Vatican City, 13 November 2015 (VIS) -
“Educating today and tomorrow: a renewing passion” is the title
of the World Congress organised by the Congregation for Catholic
Education to commemorate the 50th anniversary of “Gravissimum
educationis”, the Vatican Council II Declaration on Christian
education, and the 25th of “Ex corde Ecclesiae (Apostolic
Constitution on Catholic Universities). The event will take place in
Rome from 18 to 21 November.
The Congress was presented this morning
in the Holy See Press Office by Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, prefect
of the Congregation for Education, Bishop Angelo Vincenzo Zani,
secretary of the same congregation, and Professor Italo Fiorin,
director of the “Educating in encounter and solidarity” School of
Higher Education at the Libera Università Maria Ss. Assunta (LUMSA),
Rome.
Cardinal Versaldi commented that these
commemorative events highlight the participation of the Congregation
for Catholic Education in the educational passion of the Church,
which “is still aware today – as is stated in the incipit of the
conciliar document whose fiftieth year we are celebrating – 'how
extremely important education is in the life of man and how its
influence ever grows in the social progress of this age'. Aware of
this, the most recent consequence is the World Congress”.
Bishop Zani went on to explain that the
idea of the Congress emerged during the plenary session of the
cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for Catholic Education in
2011, in in which they discussed the Department's future lines of
action and Pope Benedict XVI, in his discourse, referred to the two
anniversaries in 2015. This led to the choice of date for the
Congress. In 2012, around fifty experts from around the globe met in
Rome to identify pending problems regarding education promoted by the
Church all over the world, and to make some first suggestions to
relaunch important educational activities carried out by many
Catholic institutions. The results of the seminar were gathered into
a document bearing the same title as the Congress, and were sent to
interested parties along with a questionnaire to be returned to the
dicastery. “The reaction was surprising”, said Bishop Zani, “We
received thousands of answers to the online questionnaire and
hundreds of postal responses”.
The November Congress was preceded in
June by a UNESCO international forum on education, attended by
Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin. “Educating today and
tomorrow: a renewing passion” will open on 18 November in the Paul
VI Hall with a session describing new scenarios in education and the
aims of the meeting, and will continue on 19 and 20 November in other
places, considering four themes: the identity and mission of Catholic
schools and universities, the subjects of education and their various
responsibilities (bishops, parents, directors, teachers and
students), the formation of formators and the challenges of today and
tomorrow. On 21 November the participants, more than 2,200 in number,
will be received in audience by the Holy Father.
The prelate emphasised, however, that
the Congress will not be an end in itself, but may instead represent
a new beginning in collaboration with the Congregation for Catholic
Education and various other institutions. For example, there have
been some requests for a General Directory of Catholic education,
summarising the essential principles and norms issued in documents
from the Council to today, relating to Catholic educational
institutions, and the constitution of a working group for this
purpose. Another aspect that emerged from the answers to the
questionnaire is the need for a permanent centre of Christian
inspiration to study pedagogical problems. This proposal has been
accepted by LUMSA and a few months ago the “Educating in encounter
and solidarity” School of Higher Education was established.
On 28 October this year Pope Francis
constituted by chirograph the new Foundation “Gravissimum
Educationis”, to study particular situations and to implement
original and innovatory problems, especially in the most difficult
situations. Finally, a small working group will be formed to study
the legal problems that inevitably emerge in various parts of the
world, especially following changes to constitutions or laws that may
endanger the survival of Catholic schools and universities.
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