The Catholic School System in Italy: Challenges, Responses, and Research

In the past few years the Italian school system has been characterized by a revolutionary reform, known as “Moratti reform” from the name of the Minister of Education in the Berlusconi Government, which is formalized in the law 53/2003. The Italian school system today is based on Christian principles supporting the value and uniqueness of each human being, the importance of parents' cooperation in the school’s educational mission, the autonomy of each school, and the necessity to promote relations in the geographic area in which the school is located. It is evident that Catholic parents and teachers in the public school are working together to stress this reform, which, on the other hand, has been opposed by many left-wing teachers and trade unions. To understand the role of the Catholic school in this changing system, one should go back to the first document edited by the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) in 1983, titled “The Catholic school today in Italy,” in which there is a reference to the document edited in 1977 by the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education. In its very beginning, the 1983 CEI document focuses on the general presence and participation of Christians in schools, and describes the Catholic school as having two aims