Second Vatican Council: Apex and Decline
Following the long tradition according official approval to Thomas' teaching, which the Church used so widely and successfully "as an instrument superbly adapted to her purposes, thus casting the mantle of her own magisterial authority over Aquinas", the Second Vatican Council followed suit. It highly praised Thomas, whose thought had prepared for it in so many ways.
The Decree on Priestly Formation, for example, recommended that seminarians be taught according to "that philosophical heritage which is perennially valid". Moreover, their dogmatic theology should be taught so as to illumine the mysteries of salvation as completely as possible, and seminarians "should learn to penetrate them more deeply with the help of speculation, under the guidance of St Thomas, and to perceive their interconnections".
In like fashion, the Declaration on Christian Education praised Aquinas' teaching for showing how faith and science can work in harmony in Catholic colleges and universities. For the first time an ecumenical council recommended an individual theologian for study, and they gave that honor to St Thomas, even though the Fathers themselves made less use of him in their final documents than in those previously prepared for their deliberations.
Ironically, right around the same time as the Council, a decline what some have called a "collapse" in the study of St Thomas was taking place. Several reasons for this slow falling into neglect can be suggested. First, the renewal of biblical scholarship prompted by Pius XII's Divino Afflante Spiritu, published in 1943, introduced scriptural themes and categories more directly into theology, thereby making Thomas seem outdated. This was accompanied by a more general ressourcement among theologians, a return to the study of the Church Fathers, thereby bypassing the Scholastics, including Aquinas, in favor of the tradition of a presumed earlier golden age. At the same time, creating an almost perfect storm, a third movement was in the wind, one which, even if not intending to do so, undercut the privileged place of Thomism, especially in seminaries. Aidan Nichols comments on this new emphasis that emerged: theology itself should be preachable; that is, it should be readily and immediately able to be "translated" into a Sunday homily relevant to contemporary situations. In achieving this purpose Aquinas was held to be no help; he was insufficiently biblical, excessively philosophical and too complicated. Some blame for the hasty exit of St Thomas from the Academy should also be placed on what Nichols calls "the off-putting mode of the pedagogical and literary presentation in which Thomism was often cast.... [I]ts communication in many seminaries and Catholic philosophy faculties appears to have become dessicated and ahistorical". Pius xi's admonition to "go to Thomas" was insufficiently observed. A dry summary of certain theses replaced the texts of the Master himself.
Despite this evident decline in the study of Aquinas, in 1974, Paul VI rather surprisingly expressed his delight in what he optimistically called "the extraordinary, even if unforeseen, "return' of St Thomas, which has confirmed the wisdom of the supreme Magisterium in declaring him to be the authoritative, irreplaceable guide in philosophy and theology". For his part, John Paul II hoped that the Council's encouragement, together his own particular blend of Thomism and phenomenology, would give a new impetus to the Church's intellectual apostolate. To be sure, John Paul did not propose that Thomism was the Church's only philosophy, as had Leo xiii, who had affirmed that "insistence upon the thought of the Angelic Doctor" is "the best way to recover the practice of a philosophy consonant with faith". Rather, John Paul allows for a plurality of philosophical systems, with the caveat that to be acceptable they must share Aquinas' metaphysical realism, including his position on the natural knowability of the existence of God. Certainly Thomas is a "model" for the philosopher. Nevertheless, the Pope adds, despite the high praise owed to Thomas, "the Church has no philosophy of her own nor does she canonize any one particular philosophy in preference to others".
As for theology, John Paul lauds St Thomas as "a model of the right way to do theology", adding that "the Magisterium has repeatedly acclaimed the merits of Saint Thomas' thought and made him the guide and model for theological studies".
Doctor Veritatis: Relativism and the Crisis of Truth
Much can be said about the intellectual malaise, the so-called "weak thought" of our contemporaries. Probably there is no single cause for the corruption of the modern mind. But I would submit that a good place to begin finding a cause is the penetrating analysis of Pope Benedict.
According to the Holy Father, among the major challenges to the Church of the 21st century, and one which presents "a particularly insidious obstacle in the task of educating", is the massive presence of relativism in society and in the halls of the Academy. The central problem of our system higher education is not its failure to provide strong intellectual and marketable skills, which it can do well enough, but its premise that reality does not exist independently of the human mind and cannot be known with any certainty. In this way, even if not intentionally, far too many colleges and universities stifle the students' natural desire to know, and to know the truth. This entices them to avoid the humanities and liberal arts and take refuge in the professional and practical arts alone, with their expected financial rewards.
Another consequence of this underlying assumption and one even more serious is that, even if a person practices his or her faith, such faith has nothing to do with truth; hence, nothing to do with the core purpose of a university; that is, teaching and research. In situations where what makes a university "Catholic" is not the content of what is taught in other words, the curriculum - but only the laudable concern for the "whole student", then its intellectual foundation has been weakened, perhaps beyond repair. Important as student life is to expressing one's faith, it can never replace the curriculum as the principal locus of genuine catholicity in the world of higher education.
All too often relativism and privatized faith are not only the academic's creed, but also that of the person on the street. Indeed, relativism has become a secular dogma and "it is considered dangerous and "authoritarian' to speak of truth". A "dictatorship of relativism" prevails in the now famous phrase from Cardinal Ratzinger's homily before he was elected Pope.
In fact, in many universities, seeking truth is considered a hopelessly impossible, even naive, undertaking. Academics are suspicious, if not hostile, to any claim to know the truth. They often suffer from "the widespread conviction that the possibility of attaining truth is an illusion of traditional metaphysics", accepting as true only what can be experienced.
In the university world skepticism reigns about truth: nothing is definitive except in the empirically verifiable scientific realm. If this University is going to fulfill its mission in the Church as a community of teachers and learners, its curriculum is going to have to meet this crisis of truth head-on. It can do so by arguing convincingly, with passion and respect, that the truth can be pursued and, to a limited but real extent, attained by the human mind and communicated to others. Such a service to the truth is the intellectual foundation of every Catholic university. Today we must reaffirm the "the "passion for truth" that animated St Thomas in order to harness the intellectual forces necessary for the development of a future of authentic human flourishing. Failure to engage this quest leads a scholarly community to see itself merely as an educational provider, trapped in a hall of mirrors of endless choices without focus or purpose. Consequently, as Ralph McInerny has noted in typical pithy fashion, "The main reason to read Thomas is to learn things that are true".
Catholic universities can imitate today what Aquinas did in the thirteenth century by imbuing their curricula with the desire to search freely "the whole truth about nature, man and God". Although his serene openness alarmed not a few of his contemporaries, he searched for truth diligently and lovingly among pre-Christian and non-Christian philosophers, willing to engage in intellectual dialogue with all wise teachers. Thomas showed great liberty of spirit and intellectual honest in dealing with new questions and by not rejecting secularist philosophies a priori and without examination.
Aquinas was ever alert to the truth buried in the opinion of others: "There is no false teaching which does not have some truth admixed in it", he affirmed. John Paul ii observed that for Thomas "this presence of truth even if it be incomplete and imperfect and at times distorted is a bridge uniting every man to other men and makes understanding possible when there is good will".
Whence the source of the Saint's conviction? In his unrelenting search for the good and the true, Thomas recognized that the Holy Spirit was already at work, opening the human heart and making it ready to welcome the truth of the Gospel. In a celebrated phrase he states: "any truth, no matter by whom it is spoken, is from the Holy Spirit". The action of the Spirit creates an affinity for the truth and draws the human heart towards it; he helps human knowledge mature in wisdom and in trusting abandonment to what is true. Just as he succeeded in establishing a fruitful confrontation with the Arab and Hebrew thought of his time, treating them respectfully but refusing to let himself be overawed by their authority, so must scholars and students in a Catholic university, with a similar grace bequeathed by the Holy Spirit, be free to examine the truth wherever it may be found.
Pope Paul VI sums up this attitude of Thomas to all the great masters of human thought, an attitude which might well undergird every university which strives to preserve, hand on and enrich the Catholic intellectual, moral and artistic tradition. First, he began with great admiration for the intellectual patrimony of other traditions. Second, he recognized the value and significance but also the limitations of each thinker. Finally, he was compassionate towards those who, like the philosophers of antiquity, lacked the light of faith. The Holy Father then speculated on how Thomas would confront contemporary questions:
"We are convinced that were he among us today he would be no less eager to investigate the forces that are bringing about changes in man, his conditions, his manner of thinking and his way of life. Whatever would help him now to speak of God more worthily and persuasively than ever before would be in his eyes a cause for rejoicing. Yet in all this he would never lose that serene, magnanimous sense of security which faith alone can bestow on the human mind".
The Angelic Doctor is a marvelous example of Christian scholars open to the signs of the times shaping their age and yet remaining faithful to the path marked out by faith, tradition and the Church's teaching. What a lesson this is for civilized and respectful scholarly interchange in the Academy!
Doctor Concordiae: Harmony of Faith and Reason
Besides being, par excellence, the Doctor Veritatis, Thomas is also the Doctor Concordiae; that is, he is the pre-eminent teacher of the harmony between faith and reason, the "two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth".
In addressing the University community at Leuven in 1985, Pope John Paul II affirmed: "The whole living tradition of the Church teaches us this: faith seeks understanding, and understanding seeks faith. Both the need to understand and the need to believe are deeply rooted in man's heart. It is for this reason that the Church herself was the point of departure for the creation of universities". Nonetheless, a particular challenge faces universities today in that many would detach faith from reason, and reason from faith. This challenge can be met if teachers and learners take the Angelic Doctor as their master. "With his charism as a philosopher and theologian", says Pope Benedict, "he [Thomas] offered an effective model of harmony between reason and faith, dimensions of the human spirit that are completely fulfilled in the encounter and dialogue with one another".
For Aquinas, then, faith and reason should be neither separated nor placed in competition; rather, they go hand in hand. "Both the light of reason and the light of faith come from God, he [Thomas] argued; hence there can be no contradiction between them".
On the relationship St Thomas is truly enlightening. Commenting on this, Pope John Paul II has said:
"Philosophical and theological truth converge into a single truth. The truth of reason ascends from creatures to God; the truth of faith descends directly from God to man. But this diversity of method and origin does not detract from their fundamental unity, because there is a single identical Author of truth manifested through creation, and truth communicated personally to man by means of His Word. Philosophical research and theological research are two different directions of movement of a single truth, destined to meet, but not collide, on the same road, in order to help each other. Thus reason, illuminated, strengthened and guaranteed by faith, becomes a faithful companion of faith itself and faith immensely widens the limited horizon of human reason".
Pope Benedict reaffirms his predecessors' views that Aquinas offers "an effective model of harmony between reason and faith, dimensions of the human spirit that are completely fulfilled in the encounter and dialogue with one another". Indeed, "an intellectual "culture' which is genuinely Catholic", must be "confident in the profound harmony of faith and reason". The Holy Father affirms that "a natural friendship exists between faith and reason, founded in the order of Creation itself". The synergy between the two is the linchpin of Benedict's thought. At the origin of the Christian faith there is not only the Jerusalem of the theologians but also the Athens of the philosophers.
In dealing with the harmony between faith and reason developed so exquisitely by Aquinas, the Holy Father leaves no doubt about the Christological center of this vision. For Thomas, he writes, "the definitive fulfilment of every authentic human aspiration rests in Jesus Christ". But it was the genius of Aquinas to have highlighted the autonomy of philosophy, and with it the laws proper to reason. He gave a new emphasis to the specific responsibility of reason, which was not to be absorbed by faith. According to Thomas, Christianity was obliged to argue the case for its own reasonableness.
Drawing, then, on St Thomas, Pope Benedict is convinced that it is urgent for contemporary thinkers "to rediscover anew human rationality open to the light of the divine Logos and his perfect revelation which is Jesus Christ, Son of God made man". Nor does exhort only scholars. In countless homilies and discourses he cites St Peter's injunction to every Christian: "Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you" (1 Pet 3: 15). It is the Christian faith which safeguards reason in the modern world. Indeed, faith liberates reason from its own limitations. God has revealed himself as creative Reason and, precisely as the Logos, has acted and continues to act lovingly on our behalf. "In the beginning was the Word", the Logos, and "the Word became flesh" (Jn 1: 1, 14). The divine Logos is thus the origin of the universe, and this same Logos was united once and for all with humanity, the world and history, in Christ. Moreover, this Reason is not a mathematics of the universe nor a first cause that withdrew after producing the Big Bang. Rather, it has "a heart such as to be able to renounce its own immensity and take flesh".
The Holy Father addresses directly the consequence for higher education of holding to such an understanding of reason. In his first major address to academics he affirmed: "This then is the great challenge to Catholic universities: to impart knowledge in the perspective of true rationality, different from that of today which largely prevails, in accordance with a reason open to the question of the truth and to the great values inscribed in being itself, hence, open to the transcendent, to God".
Because God is Reason, our faith has something that has to do with reason; it can be passed on through it and has no cause to hide from it. Whenever faith in God separates itself from its rational foundation, such a faith is put at risk.
Without the light of faith, however, human reason cannot find sure and fulfilling answers to today's many urgent problems. Catholic universities, if they are to remain true to the intellectual tradition which has shaped them from their beginning, are called to bear witness not only to the dignity of human reason and its capacity for knowing reality but also to the role played by faith in learning. Our universities are broader, not narrower, in their outlook, since the study of divine revelation opens up a whole area of reality beyond the reach of reason left to its own natural resources. As Fr Victor Brezik once reminded us, "the combination of the world of revealed knowledge with the world of rational knowledge gives the Catholic university a much more challenging horizon of study".
The Mall without the Chapel would be incomplete; and the Chapel without the Mall would be in exile. What we are blessed to have at UST is an architectural embodiment of a sound Thomism. The Catholic sacramental imagination demanded the completion of the Academic Mall crowned by the Chapel and we are forever grateful to Dr Joe McFadden for that. Moreover, that the Chapel bespeak a certain prominence for faith is also necessary. When the study of the world guided by reason and faith is taken seriously, a certain hierarchy of importance emerges. That is why theology and philosophy have long been accorded a kind of primi inter pares status in the University's curriculum.
Furthermore, fidelity to Thomas also demands that a Catholic university teach theology as a divine science, and not religious studies, a human one dependent on rational inquiry alone. Even though the core beliefs of Christianity are revealed and held by faith, students have to be informed of what they are. Aquinas never suggests that explaining the content of the articles of faith will bring about a response of faith, but he does think that we need to be told them. Theology courses at a Catholic university propose sacra doctrina. They set out what Christ taught in the Gospels, since he "is the first and chief teacher of spiritual doctrine and faith". Consequently, a Catholic university should be a place in where special attention is given to ensuring that students learn from theologians who propose the teaching of Christ as historical and authoritative.
Authentic Christian faith does not fear reason "but seeks it out and has trust in it". Faith presupposes reason and perfects it. Nor does human reason lose anything by opening itself to the content of faith. When reason is illumined by faith, it "is set free from the fragility and limitations deriving from the disobedience of sin and finds the strength required to rise to the knowledge of the Triune God". The Holy Father observes that St Thomas thinks that human reason, as it were, "breathes" by moving within a vast horizon open to transcendence. If, instead, "a person reduces himself to thinking only of material objects or those that can be proven, he closes himself to the great questions about life, himself and God and is impoverished". Such a person has far too summarily divorced reason from faith, rendering asunder the very dynamic of the intellect.
What does this mean for Catholic universities today? Pope Benedict answers in this way: "The Catholic university is [therefore] a vast laboratory where, in accordance with the different disciplines, ever new areas of research are developed in a stimulating confrontation between faith and reason that aims to recover the harmonious synthesis achieved by Thomas Aquinas and other great Christian thinkers". When firmly grounded in St Thomas' understanding of faith and reason, Catholic institutions of higher learning can confidently face every new challenge on the horizon, since the truths discovered by any genuine science can never contradict the one Truth, who is God himself.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Vatican Letter on Catholic Education
"Religious Education in Schools Fits Into the Evangelizing Mission of the Church"
This is an important synthesis of the nature of Catholic education, what it means to educate, and what are the responsibilities of the families and schools for the education of the youth. I found it to be an excellent elaboration of the main principles of an integral Christian education.
- 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 today.
* * *
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 marginalises 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 characterised 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 centres – 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 harmonised 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, characterised 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
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Pope's Discourse to Academic Worl
"The Idea of an Integrated Education ... Must Be Regained"
After reading the following discourse of the Holy Father, I was reminded of his outstanding address he gave at the University of Regensburgh during his trip to Germany. He refers and returns to many important themes that he has often spoken about since the beginning of his papacy. In particular, he is trying to re-awaken a discussion of what it means to educate and to be educated, the nature and mission of the university, the freedom to pursue the truth in all academic fields, and the common denominator of these themes being the right use of of an integral reason, that meaning an openess to the totality of the world in all its aspects.
- Here is the address Benedict XVI gave today at a meeting in Prague with representatives of the world of academia and culture.
* * *
Mr President,
Distinguished Rectors and Professors,
Dear Students and Friends,
Our meeting this evening gives me a welcome opportunity to express my esteem for the indispensable role in society of universities and institutions of higher learning. I thank the student who has kindly greeted me in your name, the members of the university choir for their fine performance, and the distinguished Rector of Charles University, Professor Václav Hampl, for his thoughtful presentation. The service of academia, upholding and contributing to the cultural and spiritual values of society, enriches the nation's intellectual patrimony and strengthens the foundations of its future development. The great changes which swept Czech society twenty years ago were precipitated not least by movements of reform which originated in university and student circles. That quest for freedom has continued to guide the work of scholars whose diakonia of truth is indispensable to any nation's well-being.
I address you as one who has been a professor, solicitous of the right to academic freedom and the responsibility for the authentic use of reason, and is now the Pope who, in his role as Shepherd, is recognized as a voice for the ethical reasoning of humanity. While some argue that the questions raised by religion, faith and ethics have no place within the purview of collective reason, that view is by no means axiomatic. The freedom that underlies the exercise of reason - be it in a university or in the Church - has a purpose: it is directed to the pursuit of truth, and as such gives expression to a tenet of Christianity which in fact gave rise to the university. Indeed, man's thirst for knowledge prompts every generation to broaden the concept of reason and to drink at the wellsprings of faith. It was precisely the rich heritage of classical wisdom, assimilated and placed at the service of the Gospel, which the first Christian missionaries brought to these lands and established as the basis of a spiritual and cultural unity which endures to this day. The same spirit led my predecessor Pope Clement VI to establish the famed Charles University in 1347, which continues to make an important contribution to wider European academic, religious and cultural circles.
The proper autonomy of a university, or indeed any educational institution, finds meaning in its accountability to the authority of truth. Nevertheless, that autonomy can be thwarted in a variety of ways. The great formative tradition, open to the transcendent, which stands at the base of universities across Europe, was in this land, and others, systematically subverted by the reductive ideology of materialism, the repression of religion and the suppression of the human spirit. In 1989, however, the world witnessed in dramatic ways the overthrow of a failed totalitarian ideology and the triumph of the human spirit. The yearning for freedom and truth is inalienably part of our common humanity. It can never be eliminated; and, as history has shown, it is denied at humanity's own peril. It is to this yearning that religious faith, the various arts, philosophy, theology and other scientific disciplines, each with its own method, seek to respond, both on the level of disciplined reflection and on the level of a sound praxis.
Distinguished Rectors and Professors, together with your research there is a further essential aspect of the mission of the university in which you are engaged, namely the responsibility for enlightening the minds and hearts of the young men and women of today. This grave duty is of course not new. From the time of Plato, education has been not merely the accumulation of knowledge or skills, butpaideia, human formation in the treasures of an intellectual tradition directed to a virtuous life. While the great universities springing up throughout Europe during the middle ages aimed with confidence at the ideal of a synthesis of all knowledge, it was always in the service of an authentic humanitas, the perfection of the individual within the unity of a well-ordered society. And likewise today: once young people's understanding of the fullness and unity of truth has been awakened, they relish the discovery that the question of what they can know opens up the vast adventure of how they ought to be and what they ought to do.
The idea of an integrated education, based on the unity of knowledge grounded in truth, must be regained. It serves to counteract the tendency, so evident in contemporary society, towards a fragmentation of knowledge. With the massive growth in information and technology there comes the temptation to detach reason from the pursuit of truth. Sundered from the fundamental human orientation towards truth, however, reason begins to lose direction: it withers, either under the guise of modesty, resting content with the merely partial or provisional, or under the guise of certainty, insisting on capitulation to the demands of those who indiscriminately give equal value to practically everything. The relativism that ensues provides a dense camouflage behind which new threats to the autonomy of academic institutions can lurk. While the period of interference from political totalitarianism has passed, is it not the case that frequently, across the globe, the exercise of reason and academic research are - subtly and not so subtly - constrained to bow to the pressures of ideological interest groups and the lure of short-term utilitarian or pragmatic goals? What will happen if our culture builds itself only on fashionable arguments, with little reference to a genuine historical intellectual tradition, or on the viewpoints that are most vociferously promoted and most heavily funded? What will happen if in its anxiety to preserve a radical secularism, it detaches itself from its life-giving roots? Our societies will not become more reasonable or tolerant or adaptable but rather more brittle and less inclusive, and they will increasingly struggle to recognize what is true, noble and good.
Dear friends, I wish to encourage you in all that you do to meet the idealism and generosity of young people today not only with programmes of study which assist them to excel, but also by an experience of shared ideals and mutual support in the great enterprise of learning. The skills of analysis and those required to generate a hypothesis, combined with the prudent art of discernment, offer an effective antidote to the attitudes of self-absorption, disengagement and even alienation which are sometimes found in our prosperous societies, and which can particularly affect the young. In this context of an eminently humanistic vision of the mission of the university, I would like briefly to mention the mending of the breach between science and religion which was a central concern of my predecessor, Pope John Paul II. He, as you know, promoted a fuller understanding of the relationship between faith and reason as the two wings by which the human spirit is lifted to the contemplation of truth (cf. Fides et Ratio, Proemium). Each supports the other and each has its own scope of action (cf.ibid., 17), yet still there are those who would detach one from the other. Not only do the proponents of this positivistic exclusion of the divine from the universality of reason negate what is one of the most profound convictions of religious believers, they also thwart the very dialogue of cultures which they themselves propose. An understanding of reason that is deaf to the divine and which relegates religions into the realm of subcultures, is incapable of entering into the dialogue of cultures that our world so urgently needs. In the end, "fidelity to man requires fidelity to the truth, which alone is the guarantee of freedom" (Caritas in Veritate, 9). This confidence in the human ability to seek truth, to find truth and to live by the truth led to the foundation of the great European universities. Surely we must reaffirm this today in order to bring courage to the intellectual forces necessary for the development of a future of authentic human flourishing, a future truly worthy of man.
With these reflections, dear friends, I offer you my prayerful good wishes for your demanding work. I pray that it will always be inspired and directed by a human wisdom which genuinely seeks the truth which sets us free (cf. Jn 8:28). Upon you and your families I invoke God's blessings of joy and peace.
After reading the following discourse of the Holy Father, I was reminded of his outstanding address he gave at the University of Regensburgh during his trip to Germany. He refers and returns to many important themes that he has often spoken about since the beginning of his papacy. In particular, he is trying to re-awaken a discussion of what it means to educate and to be educated, the nature and mission of the university, the freedom to pursue the truth in all academic fields, and the common denominator of these themes being the right use of of an integral reason, that meaning an openess to the totality of the world in all its aspects.
- Here is the address Benedict XVI gave today at a meeting in Prague with representatives of the world of academia and culture.
* * *
Mr President,
Distinguished Rectors and Professors,
Dear Students and Friends,
Our meeting this evening gives me a welcome opportunity to express my esteem for the indispensable role in society of universities and institutions of higher learning. I thank the student who has kindly greeted me in your name, the members of the university choir for their fine performance, and the distinguished Rector of Charles University, Professor Václav Hampl, for his thoughtful presentation. The service of academia, upholding and contributing to the cultural and spiritual values of society, enriches the nation's intellectual patrimony and strengthens the foundations of its future development. The great changes which swept Czech society twenty years ago were precipitated not least by movements of reform which originated in university and student circles. That quest for freedom has continued to guide the work of scholars whose diakonia of truth is indispensable to any nation's well-being.
I address you as one who has been a professor, solicitous of the right to academic freedom and the responsibility for the authentic use of reason, and is now the Pope who, in his role as Shepherd, is recognized as a voice for the ethical reasoning of humanity. While some argue that the questions raised by religion, faith and ethics have no place within the purview of collective reason, that view is by no means axiomatic. The freedom that underlies the exercise of reason - be it in a university or in the Church - has a purpose: it is directed to the pursuit of truth, and as such gives expression to a tenet of Christianity which in fact gave rise to the university. Indeed, man's thirst for knowledge prompts every generation to broaden the concept of reason and to drink at the wellsprings of faith. It was precisely the rich heritage of classical wisdom, assimilated and placed at the service of the Gospel, which the first Christian missionaries brought to these lands and established as the basis of a spiritual and cultural unity which endures to this day. The same spirit led my predecessor Pope Clement VI to establish the famed Charles University in 1347, which continues to make an important contribution to wider European academic, religious and cultural circles.
The proper autonomy of a university, or indeed any educational institution, finds meaning in its accountability to the authority of truth. Nevertheless, that autonomy can be thwarted in a variety of ways. The great formative tradition, open to the transcendent, which stands at the base of universities across Europe, was in this land, and others, systematically subverted by the reductive ideology of materialism, the repression of religion and the suppression of the human spirit. In 1989, however, the world witnessed in dramatic ways the overthrow of a failed totalitarian ideology and the triumph of the human spirit. The yearning for freedom and truth is inalienably part of our common humanity. It can never be eliminated; and, as history has shown, it is denied at humanity's own peril. It is to this yearning that religious faith, the various arts, philosophy, theology and other scientific disciplines, each with its own method, seek to respond, both on the level of disciplined reflection and on the level of a sound praxis.
Distinguished Rectors and Professors, together with your research there is a further essential aspect of the mission of the university in which you are engaged, namely the responsibility for enlightening the minds and hearts of the young men and women of today. This grave duty is of course not new. From the time of Plato, education has been not merely the accumulation of knowledge or skills, butpaideia, human formation in the treasures of an intellectual tradition directed to a virtuous life. While the great universities springing up throughout Europe during the middle ages aimed with confidence at the ideal of a synthesis of all knowledge, it was always in the service of an authentic humanitas, the perfection of the individual within the unity of a well-ordered society. And likewise today: once young people's understanding of the fullness and unity of truth has been awakened, they relish the discovery that the question of what they can know opens up the vast adventure of how they ought to be and what they ought to do.
The idea of an integrated education, based on the unity of knowledge grounded in truth, must be regained. It serves to counteract the tendency, so evident in contemporary society, towards a fragmentation of knowledge. With the massive growth in information and technology there comes the temptation to detach reason from the pursuit of truth. Sundered from the fundamental human orientation towards truth, however, reason begins to lose direction: it withers, either under the guise of modesty, resting content with the merely partial or provisional, or under the guise of certainty, insisting on capitulation to the demands of those who indiscriminately give equal value to practically everything. The relativism that ensues provides a dense camouflage behind which new threats to the autonomy of academic institutions can lurk. While the period of interference from political totalitarianism has passed, is it not the case that frequently, across the globe, the exercise of reason and academic research are - subtly and not so subtly - constrained to bow to the pressures of ideological interest groups and the lure of short-term utilitarian or pragmatic goals? What will happen if our culture builds itself only on fashionable arguments, with little reference to a genuine historical intellectual tradition, or on the viewpoints that are most vociferously promoted and most heavily funded? What will happen if in its anxiety to preserve a radical secularism, it detaches itself from its life-giving roots? Our societies will not become more reasonable or tolerant or adaptable but rather more brittle and less inclusive, and they will increasingly struggle to recognize what is true, noble and good.
Dear friends, I wish to encourage you in all that you do to meet the idealism and generosity of young people today not only with programmes of study which assist them to excel, but also by an experience of shared ideals and mutual support in the great enterprise of learning. The skills of analysis and those required to generate a hypothesis, combined with the prudent art of discernment, offer an effective antidote to the attitudes of self-absorption, disengagement and even alienation which are sometimes found in our prosperous societies, and which can particularly affect the young. In this context of an eminently humanistic vision of the mission of the university, I would like briefly to mention the mending of the breach between science and religion which was a central concern of my predecessor, Pope John Paul II. He, as you know, promoted a fuller understanding of the relationship between faith and reason as the two wings by which the human spirit is lifted to the contemplation of truth (cf. Fides et Ratio, Proemium). Each supports the other and each has its own scope of action (cf.ibid., 17), yet still there are those who would detach one from the other. Not only do the proponents of this positivistic exclusion of the divine from the universality of reason negate what is one of the most profound convictions of religious believers, they also thwart the very dialogue of cultures which they themselves propose. An understanding of reason that is deaf to the divine and which relegates religions into the realm of subcultures, is incapable of entering into the dialogue of cultures that our world so urgently needs. In the end, "fidelity to man requires fidelity to the truth, which alone is the guarantee of freedom" (Caritas in Veritate, 9). This confidence in the human ability to seek truth, to find truth and to live by the truth led to the foundation of the great European universities. Surely we must reaffirm this today in order to bring courage to the intellectual forces necessary for the development of a future of authentic human flourishing, a future truly worthy of man.
With these reflections, dear friends, I offer you my prayerful good wishes for your demanding work. I pray that it will always be inspired and directed by a human wisdom which genuinely seeks the truth which sets us free (cf. Jn 8:28). Upon you and your families I invoke God's blessings of joy and peace.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Glendon's Letter to Notre Dame President
University's "Example Could Have an Unfortunate Ripple Effect"
Mary Ann Glendon is an authority for me, and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting her in Rome in the fall at a panel discussion on Marcelo Para's recent book Perchè Dobbiamo Dirci Cristiani.
- Here is the text of the letter Mary Ann Glendon, the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, sent today to the president of Notre Dame, Father John Jenkins, in which she declines the university's offer to give her the Laetare Medal at this year's commencement.
* * *
Dear Father Jenkins,
When you informed me in December 2008 that I had been selected to receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, I was profoundly moved. I treasure the memory of receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1996, and I have always felt honored that the commencement speech I gave that year was included in the anthology of Notre Dame’s most memorable commencement speeches. So I immediately began working on an acceptance speech that I hoped would be worthy of the occasion, of the honor of the medal, and of your students and faculty.
Last month, when you called to tell me that the commencement speech was to be given by President Obama, I mentioned to you that I would have to rewrite my speech. Over the ensuing weeks, the task that once seemed so delightful has been complicated by a number of factors.
First, as a longtime consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I could not help but be dismayed by the news that Notre Dame also planned to award the president an honorary degree. This, as you must know, was in disregard of the U.S. bishops’ express request of 2004 that Catholic institutions “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles” and that such persons “should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” That request, which in no way seeks to control or interfere with an institution’s freedom to invite and engage in serious debate with whomever it wishes, seems to me so reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university should disrespect it.
Then I learned that “talking points” issued by Notre Dame in response to widespread criticism of its decision included two statements implying that my acceptance speech would somehow balance the event:
• “President Obama won’t be doing all the talking. Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as the recipient of the Laetare Medal.”
• “We think having the president come to Notre Dame, see our graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a good thing for the president and for the causes we care about.”
A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision -- in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops -- to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.
Finally, with recent news reports that other Catholic schools are similarly choosing to disregard the bishops’ guidelines, I am concerned that Notre Dame’s example could have an unfortunate ripple effect.
It is with great sadness, therefore, that I have concluded that I cannot accept the Laetare Medal or participate in the May 17 graduation ceremony.
In order to avoid the inevitable speculation about the reasons for my decision, I will release this letter to the press, but I do not plan to make any further comment on the matter at this time.
Yours Very Truly,
Mary Ann Glendon
Mary Ann Glendon is an authority for me, and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting her in Rome in the fall at a panel discussion on Marcelo Para's recent book Perchè Dobbiamo Dirci Cristiani.
- Here is the text of the letter Mary Ann Glendon, the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, sent today to the president of Notre Dame, Father John Jenkins, in which she declines the university's offer to give her the Laetare Medal at this year's commencement.
* * *
Dear Father Jenkins,
When you informed me in December 2008 that I had been selected to receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, I was profoundly moved. I treasure the memory of receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1996, and I have always felt honored that the commencement speech I gave that year was included in the anthology of Notre Dame’s most memorable commencement speeches. So I immediately began working on an acceptance speech that I hoped would be worthy of the occasion, of the honor of the medal, and of your students and faculty.
Last month, when you called to tell me that the commencement speech was to be given by President Obama, I mentioned to you that I would have to rewrite my speech. Over the ensuing weeks, the task that once seemed so delightful has been complicated by a number of factors.
First, as a longtime consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I could not help but be dismayed by the news that Notre Dame also planned to award the president an honorary degree. This, as you must know, was in disregard of the U.S. bishops’ express request of 2004 that Catholic institutions “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles” and that such persons “should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” That request, which in no way seeks to control or interfere with an institution’s freedom to invite and engage in serious debate with whomever it wishes, seems to me so reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university should disrespect it.
Then I learned that “talking points” issued by Notre Dame in response to widespread criticism of its decision included two statements implying that my acceptance speech would somehow balance the event:
• “President Obama won’t be doing all the talking. Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as the recipient of the Laetare Medal.”
• “We think having the president come to Notre Dame, see our graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a good thing for the president and for the causes we care about.”
A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision -- in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops -- to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.
Finally, with recent news reports that other Catholic schools are similarly choosing to disregard the bishops’ guidelines, I am concerned that Notre Dame’s example could have an unfortunate ripple effect.
It is with great sadness, therefore, that I have concluded that I cannot accept the Laetare Medal or participate in the May 17 graduation ceremony.
In order to avoid the inevitable speculation about the reasons for my decision, I will release this letter to the press, but I do not plan to make any further comment on the matter at this time.
Yours Very Truly,
Mary Ann Glendon
Friday, January 23, 2009
Quebec Ethics and Culture Education Proposal
Québec : Boycott du cours obligatoire d'éthique et de culture religieuse
I received this update in an email from friends in Quebec who are making an effort to protect the right for parents to educate their children according to particular faith based traditions, and not support the Province of Quebec in their proposal of a neutral program of ethics and culture, one that simply sees all religions and faith based traditions as being equal. There is an attempt to eliminate religion and the practice of religious practices and from the public square. As well, as the loss of what formed the Quebec identity and sustained it for centuries, that is the presence and Tradition of the Catholic Church.
Depuis la mise en place dans les écoles québécoises, à la rentrée 2008, d'un cours d'Etat obligatoire d'« éthique et de culture religieuse », certains parents ont décidé de boycotter le cours. Ils réclament le droit de choisir pour leurs enfants scolarisés « un enseignement moral ou religieux en accord avec leurs croyances et leurs convictions ».
Ce nouveau cours, qui vise à donner aux élèves une 'connaissance' des croyances et rites de six ou sept religions, avait été dénoncé en octobre 2008 par le cardinal Marc Ouellet, archevêque de Québec et Primat du Canada, comme une orientation « radicale » qu'« aucun pays européen n'a jamais adoptée ».
La réforme
Jusqu'en septembre 2007, les écoles publiques et privées du Québec proposaient encore un enseignement moral et religieux catholique, un enseignement moral et religieux protestant ou un enseignement moral (sans religion), chaque parent faisant le choix d'un de ces trois cours pour leurs enfants au primaire et au secondaire.
La Loi 95 imposant aux écoles publiques et privées un cours d'Etat obligatoire d'« éthique et de culture religieuse », en vigueur depuis la rentrée de septembre 2008, avait été adoptée en 2005 par le gouvernement de Québec.
Cette loi avait alors modifié l'article 41 de la Charte québécoise des droits et libertés de la personne en abrogeant la partie suivante : « (...) les parents ou les personnes qui en tiennent lieu ont le droit d'exiger que, dans les établissements d'enseignement publics, leurs enfants reçoivent un enseignement religieux ou moral conforme à leurs convictions, dans le cadre de programmes prévus par la loi ».
Pour le gouvernement de Québec, il s'agit, « dans une société marquée par la diversité des croyances », de proposer un enseignement visant à favoriser une société « ouverte et tolérante », à comprendre les « traditions religieuses dont l'influence s'est exercée et s'exerce toujours dans notre société ». Dans la présentation du programme (http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/sections/ecr/), l'Etat québécois affirme vouloir ainsi signifier « sa volonté de compléter la déconfessionnalisation de tous les éléments du système scolaire public ».
Le boycott des cours
Ainsi, depuis septembre 2008, ce cours d'Ethique et de culture religieuse se propose de faire découvrir aux élèves un ensemble de 6 ou 7 religions et de différentes visions du monde. Il s'agit d'un enseignement obligatoire, dans les écoles publiques comme dans les écoles privées, ces dernières gardant néanmoins la possibilité d'y ajouter des enseignements confessionnels. Cependant, le régime pédagogique ne prévoit pas de temps pour ces cours supplémentaires.
En 2007, un collectif de parents s'est regroupé en 'Coalition pour la liberté en éducation', qui réclame le droit de choisir pour leurs enfants un enseignement moral ou religieux à l'école en accord avec à leurs croyances et leurs convictions. Ils évoquent le danger que ce cours « banalise la religion en plaçant toutes les religions, spiritualités, mouvements religieux et visions du monde sur un pied d'égalité » et dénoncent le risque de « grande confusion » que cela risque de créer dans la tête de l'enfant. « A la fin de ce cours, on peut prévoir que l'enfant ne connaîtra ni sa propre religion ni celle des autres et qu'il aura une très grande difficulté à démêler l'une de l'autre », ajoutent-ils.
Le risque d'une dictature du relativisme
Les parents dénoncent une dictature du relativisme et notamment un refus de chercher à définir un bien et un mal absolu. Ils justifient leurs craintes par les affirmations contenues dans les manuels eux-mêmes. L'un de ces manuels précise en effet qu'à la suite du cours l'enfant aura peut-être « l'impression que le BIEN et le MAL ABSOLU n'existent pas, mais qu'il y a bien un bien et un mal relatif pour chaque INDIVIDU » (les majuscules sont dans le texte).
En octobre 2008, le cardinal Ouellet avait évoqué dans un article signé dans la revue de l'Université catholique de Milan, 'Vita e Pensiero', ce cours qui vise à donner aux élèves une « 'connaissance' des croyances et rites de six ou sept religions ». « Je doute que des enseignants vraiment peu préparés à relever ce défi puissent enseigner avec une neutralité totale et de manière critique des notions qui sont encore moins compréhensibles pour eux que leur propre religion ».
« Il faut être très ingénu pour croire que ce miracle d'enseignement culturel des religions produira un nouveau petit Québécois, pluraliste, expert en relations interreligieuses et critique envers toutes les croyances », avait encore dénoncé le cardinal. « Le moins que l'on puisse dire est que la soif de valeurs spirituelles sera bien loin d'être étanchée et qu'une dictature du relativisme risque de rendre encore plus difficile la transmission de notre héritage religieux ».
L'archevêque de Québec avait alors invité à « protéger et entretenir cet héritage religieux fondé sur l'amour qui est une force d'intégration sociale bien plus efficace que la connaissance abstraite de quelques notions superficielles sur six ou sept religions ».
Marine Soreau
I received this update in an email from friends in Quebec who are making an effort to protect the right for parents to educate their children according to particular faith based traditions, and not support the Province of Quebec in their proposal of a neutral program of ethics and culture, one that simply sees all religions and faith based traditions as being equal. There is an attempt to eliminate religion and the practice of religious practices and from the public square. As well, as the loss of what formed the Quebec identity and sustained it for centuries, that is the presence and Tradition of the Catholic Church.
Depuis la mise en place dans les écoles québécoises, à la rentrée 2008, d'un cours d'Etat obligatoire d'« éthique et de culture religieuse », certains parents ont décidé de boycotter le cours. Ils réclament le droit de choisir pour leurs enfants scolarisés « un enseignement moral ou religieux en accord avec leurs croyances et leurs convictions ».
Ce nouveau cours, qui vise à donner aux élèves une 'connaissance' des croyances et rites de six ou sept religions, avait été dénoncé en octobre 2008 par le cardinal Marc Ouellet, archevêque de Québec et Primat du Canada, comme une orientation « radicale » qu'« aucun pays européen n'a jamais adoptée ».
La réforme
Jusqu'en septembre 2007, les écoles publiques et privées du Québec proposaient encore un enseignement moral et religieux catholique, un enseignement moral et religieux protestant ou un enseignement moral (sans religion), chaque parent faisant le choix d'un de ces trois cours pour leurs enfants au primaire et au secondaire.
La Loi 95 imposant aux écoles publiques et privées un cours d'Etat obligatoire d'« éthique et de culture religieuse », en vigueur depuis la rentrée de septembre 2008, avait été adoptée en 2005 par le gouvernement de Québec.
Cette loi avait alors modifié l'article 41 de la Charte québécoise des droits et libertés de la personne en abrogeant la partie suivante : « (...) les parents ou les personnes qui en tiennent lieu ont le droit d'exiger que, dans les établissements d'enseignement publics, leurs enfants reçoivent un enseignement religieux ou moral conforme à leurs convictions, dans le cadre de programmes prévus par la loi ».
Pour le gouvernement de Québec, il s'agit, « dans une société marquée par la diversité des croyances », de proposer un enseignement visant à favoriser une société « ouverte et tolérante », à comprendre les « traditions religieuses dont l'influence s'est exercée et s'exerce toujours dans notre société ». Dans la présentation du programme (http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/sections/ecr/), l'Etat québécois affirme vouloir ainsi signifier « sa volonté de compléter la déconfessionnalisation de tous les éléments du système scolaire public ».
Le boycott des cours
Ainsi, depuis septembre 2008, ce cours d'Ethique et de culture religieuse se propose de faire découvrir aux élèves un ensemble de 6 ou 7 religions et de différentes visions du monde. Il s'agit d'un enseignement obligatoire, dans les écoles publiques comme dans les écoles privées, ces dernières gardant néanmoins la possibilité d'y ajouter des enseignements confessionnels. Cependant, le régime pédagogique ne prévoit pas de temps pour ces cours supplémentaires.
En 2007, un collectif de parents s'est regroupé en 'Coalition pour la liberté en éducation', qui réclame le droit de choisir pour leurs enfants un enseignement moral ou religieux à l'école en accord avec à leurs croyances et leurs convictions. Ils évoquent le danger que ce cours « banalise la religion en plaçant toutes les religions, spiritualités, mouvements religieux et visions du monde sur un pied d'égalité » et dénoncent le risque de « grande confusion » que cela risque de créer dans la tête de l'enfant. « A la fin de ce cours, on peut prévoir que l'enfant ne connaîtra ni sa propre religion ni celle des autres et qu'il aura une très grande difficulté à démêler l'une de l'autre », ajoutent-ils.
Le risque d'une dictature du relativisme
Les parents dénoncent une dictature du relativisme et notamment un refus de chercher à définir un bien et un mal absolu. Ils justifient leurs craintes par les affirmations contenues dans les manuels eux-mêmes. L'un de ces manuels précise en effet qu'à la suite du cours l'enfant aura peut-être « l'impression que le BIEN et le MAL ABSOLU n'existent pas, mais qu'il y a bien un bien et un mal relatif pour chaque INDIVIDU » (les majuscules sont dans le texte).
En octobre 2008, le cardinal Ouellet avait évoqué dans un article signé dans la revue de l'Université catholique de Milan, 'Vita e Pensiero', ce cours qui vise à donner aux élèves une « 'connaissance' des croyances et rites de six ou sept religions ». « Je doute que des enseignants vraiment peu préparés à relever ce défi puissent enseigner avec une neutralité totale et de manière critique des notions qui sont encore moins compréhensibles pour eux que leur propre religion ».
« Il faut être très ingénu pour croire que ce miracle d'enseignement culturel des religions produira un nouveau petit Québécois, pluraliste, expert en relations interreligieuses et critique envers toutes les croyances », avait encore dénoncé le cardinal. « Le moins que l'on puisse dire est que la soif de valeurs spirituelles sera bien loin d'être étanchée et qu'une dictature du relativisme risque de rendre encore plus difficile la transmission de notre héritage religieux ».
L'archevêque de Québec avait alors invité à « protéger et entretenir cet héritage religieux fondé sur l'amour qui est une force d'intégration sociale bien plus efficace que la connaissance abstraite de quelques notions superficielles sur six ou sept religions ».
Marine Soreau
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Address on African Perspective of Family
"A Matter of Considerable Importance and Urgency"
Here is the text of the address given today by Dr. Germina N. Ssemogerere, economics professor at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, at the 6th World Meeting of Families, under way in Mexico.
* * *
"The Educative Vocation of the Family: An African Perspective, with particular reference to Uganda"[1]
The Family, Teacher of Human and Christian Values
1.0 Introduction
The topic we are addressing, "The Educative vocation of the Family", which refers to the special devotion of the family to the education of the children, is a matter of considerable importance and urgency, to both the Church and society, all over the world. This topic is of considerable importance in our time on account of the interplay of the unprecedented social, economic and political forces from, not only the local, but also from the international environment as well, that impact on the family. In the process, such forces, sometimes threaten the family's very survival; and impede it from achieving its goals: the most critical of which is that of producing and raising healthy, properly informed, well adjusted and responsible citizens, who are accountable to society; and, ultimately, accountable to God.[3]
This presentation highlights two principal propositions.
First, it is suggested that a well-prepared-for marriage, followed by a viable, informed and morally disciplined family, is a good investment for the proper upbringing and education of children. Second, it is suggested that for the family's educative mission to be properly continued beyond the home, notably in school: it is necessary that there be an appropriate philosophical, constitutional and institutional foundation for moral education; and for an effective participatory role by the family in the education system.
Given the presence of negative environmental forces, this strategy calls for vigilance and a constructive engagement of the family, the political authorities, and other key stakeholders, in particular the Religious and cultural leaders, as well as professionals among the Civil Society.
It is observed that, in this regard, there is, in principle, much common ground between the Church's position and African culture; although certain practices permissible in African culture, notably polygamy in marriage, may be unacceptable to Church teaching. From both, the Church's position and African culture, environmental forces impacting negatively on the family, undermine its role and, consequently, affect the children's education and formation.
The present concerns.
Our attention ought to be drawn to the current state of affairs regarding issues affecting the family today, as witnessed by the rising numbers, including among the elite and affluent classes: of: same-sex marriages; co-habitation; sterilized families; un-socialized children; as well as of voluntary and/or State-enforced abortions; and abandonment of so called unwanted children etc.
The plight of the traditional family is well captured in the Apostolic Exhortation, "Familiaris Consortio" (On the Family)[4] by the late Pope John Paul II, in these words:
The family in the modern world, as much as and perhaps more than any other institution, has been beset by the many profound and rapid changes that have affected society and culture.
According to Pope John Paul II, families are reacting differently to these dramatic changes. In the Exhortation, he describes three ways in which families react to these changes.
First, His Holiness says:
Many families are living this situation in fidelity (i.e., faithfully) to those values that constitute the foundation of the institution of the family.
Second, he refers to:
Others (who) have become uncertain and bewildered over their role and even doubtful and almost unaware of the ultimate meaning and truth of conjugal and family life. (Underlining added).
There is also a third category, the Pontiff added, of families:
... who are hindered by various situations of injustice in the realization of their fundamental rights (to which the family is otherwise entitled). (Underlining added).
The Pope's findings are well taken; and they are a major basis for the conclusions reached and the recommendations made of a strategy of empowerment i.e., moral and intellectual, as well as economic and political empowerment for the Catholic Lay Movement and institutions.
Section 2.0 is a presentation on the family as an institution of universal relevance and its educative role, with particular reference to the position of the Church and the African situation. Section 3.0 presents the family's five-fold role. Section 4.0 discusses the family's educative mission; and presents the position taken on by the Church as well as its place in African culture. Section 5 examines the principles and legal framework underlying Uganda's Education system with a view: first, of gauging opportunities currently available for a positive family educative role; and, second, determining prospects for improvement or corrective measures, on the basis of which suggestions for improvement are made in section 6.
This presentation is based mainly on official documents and data; and on relevant literature, as well as personal knowledge and experience.
2.0 The Institution of the Family and its Educative Role.
The family has always been a well established and entrenched institution in society all over the world; and so has its critical role in the education or ‘socialization" of the children.
2.1 The family in Africa.
In Africa, the family is a central institution in kinship[5], whereby one's place in society is established: partly on the basis of one's identity by family and lineage; and partly on the basis of the contribution made to society in terms of values and various activities.
The importance of the traditional family in Africa is further reflected, by the care and solemnity associated with the entire process leading to, and culminating in the execution of the marriage covenant; by the exacting moral code of conduct expected of the married people, more so if they are parents with children; by the elevated status society traditionally accords to them, and by the love and respect even highly placed adults give to their parents.
In some African cultures, the special love and respect given to parents by their grown-up children, even by the Royalty, is demonstrated, by their public behaviour and official conduct. The Kabaka (King) of Buganda, for instance, is, according to Buganda culture, expected to seek and take, seriously, counsel from her mother (the Queen-Mother) when making important decisions. And the Queen-Mother in the Kingdom of Swaziland commands similar, if not greater loyalty from the King, and authority in the Kingdom, than her counterpart in Buganda.
2.2 The Church's position on the family.
2.2.1 Historical global perspective.
There is much in common between the Church and African culture on the position and role of the family in society. The Church has always had a strong and supportive position on matters affecting the family. In his book , Jesus of Nazareth (2006), which he developed over many decades, Jozeph Ratzinger, now His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, stresses the Church's historical position on the family in these words:
From her very inception, the Church that emerged and continues to emerge, has attached fundamental importance to defending the family as the core of all social order...[6]
A recent evidence of the importance of the Church's support and defence for the family, was the convening of The 1980 Vatican Synod on the Family, with the findings and recommendations of the synod culminating in a comprehensive Apostolic Exhortation on the subject, (viz., Familiaris Consortio), by Pope John Paul II[7] in 1981. In the Exhortation, His Holiness, describes the family as divinely ordained; and says:
According to the plan of God, marriage is the foundation of the wider community of the family, since the very institution of marriage and conjugal love are ordained to the procreation and education of children, in whom they find their crowning.[8]
Consequently, His Holiness goes on in the Exhortation, to point out what is required to establish and maintain, in good standing, a viable mutually supporting family community, based on love and the recognition of the rights and responsibilities of the respective members of this community i.e., of the husband, the wife and the children.
2.2.2 Focus on Africa.
Following the Second Vatican Council, the Church has paid particular attention to Africa; and to the family in Africa. On the occasion of the first visit by a reigning Pope in modern times, Pope Paul VI inaugurated, in 1969, in Kampala, Uganda: the first Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), which has since become the forum for common concert for the Church on the continent.
In 1989, His Holiness Pope John Paul II convoked the first Synod (Council) of the African Episcopal Conference which discussed issues related to the challenges of evangelization; and the family was one such issue. Six years after the African Synod, Pope John Paul II issued a post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, The Church in Africa (Ecclesia in Africa), based on the proceedings of the 1989 African Synod.[9]
On the importance of the family, the Holy Father points out in the Exhortation:
By its very nature, marriage, which has the special mission of perpetuating humanity, transcends the couple. In the same way, by its nature, the family extends beyond the individual household: it is oriented towards society.[10]
His Holiness continues and quotes from the Exhortation on the Family Familiaris Consortio (1991):
"The family has vital and organic links with society, since it is its foundation and nourishes it continuously through its role of service to life: it is from the family that citizens come to birth and it is from family that they find the first school of the social virtues that are the animating principles of the existence and development of society itself. Thus, far from being closed on itself, the family is by nature and vocation open to other families and society, and undertakes its social role."[11]
As a necessary step before recommending inculcation of aspects of African culture into Catholic Teaching on the family, Pope John Paul II finds there is a good deal of harmony between the two. He observes in The Church in Africa:
(Africa) is endowed with a wealth of cultural values and priceless human qualities which it can offer to the Churches and to humanity as a whole.[12] (Underlining added).
The Pope then concludes on a note of hope: agreeing with the African Synod: on inculcation of "positive" African cultural values. And he envisages: prospects for the transformation of the African family through the inspiration of the Gospel; and, consequently, such transformation contributing towards world-wide spiritual revival and the development of a more fraternal society.[13]
2.3 Necessary conditions for marriage and family: the African perspective.
As indicated above: in both the Church's Teaching and African culture: the family is an institution of utmost importance, with a critical role to play. Recognition of this role the family plays and, generally, of its significance, is also demonstrated by the process leading to the formation of the family itself.
First, the Church and African culture, probably without exception, prescribe a cautious approach, characterized by care and seriousness of purpose, in respect of the process leading to marriage. And, second, subsequently when marriage is contracted, the couple's status in society is instantly enhanced and, together as a family, the couple receive social protection and privileges.
Especially for its own protection and as a deterrent against temptations of abuse of status: notably guarding against permissiveness and incest, marriage is under the watchful control of cultural taboos, with enforceable sanctions. In this respect, for instance, some cultures have strict prohibitions against physical contact within the family in its extended form, between a male member and his daughter-in-law, or mother-in-law.
In conclusion it may be said that the process leading to and culminating in marriage and, in addition, that the observation of a strict, cultural moral code of conduct governing marriage and family, are essential conditions for establishing the family institution as a fountain of honour and virtue in society.
2.3.1 Preparation for marriage: a serious project.
For both the Church and African culture, in normal peace time circumstances, marriage is not an abrupt or surprise affair: it is a serious project calling for due and deliberate preparations.
Courtship, in African culture, is positively encouraged only between confirmed adults - and adults with approved credentials for starting and managing family life[14]. Ample time is therefore normally provided for the necessary preliminary introductory encounters and information exchange; and, thereafter, for courtship, before formal engagement and, finally, marriage. Throughout this process certain key members of one's extended family, on both sides, play their part and provide their wise judgement and counsel before the final choice and commitment is freely made: ideally by the two candidates themselves; and each one by himself or herself.
This cautious approach to marriage is, in principle,[15] in line with the Church's own position, where, normally a specified period is set aside to ensure that the intending couple qualify and fully appreciate and accept the challenges ahead of them; in particular the necessary conditions and full implications of the Sacrament of Matrimony. For this purpose the Church demands a standard minimum four-week requirement and the public announcements of the marriage bans before marriage is consecrated.[16]
The harmony on this principle of due preparation and verification, between the Church and African traditional practice, is demonstrated by the absence of any serious and open protests or representations against the Church's position; and also by the ready compliance with this four-week preparatory period, by intending African couples who would have qualified for marriage under the traditional system.
2.3.2 Marriage as a life-long devotion of morally disciplined spouses under a code of conduct.
Apart from the issue of polygamy, which, in any case, has never been a necessary nor universal African condition, there appears to be much common ground, at the conceptual level, on marriage between African culture and the Church's position.
Marriage-for-life devotion is respected even under childlessness and after bereavement.
Marriage-for-life devotion is respected, encouraged and supported in African culture almost in the same sense as in Christianity.
Divorce or official separation after due process is, under normal circumstances, unacceptable; it is only permissible after serious investigation, by representatives of both the husband's and wife's families; and when attempts at mediation have proved pointless.
On the other hand, life-long marriage devotion is treasured and positively encouraged and supported in African culture. For instance, even in the unfortunate situation of childlessness, or the death of a spouse, African culture accords due status, respect and honour to the bereaved husband or wife.
In the case of childlessness, the dread of loneliness and feelings of self-pity would, in many situations be mitigated, if not completely overcome, by customary incorporation[17] from the husband's or wife's extended family; and even from society at large: from close friends and acquaintances. In addition to incorporation, the African extended family system, along with its liberal policy on succession and inheritance, reduces childlessness to an issue of little consequence during one's life-time; and even after death.
Life-long marriage devotion, after the death of one's spouse, is supported in various other ways: for example by the policy of guaranteed solidarity and humanitarian support; as well as of security of residence etc., to the widow or widower. At the same time the widow or widower is given a continuing opportunity to remain in productive active life, contributing, in some modest ways, to both family and society. This policy contrasts sharply with the modern practice of committing such people to the relatively impersonal life in old people's homes - a contrast Pope John Paul II captures in the Exhortation as follows:
There are cultures which manifest a unique veneration and great love for the elderly: far from being outcasts from the family or merely being tolerated as a useless burden, they continue to be present and to take an active and responsible part in family life, though having to respect the autonomy of the new family; above all they carry out the important mission of being a witness to the past and a source of wisdom for the young and for the future.[18]
The Pope brings out the cultural contrast when he laments:
Other cultures, however, especially in the wake of disordered industrialized and urban development, have both in the past and the present, set the elderly aside in unacceptable ways. This causes acute suffering to them and spiritually impoverishes many families.[19]
True, in the African situation, when the wife is perceived to be barren, there would likely be an inclination for the husband taking on another wife. This would, ordinarily, be permissible; and sometimes the original wife would help in the effort to secure a suitable additional wife. However, even then, the situation that emerges would not, by itself, be ground for divorce of, or official separation with, the original wife; or for stripping her of her rights and privileges.
Consequently, according to African culture: even after the death of one or both partners, marriage, with its marital obligations, social status and taboos, remains actively recognized and respected, most specifically by the surviving spouse, the children and the extended family.
Positive implications for value-laden education.
A well-prepared-for marriage and a morally-disciplined, child-friendly family environment, as prescribed above, places the family, strategically, on high moral ground to inculcate norms and values in the education of their children.
Unfortunately, the current situation in many African countries militates against such elaborate pre-marriage processes and exacting marital norms as indicated above. First and foremost, many African countries are far from stable with disastrous consequences affecting the family institution. War and various forms of conflict, have become a common feature in Africa: not only leading to broken-up families but also denying intending couples the opportunity for proper preparation for marriage itself.
In addition, proper preparation for marriage and the observance, thereafter, of the prescribed moral code of conduct, are adversely affected by "friendly fire" from the advocacy campaigns for, and the demonstration effect of, modern permissiveness, currently sweeping much of the affluent rich nations, and impacting aggressively and ceaselessly on the hapless endangered African society, at electronic speed, via print media, radio, television and the internet.
3.0 The five-fold role of the family.
According to Encyclopaedia Britannica[20], the traditional family, as it has been known all over the world, our cultural diversity notwithstanding, serves five principal functions, including the educative role. The family caters for:
Emotional or psychic security, which is very much needed in these exacting and hard times of stress;Conjugal or sexual satisfaction;Procreation, whereby society's future is promoted;The education or socialization of children whereby parents pass on knowledge to their children, and inculcate values (notably, cultural and religious values) in them. andPhysical security through joint efforts whereby, for instance, needed assets in the form residence and other property can be acquired.
These functions, in particular the first four functions, though separately analyzed, are so inter-connected and inter-related that they may be treated as components of a single continuous process of mutually reinforcing activities. Here again, with the notable exception of the issue of polygamy, the continuity and inter-relationship of the various marriage and family functions, beginning as they do in the conjugal communion, are well appreciated in both the Church's teaching[21] and African culture.
Positive or negative influences.
A positive or negative influence on any one of the above functions has a resultant impact on another, if not on all the rest.
A well disposed, loving couple tends to be psychologically secure and, in turn, highly motivated to carefully attend to the requisites for proper child bearing and upbringing. At the same time, the success of a child at school and, later, in his or her profession, has the likely effect of, not only bringing joy and pride to the rest of the family; it is also likely to strengthen the family bond and enhance the family status in society. On the other hand undermining family life is likely to have a negative impact on the upbringing and quality of children; just as a child-turned-criminal or tyrant would be a source of discomfort, or even misery, to both family and society.
Negative environmental influences and negative influences inherent in the family.
While environmental forces may rightly be blamed for the family's failure to deliver on its established functions, or even for failure for family life to be entered into at all, it is sometimes the case that such failure may also be due to inherent weaknesses of the family itself; and notably, of the parents in question.
Studies of Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin, for instance, sometimes attribute the virtue-deficit in both of these leaders, as well as their authoritarian and tyrannical rule, largely to the character of their fathers. Hitler's father, for instance, had little regard for Hitler's mother; who was his third wife. And Stalin's father freely beat his wife; even in the presence of their young child.[22] Hitler and Stalin are not isolated cases of leaders whose insensitivity to the feelings of other people and whose disregard for universal human rights is probably best traced to problems in their upbringing and their parents' conduct; or the lack of it.
Protecting and promoting the family functions.
These family functions are, therefore, of fundamental importance; and not only to the individual members of the family, including the children, but also to society as a whole: the eventual destination of the children.
4.0 The Educative Role of the Family
Educating children, especially inculcating in them norms and values, is at the core of parental responsibilities. The parents are, under normal circumstances, well placed to do so, as they would themselves already have assimilated such norms and values from religion and culture, as well as from practical experience.
The educative role of the family is not a matter of choice or privilege: it is mandatory. The parents bring children into this world: they, therefore, have the primary responsibility to prepare them to live a meaningful and responsible life; and to do so in accordance with morally acceptable norms and values they themselves believe in..
4.1 The Church's position on the educative role of the family.
The Church's position on the primacy of the educative role of the family, is well articulated in the Apostolic Exhortation as follows:
The task of giving education is rooted in the primary vocation of married couples to participate in God's creative activity: by begetting in love and for love a new person who has within himself or herself the vocation for growth and development, parents, by that very fact, take on the task of helping that person effectively to live a fully human life.[23]
The Pope augments his statement by quoting from the conclusions of Vatican II, thus:
"since parents have conferred life on their children, they have a most solemn obligation to educate their offspring. Hence parents must be acknowledged as the first and foremost educators of their children. Their role as educators is so decisive that scarcely anything can compensate for their failure in it."[24]
The Second Vatican Council added:
"it devolves on parents to create a family atmosphere so animated with love and reverence for God and others that a well-rounded personal and social development will be fostered among the children. Hence the family is the first school of those social virtues every society needs"[25]
It is appreciated that not all education can be carried out directly by the parents and at home; yet the parental educative role has, nevertheless to be continued. In those events, the Church's position emphasizes the right of the family to have a say in the choice of school for the children.
The Church's teaching on the role of the family in the education of children is reflected, in teaching and in practice, by the Church in Africa.[26] In their publication, Education Policy 1997 the Catholics Bishops in Uganda, were categorical in this regard, on their adherence to the conclusions of the Second Vatican Council. For instance on the issue of parental duty beyond home, the Bishops' Conference quoted the Council directly:
"As for Catholic parents, the Council calls to mind their duty to entrust their children to Catholic schools, when and where this is possible; to support such schools to the extent of their ability; and to work along with them for the welfare of their children."[27]
4.2 The African perspective on the family role on education
African perception and practice, regarding the family and its role in the education of children, is well preserved in oral history, proverbs, personal and place names, as well as in researched work. In principle, it does not depart materially from the position of the Church. The African family's right and responsibility to raise children; in particular to inculcate norms and values in their education, is unquestionable. It is also the family's responsibility, where this is possible, to arrange or recommend for apprenticeship for further value-laden education, as among nobles etc., or for the acquisition of skills in various fields by identifying appropriate authorities, institutions and experts.
Philip Curtin & others are correct when they recapitulate the education system in the African society as follows:
Education takes place in all societies as part of socialization. In pre-colonial Africa, general education began at home as soon as a child learned his (or her) own language. Education beyond that might be quite informal but apprenticeship at home or in a workshop of a crafts-worker was essential for learning technical skills.[28]
Thus, the inculcation of cultural norms and values in the African society takes place mainly at home, early in the child's life, under "general education" or "socialization"[29]. Unfortunately, it is this formative phase in the African child's life, along with the earlier one from inception to birth, which suffer the brunt of the impact of the negative forces from the environment, when the family role is disrupted, distorted or even completely eliminated.
4.3 The necessary conditions for a positive role by the family in the Education of children.
From the above discussion the conclusion can be drawn as to the conditions that are necessary for the family to play a positive role in the education of children:
(a) First and foremost, the family itself must be viable, and morally and intellectually formed within the culture, in order to be properly equipped for the mission; and
(b) Second, the country's education system must be based on a philosophical and legal foundation:
(i) which caters for the quality of education (i.e., in terms of values, norms and skills) which the family agrees with and supports; and
(ii) which also caters for effective participation by the family.
It follows, therefore, that a strategy for protecting and consolidating the family's role in education must be directed towards the fulfillment of the above conditions.
5.0 Protecting and Promoting the Family Role in Education in Uganda.
After considerable sustained constructive engagement, and, on occasions, actual confrontation, involving representatives of the family, the Church, the Laity and the political leadership in the country, an Education Policy, generally acceptable to all, is currently in place.
On the basis of the conclusions in 4.3 above, Uganda can be credited for its positive strategy for preserving and promoting the family role in Education. This strategy should be supported and improved upon.
5.1 Promoting intellectual, professional and moral formation for the family.
The family in Uganda is well placed to benefit, in its formation and empowerment, from the wide-ranging, formal and informal, educational programmes, provided by the State, as well as the private sector: and the Church, which takes particular interest in spiritual and moral formation; which programmes are freely accessible by many, including adults. The laity (and clergy) can and do take advantage of them.
Uganda is pursuing a liberal education policy, directed at expanding opportunities for learning at all levels throughout the country; and at the same time encouraging private sector initiatives in this field.
The Catholic Church has always played, and continues to play, a lead role in providing formal and informal education in the country, paying particular attention to spiritual and moral formation. Currently, the Church's efforts in Education are based on its Education Policy 1997, agreed on by the Uganda Episcopal Conference, which is in line with the conclusions of the Second Vatican Council.
This policy is conducted under the aegis of the National Catholic Secretariat; and caters for various initiatives in the field of education: from the National and Diocesan levels, down to the Parish level, where it focuses on the "natural community"[30] at the grassroots (akabondo).[31]
However, given the limitations of the natural community and the growing ethnic heterogeneity and social-economic complexity of the African, and indeed of the Ugandan society, it seems to be necessary and urgent to develop and/or strengthen, in addition, a strategy directed at the people in their new and growing social and professional formations, including Lawyers, Medical Doctors, the Academia, and the Political elite, as well as members of the Security Agencies.
5.2 Value-laden quality education
The formal education in schools and higher institutions of learning, is, particularly in respect of inculcation of norms and values, an extension, or delegated responsibility, of the family's role in the education of children. The family has, therefore the right and obligation, to pass judgement as to the moral worth of the education system in place and to influence it.
The family may pass such judgement on the basis of the imputed reputation of the system; and also on the basis of the stipulated principles, set out in the country's Constitution governing Education policy; as well as on the basis of the Education law in place.
5.2.1 Moral values underscored in the Constitution and provision for religious influence in the education system.
The Constitution of Uganda (as amended, 2006) commits the country to democratic principles; to fundamental and other human rights; to recognition of the dignity of women; and to Educational Objectives, one of which is the role of Religion.
5.2.2 Religion in denominational schools.
The Constitutional provision on the role of Religion in Education accommodates the Church's position in support of denominational schools, as set out by the Second Vatican Council, and as quoted above by the Uganda Episcopal Conference in their Education Policy 1997.[32] The Uganda position, as given in the Constitution provides for the legitimacy of denominational, as well as other non-governmental, schools:
Individuals, religious bodies, and other non-governmental organizations shall be free to found and operate educational institutions if they comply with the general educational policy of the country and maintain national standards. (Underlining added).[33]
5.2.3 Religion in grant-aided Schools.
Besides legitimizing denominational schools, and thereby indirectly encouraging emphasis on the inculcation of religious values, the Education Policy also commits Government to the institutionalization of public support, under a scheme of guaranteed grants, to privately founded schools, many of which were founded by Religious bodies, more so by the Catholic Church. Understandably, the Government does have a role to play in the management of such grant-aided schools; but also the Founding bodies do have a significant role.[34]
Besides providing for Religious bodies to establish and manage their own educational institutions, the Uganda Education Policy, as provided for in the current Education Act, specifies that religious studies shall be part of the curriculum. Section 4, subsection (4) of the Education Act states:
Religious studies shall form part of the curriculum in primary and post-primary schools.[35]
5.3 Effective family participation.
At the level of policy, the role and participation of the family in the education of children is provided for in the Education Policy, where it is stated:
Provision of education and training to the child shall be a joint responsibility of the State, the parent or guardian And other stakeholders.[36]
It is assumed here that the burden of responsibility conferred on the family in the Education Act, logically also confers on it the right to have a say in the matter i.e., the education of the child in terms of content, quality and administration. In practice, parents are normally represented on the Boards of Governors or Management Committees of the relevant institutions.
6.0 Conclusions and Recommendations
6.1 Conclusion.
From the foregoing, conclusions may be drawn as follows.
6.1,1 The educative vocation of the family.
The family has a critical role to play in the education of children:
- that this role is well entrenched in Church Teaching and various cultures, African culture included; and
- that the execution of this role is largely determined by the constitutional and institutional framework in place and by the state of the family itself, which, in turn, may be affected by positive or negative influences from the environment.
6.1.2 The state of the family today.
The state of the family today is a matter of concern mainly due to the many negative influences from the rapidly changing socio-economic environment, with the effect that: while some families remain steadfast and undeterred in their role; others are losing confidence in the execution of their role; or are being rendered totally incapacitated and unable to do anything.
6.1.3 The Church's position.
The Church presents us with a theological foundation, in the Apostolic Exhortation on the Family, Familiaris Consortio, as a guide for appropriate policy and practice on matters related to the family and its role in education. It is important to note that in this Exhortation, and in a subsequent one on The Church in Africa, Ecclesia in Africa, His Holiness the Pope, points out the compatibility, in many respects, between Catholic Teaching and various cultures, African culture included.
6.1.4 The African situation: the Uganda case.
The constitutional and institutional framework of a country is a good and practical reference as to the extent to which the family's role in education, as set forth by the Church e.g., in her education policy, is accommodated; and as to what strategies may be designed or improved upon for the purpose. In this regard, using Uganda as representative example, it may be concluded that a standard democratic constitution, with an entrenched Bill of Rights, provides a reasonable framework for the purpose.
6.1.5 Vigilance and constructive engagements necessary.
The Church and Laity must not take things for granted: they must be vigilant and participate in constructive engagement with the State authorities:
- First, to ensure that a proper constitutional and institutional framework is in place; and
- Second, to counter any negative influences from the domestic and international environment.
6.2 Recommendation.
Taking the Uganda case as a representative example, the Church and the Laity must be commended for the effective role they have so far played to secure a hospitable constitutional and institutional order; and to counter negative influences directed against the integrity of the family and its positive role in education. However, in order to maintain and improve on the achievements so far made, the following are necessary.
First and foremost, it is necessary to safeguard and enhance the morally based traditional family by encouraging the devout; by building confidence among those in doubt; and by removing or overcoming institutional impediments to family life as it has all along been promoted by both the Church and culture.
Second it is necessary to evolve a strategy for greater effectiveness, overall, by the Church and Laity in public affairs; and more specifically in matters related to the family and education
The following recommendations are made towards achieving the above objectives.
Promoting active participation by Catholics in matters of public interest; Greater empowerment, in terms of spiritual, moral and intellectual enrichment, and capacity building for both the clergy and laity, through appropriate training; and through membership and establishment, at the local and the international level, of Catholic-friendly Professional Associations e.g., for Medical Doctors, Judges and Lawyers, University Academics and Teachers, as well as for Political leaders and Leaders in the Business Community; Greater participation in, and/or establishment of, institutions, e.g., Foundations, which are directed at influencing public policy; More systematic mobilization, at the local and international level, for practical support, for Catholic institutions and Catholic-inspired programmes.
--- --- ---
[1] The interpretations and opinions expressed in this paper, unless otherwise stated, are solely those of the writer; and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Church or any organization.
[2] Dr. Germina N, Ssemogerere is a Graduate of Duke University, N.C., USA. She is currently Assoc. Professor, Faculty of Economics & Management (FEMA), Makerere University, Kampala Uganda.
[3] There is no denial about God's reality in the African society. God is present in Africa under various terms e.g., as the creator ("Katonda" ) among the Baganda; the Great Potter ("Kibumba") among the Basoga; the Great Fixer ("Ruhanga" ) among the Banyoro and Batooro.
[4] John Paul II (November 28, 1981) Familiaris Consortio - Apostolic Exhortation (www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii). For a summary, see: Catholicism - The 1980 Vatican Synod on Family And Familiaris Consortio, (file////192.168.0.1)
[5] See: Diop, Cheikh Anra (1959) The Culture Unity of Black Africa (Chicago: Third World Press).esp. pp.34-41. See also Diop's other work: Civilization or Barbarism.
[6] Ratzinger, Jozeph, Pope Benedict XVI (2006) Jesus of Nazareth (Random House, N.Y.: Doubleday).
[7] John Paul II (November 28, 1981) Familiaris Consortio - Apostolic Exhortation. For a fair summary, see: Catholicism - The 1980 Vatican Synod on Family And Familiaris Consortio, (file////192.168.0.1)
[8] Familiaris Consortio, ibid. para.14.
[9] Pope Paul II (1995) The Church in Africa: Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation (Yaounde, Cameroon; published by Daughters of St. Paul: Nairobi , Kenya).
[10] Ibid. paragraph 85, p.66.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid. paragraph 42, p.33.
[13] Ibid. paragraphs 42 & 43, p. 33.
[14] Some ethnic groups e.g., the Baganda depended on an a discreet intelligence exchange system involving senior and close members of the extended family of the boy and girl in question to reach an informed judgement in this regard. Others e.g., the Gikuyu in Kenya, subjected boys and girls to a taxing process culminating in "initiation" as a sine qua non for marriage.
[15] It is here stressed that acknowledging the principle behind the initiation process does not necessarily mean wholesale approval of the specific activities carried out under it; nor a failure to see the need for modification and improvement. On the Initiation process among the Gikuyu from a cultural perspective, see: Kenyatta, Jomo, Facing Mount Kenya (with an Introduction by B. Malinowski); (New York: Vintage Books)
[16] The latest formal reaffirmation of this position by Kampala Archdiocese was reached in their Synod in 2006, and conveyed " to the general public, under the theme, "Okweteratekera Obufumbo, in the Archdiocesan publication: Obutume bw'Omukatuliki Mu Ssaza Ly'e Kampala.
[17] African customary incorporation, as used here, differs from legal adoption. Customary incorporation by itself, unlike legal adoption, is neither necessarily a condition nor an occasion or opportunity for severance or alienation of the biological relations that prevailed before. In its broadest sense, customary incorporation may even be applied to accommodate people from outside one's ethnic group. The biographies of the Uganda Martyrs tell us, for instance, of officials in the Kabaka's Palace i.e., in the mainstream of Buganda politics, whose origin would be traced to tribes outside Buganda. For example, the Martyr, St. Donozio Ssebuggwawo and her mother Nsonga, originally from Busoga, were incorporated into the family of Ssebuggwawo, at the time a noble in the Kingdom and a brother of the then Katikkiro (Prime Minister) who belonged to the Musu ( edible rat ) clan.
[18] Familiaris Consortio, paragraph. 27.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Encyclopaedia Britanica,15th ed.; 1943-1973 (Chicago/London/Toronto/Genecva/Sydney/Tokyo/Manila/Seoul/Johannesburg: William Benton Publisher and Helen Hemingway Benton Publisher) no.7 pp.155-173, esp. pp. 155-166.
[21] Familiaris Consortio; ibid paragraphs 18-27.
[22] For a comprehensive study of these leaders see, Bullock, Alan (1l992) Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives (New York: Alfred A. Knoff). Note, however, that the author does not himself completely attribute Hitler's and Stalin's unacceptable conduct in public office to the wrongs in family upbringing... Opinions on this do differ as the author reveals; but we are persuaded to believe that such bad behaviour by the two men could not, but have had a negative ;impact on the psychological and moral formation of their children.
[23] Familiaris Consortio; ibid paragraph 36.
[24] Ibid.
[25] Ibid.
[26] See, for example: The Uganda Episcopal Conference (1997) Education Policy 1997 (Kampala , Uganda: Makerere University).
[27] The Education Policy:1997 ibid.
[28] Curtin, Philip & others eds.(First published 1978, 10th impression 1992) African History (Longman and New York: Longman Inc.) p. 532.
[29] "Socialization" as "general education": see, Encyclopaedia Britannica in fn. 14 above.
[30] This "natural community", focused on in Uganda, is a neighbourhood community based on geographical contiguity and Administrative convenience.
[31] See, for example: Obutume bw'Omukatuliki mu Ssaza ly'e Kampala: Okunnyikiza Obukristu Mu Bulamu Bwaffe (Grassroot Evangelization); (Kampala Archdiocese: Marianum Press, Kisubi), 2006.
[32] Op. cit
[33] The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (as amended,2006) op. cit.: National Objectives and Directive Principles of Policy, XVIII (iii).
[34] The Uganda Government, , The Education (Pre-Primary, Primary and Post Primary) Act, 2008: sections 7 and 8.
[35] The Education Act; ibid. section 4 (4).
[36] The Education Act; ibid. Section 1( i ).
Here is the text of the address given today by Dr. Germina N. Ssemogerere, economics professor at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, at the 6th World Meeting of Families, under way in Mexico.
* * *
"The Educative Vocation of the Family: An African Perspective, with particular reference to Uganda"[1]
The Family, Teacher of Human and Christian Values
1.0 Introduction
The topic we are addressing, "The Educative vocation of the Family", which refers to the special devotion of the family to the education of the children, is a matter of considerable importance and urgency, to both the Church and society, all over the world. This topic is of considerable importance in our time on account of the interplay of the unprecedented social, economic and political forces from, not only the local, but also from the international environment as well, that impact on the family. In the process, such forces, sometimes threaten the family's very survival; and impede it from achieving its goals: the most critical of which is that of producing and raising healthy, properly informed, well adjusted and responsible citizens, who are accountable to society; and, ultimately, accountable to God.[3]
This presentation highlights two principal propositions.
First, it is suggested that a well-prepared-for marriage, followed by a viable, informed and morally disciplined family, is a good investment for the proper upbringing and education of children. Second, it is suggested that for the family's educative mission to be properly continued beyond the home, notably in school: it is necessary that there be an appropriate philosophical, constitutional and institutional foundation for moral education; and for an effective participatory role by the family in the education system.
Given the presence of negative environmental forces, this strategy calls for vigilance and a constructive engagement of the family, the political authorities, and other key stakeholders, in particular the Religious and cultural leaders, as well as professionals among the Civil Society.
It is observed that, in this regard, there is, in principle, much common ground between the Church's position and African culture; although certain practices permissible in African culture, notably polygamy in marriage, may be unacceptable to Church teaching. From both, the Church's position and African culture, environmental forces impacting negatively on the family, undermine its role and, consequently, affect the children's education and formation.
The present concerns.
Our attention ought to be drawn to the current state of affairs regarding issues affecting the family today, as witnessed by the rising numbers, including among the elite and affluent classes: of: same-sex marriages; co-habitation; sterilized families; un-socialized children; as well as of voluntary and/or State-enforced abortions; and abandonment of so called unwanted children etc.
The plight of the traditional family is well captured in the Apostolic Exhortation, "Familiaris Consortio" (On the Family)[4] by the late Pope John Paul II, in these words:
The family in the modern world, as much as and perhaps more than any other institution, has been beset by the many profound and rapid changes that have affected society and culture.
According to Pope John Paul II, families are reacting differently to these dramatic changes. In the Exhortation, he describes three ways in which families react to these changes.
First, His Holiness says:
Many families are living this situation in fidelity (i.e., faithfully) to those values that constitute the foundation of the institution of the family.
Second, he refers to:
Others (who) have become uncertain and bewildered over their role and even doubtful and almost unaware of the ultimate meaning and truth of conjugal and family life. (Underlining added).
There is also a third category, the Pontiff added, of families:
... who are hindered by various situations of injustice in the realization of their fundamental rights (to which the family is otherwise entitled). (Underlining added).
The Pope's findings are well taken; and they are a major basis for the conclusions reached and the recommendations made of a strategy of empowerment i.e., moral and intellectual, as well as economic and political empowerment for the Catholic Lay Movement and institutions.
Section 2.0 is a presentation on the family as an institution of universal relevance and its educative role, with particular reference to the position of the Church and the African situation. Section 3.0 presents the family's five-fold role. Section 4.0 discusses the family's educative mission; and presents the position taken on by the Church as well as its place in African culture. Section 5 examines the principles and legal framework underlying Uganda's Education system with a view: first, of gauging opportunities currently available for a positive family educative role; and, second, determining prospects for improvement or corrective measures, on the basis of which suggestions for improvement are made in section 6.
This presentation is based mainly on official documents and data; and on relevant literature, as well as personal knowledge and experience.
2.0 The Institution of the Family and its Educative Role.
The family has always been a well established and entrenched institution in society all over the world; and so has its critical role in the education or ‘socialization" of the children.
2.1 The family in Africa.
In Africa, the family is a central institution in kinship[5], whereby one's place in society is established: partly on the basis of one's identity by family and lineage; and partly on the basis of the contribution made to society in terms of values and various activities.
The importance of the traditional family in Africa is further reflected, by the care and solemnity associated with the entire process leading to, and culminating in the execution of the marriage covenant; by the exacting moral code of conduct expected of the married people, more so if they are parents with children; by the elevated status society traditionally accords to them, and by the love and respect even highly placed adults give to their parents.
In some African cultures, the special love and respect given to parents by their grown-up children, even by the Royalty, is demonstrated, by their public behaviour and official conduct. The Kabaka (King) of Buganda, for instance, is, according to Buganda culture, expected to seek and take, seriously, counsel from her mother (the Queen-Mother) when making important decisions. And the Queen-Mother in the Kingdom of Swaziland commands similar, if not greater loyalty from the King, and authority in the Kingdom, than her counterpart in Buganda.
2.2 The Church's position on the family.
2.2.1 Historical global perspective.
There is much in common between the Church and African culture on the position and role of the family in society. The Church has always had a strong and supportive position on matters affecting the family. In his book , Jesus of Nazareth (2006), which he developed over many decades, Jozeph Ratzinger, now His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, stresses the Church's historical position on the family in these words:
From her very inception, the Church that emerged and continues to emerge, has attached fundamental importance to defending the family as the core of all social order...[6]
A recent evidence of the importance of the Church's support and defence for the family, was the convening of The 1980 Vatican Synod on the Family, with the findings and recommendations of the synod culminating in a comprehensive Apostolic Exhortation on the subject, (viz., Familiaris Consortio), by Pope John Paul II[7] in 1981. In the Exhortation, His Holiness, describes the family as divinely ordained; and says:
According to the plan of God, marriage is the foundation of the wider community of the family, since the very institution of marriage and conjugal love are ordained to the procreation and education of children, in whom they find their crowning.[8]
Consequently, His Holiness goes on in the Exhortation, to point out what is required to establish and maintain, in good standing, a viable mutually supporting family community, based on love and the recognition of the rights and responsibilities of the respective members of this community i.e., of the husband, the wife and the children.
2.2.2 Focus on Africa.
Following the Second Vatican Council, the Church has paid particular attention to Africa; and to the family in Africa. On the occasion of the first visit by a reigning Pope in modern times, Pope Paul VI inaugurated, in 1969, in Kampala, Uganda: the first Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), which has since become the forum for common concert for the Church on the continent.
In 1989, His Holiness Pope John Paul II convoked the first Synod (Council) of the African Episcopal Conference which discussed issues related to the challenges of evangelization; and the family was one such issue. Six years after the African Synod, Pope John Paul II issued a post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, The Church in Africa (Ecclesia in Africa), based on the proceedings of the 1989 African Synod.[9]
On the importance of the family, the Holy Father points out in the Exhortation:
By its very nature, marriage, which has the special mission of perpetuating humanity, transcends the couple. In the same way, by its nature, the family extends beyond the individual household: it is oriented towards society.[10]
His Holiness continues and quotes from the Exhortation on the Family Familiaris Consortio (1991):
"The family has vital and organic links with society, since it is its foundation and nourishes it continuously through its role of service to life: it is from the family that citizens come to birth and it is from family that they find the first school of the social virtues that are the animating principles of the existence and development of society itself. Thus, far from being closed on itself, the family is by nature and vocation open to other families and society, and undertakes its social role."[11]
As a necessary step before recommending inculcation of aspects of African culture into Catholic Teaching on the family, Pope John Paul II finds there is a good deal of harmony between the two. He observes in The Church in Africa:
(Africa) is endowed with a wealth of cultural values and priceless human qualities which it can offer to the Churches and to humanity as a whole.[12] (Underlining added).
The Pope then concludes on a note of hope: agreeing with the African Synod: on inculcation of "positive" African cultural values. And he envisages: prospects for the transformation of the African family through the inspiration of the Gospel; and, consequently, such transformation contributing towards world-wide spiritual revival and the development of a more fraternal society.[13]
2.3 Necessary conditions for marriage and family: the African perspective.
As indicated above: in both the Church's Teaching and African culture: the family is an institution of utmost importance, with a critical role to play. Recognition of this role the family plays and, generally, of its significance, is also demonstrated by the process leading to the formation of the family itself.
First, the Church and African culture, probably without exception, prescribe a cautious approach, characterized by care and seriousness of purpose, in respect of the process leading to marriage. And, second, subsequently when marriage is contracted, the couple's status in society is instantly enhanced and, together as a family, the couple receive social protection and privileges.
Especially for its own protection and as a deterrent against temptations of abuse of status: notably guarding against permissiveness and incest, marriage is under the watchful control of cultural taboos, with enforceable sanctions. In this respect, for instance, some cultures have strict prohibitions against physical contact within the family in its extended form, between a male member and his daughter-in-law, or mother-in-law.
In conclusion it may be said that the process leading to and culminating in marriage and, in addition, that the observation of a strict, cultural moral code of conduct governing marriage and family, are essential conditions for establishing the family institution as a fountain of honour and virtue in society.
2.3.1 Preparation for marriage: a serious project.
For both the Church and African culture, in normal peace time circumstances, marriage is not an abrupt or surprise affair: it is a serious project calling for due and deliberate preparations.
Courtship, in African culture, is positively encouraged only between confirmed adults - and adults with approved credentials for starting and managing family life[14]. Ample time is therefore normally provided for the necessary preliminary introductory encounters and information exchange; and, thereafter, for courtship, before formal engagement and, finally, marriage. Throughout this process certain key members of one's extended family, on both sides, play their part and provide their wise judgement and counsel before the final choice and commitment is freely made: ideally by the two candidates themselves; and each one by himself or herself.
This cautious approach to marriage is, in principle,[15] in line with the Church's own position, where, normally a specified period is set aside to ensure that the intending couple qualify and fully appreciate and accept the challenges ahead of them; in particular the necessary conditions and full implications of the Sacrament of Matrimony. For this purpose the Church demands a standard minimum four-week requirement and the public announcements of the marriage bans before marriage is consecrated.[16]
The harmony on this principle of due preparation and verification, between the Church and African traditional practice, is demonstrated by the absence of any serious and open protests or representations against the Church's position; and also by the ready compliance with this four-week preparatory period, by intending African couples who would have qualified for marriage under the traditional system.
2.3.2 Marriage as a life-long devotion of morally disciplined spouses under a code of conduct.
Apart from the issue of polygamy, which, in any case, has never been a necessary nor universal African condition, there appears to be much common ground, at the conceptual level, on marriage between African culture and the Church's position.
Marriage-for-life devotion is respected even under childlessness and after bereavement.
Marriage-for-life devotion is respected, encouraged and supported in African culture almost in the same sense as in Christianity.
Divorce or official separation after due process is, under normal circumstances, unacceptable; it is only permissible after serious investigation, by representatives of both the husband's and wife's families; and when attempts at mediation have proved pointless.
On the other hand, life-long marriage devotion is treasured and positively encouraged and supported in African culture. For instance, even in the unfortunate situation of childlessness, or the death of a spouse, African culture accords due status, respect and honour to the bereaved husband or wife.
In the case of childlessness, the dread of loneliness and feelings of self-pity would, in many situations be mitigated, if not completely overcome, by customary incorporation[17] from the husband's or wife's extended family; and even from society at large: from close friends and acquaintances. In addition to incorporation, the African extended family system, along with its liberal policy on succession and inheritance, reduces childlessness to an issue of little consequence during one's life-time; and even after death.
Life-long marriage devotion, after the death of one's spouse, is supported in various other ways: for example by the policy of guaranteed solidarity and humanitarian support; as well as of security of residence etc., to the widow or widower. At the same time the widow or widower is given a continuing opportunity to remain in productive active life, contributing, in some modest ways, to both family and society. This policy contrasts sharply with the modern practice of committing such people to the relatively impersonal life in old people's homes - a contrast Pope John Paul II captures in the Exhortation as follows:
There are cultures which manifest a unique veneration and great love for the elderly: far from being outcasts from the family or merely being tolerated as a useless burden, they continue to be present and to take an active and responsible part in family life, though having to respect the autonomy of the new family; above all they carry out the important mission of being a witness to the past and a source of wisdom for the young and for the future.[18]
The Pope brings out the cultural contrast when he laments:
Other cultures, however, especially in the wake of disordered industrialized and urban development, have both in the past and the present, set the elderly aside in unacceptable ways. This causes acute suffering to them and spiritually impoverishes many families.[19]
True, in the African situation, when the wife is perceived to be barren, there would likely be an inclination for the husband taking on another wife. This would, ordinarily, be permissible; and sometimes the original wife would help in the effort to secure a suitable additional wife. However, even then, the situation that emerges would not, by itself, be ground for divorce of, or official separation with, the original wife; or for stripping her of her rights and privileges.
Consequently, according to African culture: even after the death of one or both partners, marriage, with its marital obligations, social status and taboos, remains actively recognized and respected, most specifically by the surviving spouse, the children and the extended family.
Positive implications for value-laden education.
A well-prepared-for marriage and a morally-disciplined, child-friendly family environment, as prescribed above, places the family, strategically, on high moral ground to inculcate norms and values in the education of their children.
Unfortunately, the current situation in many African countries militates against such elaborate pre-marriage processes and exacting marital norms as indicated above. First and foremost, many African countries are far from stable with disastrous consequences affecting the family institution. War and various forms of conflict, have become a common feature in Africa: not only leading to broken-up families but also denying intending couples the opportunity for proper preparation for marriage itself.
In addition, proper preparation for marriage and the observance, thereafter, of the prescribed moral code of conduct, are adversely affected by "friendly fire" from the advocacy campaigns for, and the demonstration effect of, modern permissiveness, currently sweeping much of the affluent rich nations, and impacting aggressively and ceaselessly on the hapless endangered African society, at electronic speed, via print media, radio, television and the internet.
3.0 The five-fold role of the family.
According to Encyclopaedia Britannica[20], the traditional family, as it has been known all over the world, our cultural diversity notwithstanding, serves five principal functions, including the educative role. The family caters for:
Emotional or psychic security, which is very much needed in these exacting and hard times of stress;Conjugal or sexual satisfaction;Procreation, whereby society's future is promoted;The education or socialization of children whereby parents pass on knowledge to their children, and inculcate values (notably, cultural and religious values) in them. andPhysical security through joint efforts whereby, for instance, needed assets in the form residence and other property can be acquired.
These functions, in particular the first four functions, though separately analyzed, are so inter-connected and inter-related that they may be treated as components of a single continuous process of mutually reinforcing activities. Here again, with the notable exception of the issue of polygamy, the continuity and inter-relationship of the various marriage and family functions, beginning as they do in the conjugal communion, are well appreciated in both the Church's teaching[21] and African culture.
Positive or negative influences.
A positive or negative influence on any one of the above functions has a resultant impact on another, if not on all the rest.
A well disposed, loving couple tends to be psychologically secure and, in turn, highly motivated to carefully attend to the requisites for proper child bearing and upbringing. At the same time, the success of a child at school and, later, in his or her profession, has the likely effect of, not only bringing joy and pride to the rest of the family; it is also likely to strengthen the family bond and enhance the family status in society. On the other hand undermining family life is likely to have a negative impact on the upbringing and quality of children; just as a child-turned-criminal or tyrant would be a source of discomfort, or even misery, to both family and society.
Negative environmental influences and negative influences inherent in the family.
While environmental forces may rightly be blamed for the family's failure to deliver on its established functions, or even for failure for family life to be entered into at all, it is sometimes the case that such failure may also be due to inherent weaknesses of the family itself; and notably, of the parents in question.
Studies of Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin, for instance, sometimes attribute the virtue-deficit in both of these leaders, as well as their authoritarian and tyrannical rule, largely to the character of their fathers. Hitler's father, for instance, had little regard for Hitler's mother; who was his third wife. And Stalin's father freely beat his wife; even in the presence of their young child.[22] Hitler and Stalin are not isolated cases of leaders whose insensitivity to the feelings of other people and whose disregard for universal human rights is probably best traced to problems in their upbringing and their parents' conduct; or the lack of it.
Protecting and promoting the family functions.
These family functions are, therefore, of fundamental importance; and not only to the individual members of the family, including the children, but also to society as a whole: the eventual destination of the children.
4.0 The Educative Role of the Family
Educating children, especially inculcating in them norms and values, is at the core of parental responsibilities. The parents are, under normal circumstances, well placed to do so, as they would themselves already have assimilated such norms and values from religion and culture, as well as from practical experience.
The educative role of the family is not a matter of choice or privilege: it is mandatory. The parents bring children into this world: they, therefore, have the primary responsibility to prepare them to live a meaningful and responsible life; and to do so in accordance with morally acceptable norms and values they themselves believe in..
4.1 The Church's position on the educative role of the family.
The Church's position on the primacy of the educative role of the family, is well articulated in the Apostolic Exhortation as follows:
The task of giving education is rooted in the primary vocation of married couples to participate in God's creative activity: by begetting in love and for love a new person who has within himself or herself the vocation for growth and development, parents, by that very fact, take on the task of helping that person effectively to live a fully human life.[23]
The Pope augments his statement by quoting from the conclusions of Vatican II, thus:
"since parents have conferred life on their children, they have a most solemn obligation to educate their offspring. Hence parents must be acknowledged as the first and foremost educators of their children. Their role as educators is so decisive that scarcely anything can compensate for their failure in it."[24]
The Second Vatican Council added:
"it devolves on parents to create a family atmosphere so animated with love and reverence for God and others that a well-rounded personal and social development will be fostered among the children. Hence the family is the first school of those social virtues every society needs"[25]
It is appreciated that not all education can be carried out directly by the parents and at home; yet the parental educative role has, nevertheless to be continued. In those events, the Church's position emphasizes the right of the family to have a say in the choice of school for the children.
The Church's teaching on the role of the family in the education of children is reflected, in teaching and in practice, by the Church in Africa.[26] In their publication, Education Policy 1997 the Catholics Bishops in Uganda, were categorical in this regard, on their adherence to the conclusions of the Second Vatican Council. For instance on the issue of parental duty beyond home, the Bishops' Conference quoted the Council directly:
"As for Catholic parents, the Council calls to mind their duty to entrust their children to Catholic schools, when and where this is possible; to support such schools to the extent of their ability; and to work along with them for the welfare of their children."[27]
4.2 The African perspective on the family role on education
African perception and practice, regarding the family and its role in the education of children, is well preserved in oral history, proverbs, personal and place names, as well as in researched work. In principle, it does not depart materially from the position of the Church. The African family's right and responsibility to raise children; in particular to inculcate norms and values in their education, is unquestionable. It is also the family's responsibility, where this is possible, to arrange or recommend for apprenticeship for further value-laden education, as among nobles etc., or for the acquisition of skills in various fields by identifying appropriate authorities, institutions and experts.
Philip Curtin & others are correct when they recapitulate the education system in the African society as follows:
Education takes place in all societies as part of socialization. In pre-colonial Africa, general education began at home as soon as a child learned his (or her) own language. Education beyond that might be quite informal but apprenticeship at home or in a workshop of a crafts-worker was essential for learning technical skills.[28]
Thus, the inculcation of cultural norms and values in the African society takes place mainly at home, early in the child's life, under "general education" or "socialization"[29]. Unfortunately, it is this formative phase in the African child's life, along with the earlier one from inception to birth, which suffer the brunt of the impact of the negative forces from the environment, when the family role is disrupted, distorted or even completely eliminated.
4.3 The necessary conditions for a positive role by the family in the Education of children.
From the above discussion the conclusion can be drawn as to the conditions that are necessary for the family to play a positive role in the education of children:
(a) First and foremost, the family itself must be viable, and morally and intellectually formed within the culture, in order to be properly equipped for the mission; and
(b) Second, the country's education system must be based on a philosophical and legal foundation:
(i) which caters for the quality of education (i.e., in terms of values, norms and skills) which the family agrees with and supports; and
(ii) which also caters for effective participation by the family.
It follows, therefore, that a strategy for protecting and consolidating the family's role in education must be directed towards the fulfillment of the above conditions.
5.0 Protecting and Promoting the Family Role in Education in Uganda.
After considerable sustained constructive engagement, and, on occasions, actual confrontation, involving representatives of the family, the Church, the Laity and the political leadership in the country, an Education Policy, generally acceptable to all, is currently in place.
On the basis of the conclusions in 4.3 above, Uganda can be credited for its positive strategy for preserving and promoting the family role in Education. This strategy should be supported and improved upon.
5.1 Promoting intellectual, professional and moral formation for the family.
The family in Uganda is well placed to benefit, in its formation and empowerment, from the wide-ranging, formal and informal, educational programmes, provided by the State, as well as the private sector: and the Church, which takes particular interest in spiritual and moral formation; which programmes are freely accessible by many, including adults. The laity (and clergy) can and do take advantage of them.
Uganda is pursuing a liberal education policy, directed at expanding opportunities for learning at all levels throughout the country; and at the same time encouraging private sector initiatives in this field.
The Catholic Church has always played, and continues to play, a lead role in providing formal and informal education in the country, paying particular attention to spiritual and moral formation. Currently, the Church's efforts in Education are based on its Education Policy 1997, agreed on by the Uganda Episcopal Conference, which is in line with the conclusions of the Second Vatican Council.
This policy is conducted under the aegis of the National Catholic Secretariat; and caters for various initiatives in the field of education: from the National and Diocesan levels, down to the Parish level, where it focuses on the "natural community"[30] at the grassroots (akabondo).[31]
However, given the limitations of the natural community and the growing ethnic heterogeneity and social-economic complexity of the African, and indeed of the Ugandan society, it seems to be necessary and urgent to develop and/or strengthen, in addition, a strategy directed at the people in their new and growing social and professional formations, including Lawyers, Medical Doctors, the Academia, and the Political elite, as well as members of the Security Agencies.
5.2 Value-laden quality education
The formal education in schools and higher institutions of learning, is, particularly in respect of inculcation of norms and values, an extension, or delegated responsibility, of the family's role in the education of children. The family has, therefore the right and obligation, to pass judgement as to the moral worth of the education system in place and to influence it.
The family may pass such judgement on the basis of the imputed reputation of the system; and also on the basis of the stipulated principles, set out in the country's Constitution governing Education policy; as well as on the basis of the Education law in place.
5.2.1 Moral values underscored in the Constitution and provision for religious influence in the education system.
The Constitution of Uganda (as amended, 2006) commits the country to democratic principles; to fundamental and other human rights; to recognition of the dignity of women; and to Educational Objectives, one of which is the role of Religion.
5.2.2 Religion in denominational schools.
The Constitutional provision on the role of Religion in Education accommodates the Church's position in support of denominational schools, as set out by the Second Vatican Council, and as quoted above by the Uganda Episcopal Conference in their Education Policy 1997.[32] The Uganda position, as given in the Constitution provides for the legitimacy of denominational, as well as other non-governmental, schools:
Individuals, religious bodies, and other non-governmental organizations shall be free to found and operate educational institutions if they comply with the general educational policy of the country and maintain national standards. (Underlining added).[33]
5.2.3 Religion in grant-aided Schools.
Besides legitimizing denominational schools, and thereby indirectly encouraging emphasis on the inculcation of religious values, the Education Policy also commits Government to the institutionalization of public support, under a scheme of guaranteed grants, to privately founded schools, many of which were founded by Religious bodies, more so by the Catholic Church. Understandably, the Government does have a role to play in the management of such grant-aided schools; but also the Founding bodies do have a significant role.[34]
Besides providing for Religious bodies to establish and manage their own educational institutions, the Uganda Education Policy, as provided for in the current Education Act, specifies that religious studies shall be part of the curriculum. Section 4, subsection (4) of the Education Act states:
Religious studies shall form part of the curriculum in primary and post-primary schools.[35]
5.3 Effective family participation.
At the level of policy, the role and participation of the family in the education of children is provided for in the Education Policy, where it is stated:
Provision of education and training to the child shall be a joint responsibility of the State, the parent or guardian And other stakeholders.[36]
It is assumed here that the burden of responsibility conferred on the family in the Education Act, logically also confers on it the right to have a say in the matter i.e., the education of the child in terms of content, quality and administration. In practice, parents are normally represented on the Boards of Governors or Management Committees of the relevant institutions.
6.0 Conclusions and Recommendations
6.1 Conclusion.
From the foregoing, conclusions may be drawn as follows.
6.1,1 The educative vocation of the family.
The family has a critical role to play in the education of children:
- that this role is well entrenched in Church Teaching and various cultures, African culture included; and
- that the execution of this role is largely determined by the constitutional and institutional framework in place and by the state of the family itself, which, in turn, may be affected by positive or negative influences from the environment.
6.1.2 The state of the family today.
The state of the family today is a matter of concern mainly due to the many negative influences from the rapidly changing socio-economic environment, with the effect that: while some families remain steadfast and undeterred in their role; others are losing confidence in the execution of their role; or are being rendered totally incapacitated and unable to do anything.
6.1.3 The Church's position.
The Church presents us with a theological foundation, in the Apostolic Exhortation on the Family, Familiaris Consortio, as a guide for appropriate policy and practice on matters related to the family and its role in education. It is important to note that in this Exhortation, and in a subsequent one on The Church in Africa, Ecclesia in Africa, His Holiness the Pope, points out the compatibility, in many respects, between Catholic Teaching and various cultures, African culture included.
6.1.4 The African situation: the Uganda case.
The constitutional and institutional framework of a country is a good and practical reference as to the extent to which the family's role in education, as set forth by the Church e.g., in her education policy, is accommodated; and as to what strategies may be designed or improved upon for the purpose. In this regard, using Uganda as representative example, it may be concluded that a standard democratic constitution, with an entrenched Bill of Rights, provides a reasonable framework for the purpose.
6.1.5 Vigilance and constructive engagements necessary.
The Church and Laity must not take things for granted: they must be vigilant and participate in constructive engagement with the State authorities:
- First, to ensure that a proper constitutional and institutional framework is in place; and
- Second, to counter any negative influences from the domestic and international environment.
6.2 Recommendation.
Taking the Uganda case as a representative example, the Church and the Laity must be commended for the effective role they have so far played to secure a hospitable constitutional and institutional order; and to counter negative influences directed against the integrity of the family and its positive role in education. However, in order to maintain and improve on the achievements so far made, the following are necessary.
First and foremost, it is necessary to safeguard and enhance the morally based traditional family by encouraging the devout; by building confidence among those in doubt; and by removing or overcoming institutional impediments to family life as it has all along been promoted by both the Church and culture.
Second it is necessary to evolve a strategy for greater effectiveness, overall, by the Church and Laity in public affairs; and more specifically in matters related to the family and education
The following recommendations are made towards achieving the above objectives.
Promoting active participation by Catholics in matters of public interest; Greater empowerment, in terms of spiritual, moral and intellectual enrichment, and capacity building for both the clergy and laity, through appropriate training; and through membership and establishment, at the local and the international level, of Catholic-friendly Professional Associations e.g., for Medical Doctors, Judges and Lawyers, University Academics and Teachers, as well as for Political leaders and Leaders in the Business Community; Greater participation in, and/or establishment of, institutions, e.g., Foundations, which are directed at influencing public policy; More systematic mobilization, at the local and international level, for practical support, for Catholic institutions and Catholic-inspired programmes.
--- --- ---
[1] The interpretations and opinions expressed in this paper, unless otherwise stated, are solely those of the writer; and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Church or any organization.
[2] Dr. Germina N, Ssemogerere is a Graduate of Duke University, N.C., USA. She is currently Assoc. Professor, Faculty of Economics & Management (FEMA), Makerere University, Kampala Uganda.
[3] There is no denial about God's reality in the African society. God is present in Africa under various terms e.g., as the creator ("Katonda" ) among the Baganda; the Great Potter ("Kibumba") among the Basoga; the Great Fixer ("Ruhanga" ) among the Banyoro and Batooro.
[4] John Paul II (November 28, 1981) Familiaris Consortio - Apostolic Exhortation (www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii). For a summary, see: Catholicism - The 1980 Vatican Synod on Family And Familiaris Consortio, (file////192.168.0.1)
[5] See: Diop, Cheikh Anra (1959) The Culture Unity of Black Africa (Chicago: Third World Press).esp. pp.34-41. See also Diop's other work: Civilization or Barbarism.
[6] Ratzinger, Jozeph, Pope Benedict XVI (2006) Jesus of Nazareth (Random House, N.Y.: Doubleday).
[7] John Paul II (November 28, 1981) Familiaris Consortio - Apostolic Exhortation. For a fair summary, see: Catholicism - The 1980 Vatican Synod on Family And Familiaris Consortio, (file////192.168.0.1)
[8] Familiaris Consortio, ibid. para.14.
[9] Pope Paul II (1995) The Church in Africa: Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation (Yaounde, Cameroon; published by Daughters of St. Paul: Nairobi , Kenya).
[10] Ibid. paragraph 85, p.66.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid. paragraph 42, p.33.
[13] Ibid. paragraphs 42 & 43, p. 33.
[14] Some ethnic groups e.g., the Baganda depended on an a discreet intelligence exchange system involving senior and close members of the extended family of the boy and girl in question to reach an informed judgement in this regard. Others e.g., the Gikuyu in Kenya, subjected boys and girls to a taxing process culminating in "initiation" as a sine qua non for marriage.
[15] It is here stressed that acknowledging the principle behind the initiation process does not necessarily mean wholesale approval of the specific activities carried out under it; nor a failure to see the need for modification and improvement. On the Initiation process among the Gikuyu from a cultural perspective, see: Kenyatta, Jomo, Facing Mount Kenya (with an Introduction by B. Malinowski); (New York: Vintage Books)
[16] The latest formal reaffirmation of this position by Kampala Archdiocese was reached in their Synod in 2006, and conveyed " to the general public, under the theme, "Okweteratekera Obufumbo, in the Archdiocesan publication: Obutume bw'Omukatuliki Mu Ssaza Ly'e Kampala.
[17] African customary incorporation, as used here, differs from legal adoption. Customary incorporation by itself, unlike legal adoption, is neither necessarily a condition nor an occasion or opportunity for severance or alienation of the biological relations that prevailed before. In its broadest sense, customary incorporation may even be applied to accommodate people from outside one's ethnic group. The biographies of the Uganda Martyrs tell us, for instance, of officials in the Kabaka's Palace i.e., in the mainstream of Buganda politics, whose origin would be traced to tribes outside Buganda. For example, the Martyr, St. Donozio Ssebuggwawo and her mother Nsonga, originally from Busoga, were incorporated into the family of Ssebuggwawo, at the time a noble in the Kingdom and a brother of the then Katikkiro (Prime Minister) who belonged to the Musu ( edible rat ) clan.
[18] Familiaris Consortio, paragraph. 27.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Encyclopaedia Britanica,15th ed.; 1943-1973 (Chicago/London/Toronto/Genecva/Sydney/Tokyo/Manila/Seoul/Johannesburg: William Benton Publisher and Helen Hemingway Benton Publisher) no.7 pp.155-173, esp. pp. 155-166.
[21] Familiaris Consortio; ibid paragraphs 18-27.
[22] For a comprehensive study of these leaders see, Bullock, Alan (1l992) Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives (New York: Alfred A. Knoff). Note, however, that the author does not himself completely attribute Hitler's and Stalin's unacceptable conduct in public office to the wrongs in family upbringing... Opinions on this do differ as the author reveals; but we are persuaded to believe that such bad behaviour by the two men could not, but have had a negative ;impact on the psychological and moral formation of their children.
[23] Familiaris Consortio; ibid paragraph 36.
[24] Ibid.
[25] Ibid.
[26] See, for example: The Uganda Episcopal Conference (1997) Education Policy 1997 (Kampala , Uganda: Makerere University).
[27] The Education Policy:1997 ibid.
[28] Curtin, Philip & others eds.(First published 1978, 10th impression 1992) African History (Longman and New York: Longman Inc.) p. 532.
[29] "Socialization" as "general education": see, Encyclopaedia Britannica in fn. 14 above.
[30] This "natural community", focused on in Uganda, is a neighbourhood community based on geographical contiguity and Administrative convenience.
[31] See, for example: Obutume bw'Omukatuliki mu Ssaza ly'e Kampala: Okunnyikiza Obukristu Mu Bulamu Bwaffe (Grassroot Evangelization); (Kampala Archdiocese: Marianum Press, Kisubi), 2006.
[32] Op. cit
[33] The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (as amended,2006) op. cit.: National Objectives and Directive Principles of Policy, XVIII (iii).
[34] The Uganda Government, , The Education (Pre-Primary, Primary and Post Primary) Act, 2008: sections 7 and 8.
[35] The Education Act; ibid. section 4 (4).
[36] The Education Act; ibid. Section 1( i ).
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