Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Challenges Facing Catholic Schools: A View from Rome

  • Chapter
International Handbook of Catholic Education

Part of the book series: International Handbooks of Religion and Education ((IHRE,volume 2))

From ancient times the Church has everywhere fostered the setting up of schools. They were first established close to cathedrals and monasteries, thanks especially to the initiatives of bishops and monks. The pope’s role was initially limited to encouraging such endeavours. Later, the papal approval of religious congregations, which included among the education of youth their apostolic works, also demonstrated the Holy See’s concern for schooling. During the 19th century, faced by States which claimed exclusive rights over schooling, the popes began to formulate more explicitly their teaching on education, expressing their concern for the integral formation of the whole person. Since then the Apostolic See has zealously supported the establishment of Catholic schools, defended their independence, recalled the rights of parents to choose such schools for their children and promoted their Catholic identity.1

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 259.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. In his 1864 Syllabus of Errors Pius IX condemned those who denied the Church’s right to educate children (nn. 45, 47, 48). See also Leo XIII’s encyclicals Sapientiae Christianae (1890) and Affari Vos (1897), and Benedict XV’s letter Communes Litteras (1914). With his encyclical Divini Illius Magister (1929), Pius XI established the foundation of Catholic teaching on education.

    Google Scholar 

  2. John Paul II, Address to the College of Cardinals and Roman Curia (28 June 1984), 2: L’Osservatore Romano, English edition 29 (16 July 1984), 6. The 1983 Code of Canon Law succinctly describes the Curia’s function in canon 360: “The supreme pontiff usually conducts the business of the universal Church by means of the Roman Curia, which fulfils its duty in his name and by his authority for the good and the service of the churches”.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gravissimum Educationis, introduction.

    Google Scholar 

  4. The term “sacred” was dropped as a modifier of the curial congregations in John Paul II’s 1988 apostolic constitution Pastor Bonus.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Cf. Paul VI, Regimini Ecclesiae Universae, article 79.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Cf. John Paul II, Pastor Bonus, article 94.

    Google Scholar 

  7. John Paul II, Pastor Bonus, article 114.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Statistics for the school year 2004–2005 provide the following data about the number of Catholic school students in the different continents (in millions): Africa, 16; North and South America, 12.7; Asia, 11.7; Europe, 8.7; Oceania, 1 (Secretariat of State, Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2004: Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2004 [Vatican City: Vatican Press, 2006], 290).

    Google Scholar 

  9. John Paul II, Pastor Bonus, article 115.

    Google Scholar 

  10. In June 2007 Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski (Polish) served as prefect; Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB (Canadian) as secretary; and Monsignor Vincenzo Zani (Italian) as undersecretary.

    Google Scholar 

  11. In June 2007 officials and staff from the following countries worked in the Congregation: Austria, Belgium, Columbia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Scotland, Spain, and the USA.

    Google Scholar 

  12. By periodically publishing documents, the Congregation fulfils Gravissimum Educationis’s charge to develop more fully the declaration’s affirmations on the principles of Christian education and the specific mission of Catholic schools. It does so with a growing awareness of the challenge posed by increasing secularization and other obstacles. The Catholic School (19 March 1977) was issued on the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Schools Office by Paul VI in 1967. Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith (15 October 1982) recognizes the enormous decline in priests and religious teaching in schools, and formulates in positive terms the vocation of the lay Catholic educator in both Catholic and non-Catholic schools. Educational Guidance in Human Love: Guidelines for Sex Education (1 November 1983) places sex education within the general framework of all Christian education. The fruit of a long consultation, it wished to respond positively to parental concerns about sex education in the schools. The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School (7 April 1988) is a response to secularization and its effects on the young. The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium (28 December 1997) discusses some contemporary challenges to the distinctiveness of the Catholic school and its contribution to the Church’s evangelizing mission. Consecrated Persons and Their Mission in Schools (28 October 2002), following the previous document on the laity, reaffirms the importance of the educational apostolate for consecrated men and women.

    Google Scholar 

  13. The following contact information on these institutions might prove helpful:.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Catholic International Education Office–Office International de l’Enseignement Catholique (OIEC) 718 Avenue Houba de Strooper B-1020 Brussels Belgium Tel: (322) 230–72-52 Fax: (322) 230–97-45 E-mail: oiec@infoiec.org Web site: www.infoiec.com European Committee for Catholic Education–Comité Européen pour l’Enseignement Catholique (CEEC) Avenue Marnix, 19 A/ 6 B-1000 Brussels Belgium Tel: (322) 511 4774 Fax: (322) 513 8694 Web site: www.ceec.be World Union of Catholic Teachers–Union Mondiale des Enseignants Catholiques (UMEC) Palazzo San Calisto, 16 00120 Vatican City State Tel: (3906) 698–87286 Fax: (3906) 698–87207 E-mail: umec@va.org World Organization of Former Pupils of Catholic Education–Organisation Mondiale des Anciens et Anciennes Élèves de l’Enseignement Catholique (OMAEC) Rue de Richelieu, 48 F-75001 Paris France Tel: (3314) 2608.903 Fax: (3314) 7033.903.

  15. Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (Vatican City: Vatican Press, 2004), n. 70.

    Google Scholar 

  16. John Paul II, Address to UNESCO (2 June 1980), 18: Insegnamenti, 3/1 (1980), 1650.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gravissimum Educationis, 3.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gravissimum Educationis, introduction; cf. Code of Canon Law, canon 794, §1.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Cf. John Paul II, Ecclesia in Oceania, 33.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Code of Canon Law, canon 800, §1.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 8.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Code of Canon Law, canon 795.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Pius XI, Divini Illius Magister, 23.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 11; cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 9; Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 33.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Code of Canon Law, canon 796, §1.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gaudium et Spes, 48.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Cf. John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, 48; Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1883; Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (Vatican City: Vatican Press, 2004), nn. 185–187.

    Google Scholar 

  28. John Paul II, Letter to Families, 16.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Code of Canon Law, canon 733, §1.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gravissimum Educationis, 3, 6. Benedict XVI defends this parental right. Typical is his comment that “Parents are the first educators of their children and enjoy the natural and legal right to choose the kind of education they desire for them” (Address to His Excellency Mr. Iván Guillermo Rincón Urdaneta, Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the Holy See [25 August 2005]: L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 36 [7 September 2005], 3). Cf. Benedict XVI, Address to Mr. Francisco Vázquez Vázquez, Ambassador of Spain to the Holy See (20 May 2006): L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 23 (7 June 2006), 4: “The Church also insists on the inalienable right of individuals to profess their own religious faith without hindrance, both publicly and privately, as well as the right of parents to have their children receive an education that complies with their values and beliefs without either explicit or implicit discrimination”; John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, 36; John Paul II, Letter to Families, 16; John Paul II, Ecclesia in America, 71; John Paul II, Ecclesia in Oceania, 33; John Paul II, Address to the College of Cardinals and Roman Curia (28 June 1984), 8: L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 29 (16 July 1984), 7, 12; Code of Canon Law, canon 793; Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2229; Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 12; Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 20; Pontifical Council for the Family, Charter of the Rights of the Family (22 October 1983), 1–3; Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (Vatican City: Vatican Press, 2004), n. 239; General Assembly of the United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December 1948), article 26.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Cf. General Assembly of the United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December 1948), article 26, §3: “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children”; General Assembly of the United Nations, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (16 December 1966), article 13, §3: “The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to choose for their children schools, other than those established by the public authorities, which conform to such minimum educational standards as may be laid down or approved by the State and to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions”.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Cf. John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, 40; Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (Vatican City: Vatican Press, 2004), n. 240.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 13.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dignitatis Humanae, 13.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 14; cf. Pius XI, Divini Illius Magister, 35; Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gravissimum Educationis, 6: “But it [the State] must always keep in mind the principle of subsidiarity so that there is no 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”; John Paul II, Ecclesia in America, 71: “State monopoly in this area must be condemned as a form of totalitarianism which violates the fundamental rights which it ought to defend, especially the right of parents to provide religious education for their children”; Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 16.

    Google Scholar 

  36. John Paul II, Address at the Prayer Vigil of Families (20 October 2001), 6: L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 43 (24 October 2001), 3.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 13.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Cf. John Paul II, Address to the Catholic International Education Office (5 March 1994), 3: Insegnamenti, 17/1 (1994), 617.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 21.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Cf. John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 43; John Paul II, Centesimus Annus 57; John Paul II, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, 51; John Paul II, Novo Millennio Ineunte, 38; Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2444; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation, Libertatis Conscientia, 68: “those who are oppressed by poverty are the object of a love of preference on the part of the Church”.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Congregation for Catholic Education, Consecrated Persons and their Mission in Schools: Reflections and Guidelines, 70.

    Google Scholar 

  42. John Paul II, Ecclesia in Oceania, 33; cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 58.

    Google Scholar 

  43. John Paul II, Address to Catholic Educators, Newfoundland (12 September 1984), 8: Insegnamenti, 7/2 (1984), 479.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 15.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gravissimum Educationis, 9.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 58; cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 15; Congregation for Catholic Education, Consecrated Persons and their Mission in Schools: Reflections and Guidelines, 69–72.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 15.

    Google Scholar 

  48. Benedict XVI, Address to the President of the Italian Republic, His Excellency Mr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (24 June 2005): L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 26 (29 June 2005), 3.

    Google Scholar 

  49. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 7.

    Google Scholar 

  50. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gravissimum Educationis, 6; cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dignitatis Humanae, 5: “Government, in consequence, must acknowledge the right of parents to make a genuinely free choice of schools and of other means of education, and the use of this freedom of choice is not to be made a reason for imposing unjust burdens on parents, whether directly or indirectly”; Code of Canon Law, canon 793, §2.

    Google Scholar 

  51. Code of Canon Law, canon 797.

    Google Scholar 

  52. Cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 16.

    Google Scholar 

  53. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 46; cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 19.

    Google Scholar 

  54. Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (Vatican City: Vatican Press, 2004), n. 241.

    Google Scholar 

  55. Cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 81–82.

    Google Scholar 

  56. Among the countries which provide substantial financial assistance from public funds for Catholic schools are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada (some provinces), England, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Spain, Uganda, and Wales.

    Google Scholar 

  57. John Paul II, Ecclesia in Europa, 59.

    Google Scholar 

  58. John Paul II, Address to Catholic Educators, Newfoundland (12 September 1984), 9: Insegnamenti, 7/2 (1984), 479.

    Google Scholar 

  59. John Paul II, Ad limina Address to the Bishops of India (6 September 2003), 3: L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 38 (17 September 2003), 3.

    Google Scholar 

  60. John Paul II, Ad limina Address to American Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Provinces of Portland in Oregon, Seattle and Anchorage (24 June 2004), 1: Origins, 34:14 (16 September 2004), 220–221; cf. John Paul II, Address to the Catholic International Education Office (5 November, 1985), 4: Insegnamenti, 8/2 (1985), 1200–1201. Such statements are also found in the ad limina addresses of Benedict XVI; for example, Ad limina Address to the Bishops of Zimbabwe (2 July 2005): L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 28 (13 July 2005), 3.

    Google Scholar 

  61. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 11.

    Google Scholar 

  62. John Paul II, Ecclesia in America, 71.

    Google Scholar 

  63. John Paul II, Address to the College of Cardinals and Roman Curia (28 June 1984), 7: L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 29 (16 July 1984), 7.

    Google Scholar 

  64. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gravissimum Educationis, 8; Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 29.

    Google Scholar 

  65. John Paul II, Address to Catholic Educators (12 September 1987), 7: Origins, 17:15 (1 October 1987), 270.

    Google Scholar 

  66. Benedict XVI, Address to the Participants of a Seminar on European Higher Education (1 April 2006): L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 17 (26 April 2006), 5.

    Google Scholar 

  67. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 18; cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 63; Congregation for Catholic Education, Consecrated Persons and their Mission in Schools: Reflections and Guidelines, 35.

    Google Scholar 

  68. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gaudium et Spes, 22; cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 9.

    Google Scholar 

  69. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 9; cf. John Paul II, Ecclesia in America, 71; Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 18.

    Google Scholar 

  70. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 35.

    Google Scholar 

  71. John Paul II, Address to Italian Educational Institutes (24 November 1998), 3: Insegnamenti, 21/2 (1998), 1052.

    Google Scholar 

  72. John Paul II, Message to the National Catholic Educational Association of the USA (16 April 1979): Insegnamenti, 2 (1979): 919–920.

    Google Scholar 

  73. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 34; cf. 55.

    Google Scholar 

  74. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 25.

    Google Scholar 

  75. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 27.

    Google Scholar 

  76. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 25.

    Google Scholar 

  77. Cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 51–65.

    Google Scholar 

  78. Cf. John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor and Fides et Ratio, passim; Benedict XVI, Address to the Participants of the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (10 February 2006): Origins, 35:39 (16 March 2006), 654.

    Google Scholar 

  79. Benedict XVI, Address to the Diplomatic Corps (9 January 2006): L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 2 (11 January 2006), 4.

    Google Scholar 

  80. Benedict XVI, Address to the Ecclesial Convention of the Diocese of Rome (5 June 2006): L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 24 (14 June 2006), 7.

    Google Scholar 

  81. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Homily for Mass Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice (18 April 2005): L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 16 (20 April 2005), 3.

    Google Scholar 

  82. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 41.

    Google Scholar 

  83. Congregation for Bishops, Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops (Vatican City: Vatican Press: 2004), n. 133.

    Google Scholar 

  84. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 57.

    Google Scholar 

  85. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 49.

    Google Scholar 

  86. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 14.

    Google Scholar 

  87. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 51; cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 64.

    Google Scholar 

  88. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 53; cf. John Paul II, Letter to Cardinal Agostino Casaroli establishing the Pontifical Council of Culture (20 May 1982): “The synthesis between culture and faith is not just a demand of culture, but also of faith.… A faith which does not become culture is a faith which has not been fully received, not thoroughly thought through, not faithfully lived out” (L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 26 [28 June 1982], 7).

    Google Scholar 

  89. Cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 20.

    Google Scholar 

  90. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 34; cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 44; Congregation for Bishops, Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops (Vatican City: Vatican Press: 2004), n. 133.

    Google Scholar 

  91. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 47; cf. Vatican II Ecumenical Council, Gravissimum Educationis, 8.

    Google Scholar 

  92. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 43.

    Google Scholar 

  93. Cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 50–51; Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 66–69.

    Google Scholar 

  94. John Paul II, Catechesi Tradendae, 69.

    Google Scholar 

  95. Cf. John Paul II, Address to the Catholic International Education Office (5 November, 1985), 4: Insegnamenti, 8/2 (1985), 1201.

    Google Scholar 

  96. Cf. John Paul II, Address to the Participants in the International Congress of the Catholic Schools of Europe (28 April 2001), 2: Insegnamenti, 24/1 (2001), 804.

    Google Scholar 

  97. Cf. John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 41; John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, 5, 54–55; Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 26–27; Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (Vatican City: Vatican Press, 2004), nn. 66–68.

    Google Scholar 

  98. Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 27.

    Google Scholar 

  99. John Paul II, Christifideles Laici, 41.

    Google Scholar 

  100. John Paul II, Letter to the Secretary General of the Catholic International Education Office (23 January 1982): Insegnamenti, 5/1 (1982), 892.

    Google Scholar 

  101. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gravissimum Educationis, 8.

    Google Scholar 

  102. Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 20; cf. Benedict XVI, Address to the Ecclesial Convention of the Diocese of Rome (5 June 2006): L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 24 (14 June 2006), 7: “Proposing to children a practical experience of service to their neighbour is therefore part of an authentic and complete education in the faith”.

    Google Scholar 

  103. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1939.

    Google Scholar 

  104. Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 30.

    Google Scholar 

  105. Congregation for Catholic Education, Consecrated Persons and their Mission in Schools: Reflections and Guidelines, 15.

    Google Scholar 

  106. John Paul II, Novo Millennio Ineunte, 43.

    Google Scholar 

  107. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 22; cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 31; Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 18.

    Google Scholar 

  108. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 40; cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, Consecrated Persons and their Mission in Schools: Reflections and Guidelines, 41.

    Google Scholar 

  109. Cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 32, 105–106.

    Google Scholar 

  110. Cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 60–61; Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 78; Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 39.

    Google Scholar 

  111. Congregation for Catholic Education, Consecrated Persons and their Mission in Schools: Reflections and Guidelines, 46.

    Google Scholar 

  112. 111 Code of Canon Law, canon 796, §2; cf. John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, 40; Congregation for Catholic Education, Consecrated Persons and their Mission in Schools: Reflections and Guidelines, 47.

    Google Scholar 

  113. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 42: cf. John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, 37; Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 34; Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Educational Guidance in Human Love: Outlines for Sex Education, 69–75.

    Google Scholar 

  114. John Paul II, Address to the Italian Association of Parents of Catholic Schools (6 June 1998), 2: Insegnamenti, 21/1 (1998), 1311.

    Google Scholar 

  115. Cf. Code of Canon Law, canon 375.

    Google Scholar 

  116. John Paul II, Ad limina Address to American Bishops (28 October 1983), 7: Insegnamenti, 6/2 (1983), 891.

    Google Scholar 

  117. Canon 794.

    Google Scholar 

  118. John Paul II, Pastores Gregis, 52.

    Google Scholar 

  119. Cf. Code of Canon Law, canon 806, §1; cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, Consecrated Persons and their Mission in Schools: Reflections and Guidelines, 42.

    Google Scholar 

  120. Congregation for Bishops, Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops (Vatican City: Vatican Press: 2004), n. 100; cf. n. 133.

    Google Scholar 

  121. Cf. Code of Canon Law, canon 803, §2; Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 73.

    Google Scholar 

  122. John Paul II, Ad Limina Address to American Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Provinces of Portland in Oregon, Seattle and Anchorage (24 June 2004), 3: Origins, 34:14 (16 September 2004), 221.

    Google Scholar 

  123. Cf. John Paul II, Pastores Gregis, 51.

    Google Scholar 

  124. Cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, Consecrated Persons and their Mission in Schools: Reflections and Guidelines, 61.

    Google Scholar 

  125. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 18.

    Google Scholar 

  126. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 33; cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 110.

    Google Scholar 

  127. Congregation for Catholic Education, Consecrated Persons and their Mission in Schools: Reflections and Guidelines, 62.

    Google Scholar 

  128. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gravissimum Educationis, 8; cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 26; Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 19.

    Google Scholar 

  129. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gravissimum Educationis, 5.

    Google Scholar 

  130. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 37.

    Google Scholar 

  131. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Lumen Gentium, 32.

    Google Scholar 

  132. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 24.

    Google Scholar 

  133. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 19.

    Google Scholar 

  134. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 37.

    Google Scholar 

  135. Cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 27.

    Google Scholar 

  136. John Paul II, Address to the Participants in the International Congress of the Catholic Schools of Europe (28 April 2001), 3: Insegnamenti, 24/1 (2001), 804.

    Google Scholar 

  137. John Paul II, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, 16.

    Google Scholar 

  138. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 60.

    Google Scholar 

  139. Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 31.

    Google Scholar 

  140. Cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 61–70.

    Google Scholar 

  141. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 70.

    Google Scholar 

  142. Congregation for Catholic Education John Paul II, Ad limina Address to Bishops from Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin (30 May 1998), 4: Origins, 28:5 (18 June 1998), 77; cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 32, 40.

    Google Scholar 

  143. Benedict XVI, Address to the Participants in the Ecclesial Diocesan Convention of Rome (6 June 2005): L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 24 (15 June 2005), 7.

    Google Scholar 

  144. Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41.

    Google Scholar 

  145. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 43.

    Google Scholar 

  146. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 32.

    Google Scholar 

  147. John Paul II, Ecclesia in Oceania, 33; cf. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Directory for Catechesis (Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2005), 231: “Recruit teachers who are practising Catholics, who can understand and accept the teachings of the Catholic Church and the moral demands of the Gospel, and who can contribute to the achievement of the school’s Catholic identity and apostolic goals.… While some situations might entail compelling reasons for members of another faith tradition to teach in a Catholic school, as much as possible, all teachers in a Catholic school should be practising Catholics”.

    Google Scholar 

  148. Cf. Code of Canon Law, canon 803, §2.

    Google Scholar 

  149. John Paul II, Address to the Plenary Session of the Congregation for Catholic Education (4 February 2002), 5: L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 7 (13 February 2002), 2.

    Google Scholar 

  150. John Paul II, Vita Consecrata, 96.

    Google Scholar 

  151. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, 13; cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, 74–76; Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 3.

    Google Scholar 

  152. John Paul II, Vita Consecrata, 97. This echoes the Code of Canon Law, canon 801: “Religious institutes which have education as their proper mission are to keep faithfully to this mission and earnestly strive to devote themselves to Catholic education”; cf. John Paul II, John Paul II, Address to the College of Cardinals and Roman Curia (28 June 1984), 9: L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 29 (16 July 1984), 12; Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 36.

    Google Scholar 

  153. Congregation for Catholic Education, Consecrated Persons and their Mission in Schools: Reflections and Guidelines, 6.

    Google Scholar 

  154. Congregation for Catholic Education, Consecrated Persons and their Mission in Schools: Reflections and Guidelines, 46.

    Google Scholar 

  155. Cf. Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Starting Afresh from Christ: A Renewed Commitment to Consecrated Life in the Third Millennium, 31.

    Google Scholar 

  156. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Apostolicam Actuositatem, 25.

    Google Scholar 

  157. Cf. John Paul II, Novo Millennio Ineunte, 46: “Therefore the Church of the third millennium will need to encourage all the baptized and confirmed to be aware of their active responsibility in the Church’s life. Together with the ordained ministry, other ministries, whether formally instituted or simply recognized, can flourish for the good of the whole community, sustaining it in all its many needs: from catechesis to liturgy, from the education of the young to the widest array of charitable works”.

    Google Scholar 

  158. John Paul II, Pastor Bonus, article 114.

    Google Scholar 

  159. Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 115.

    Google Scholar 

  160. John Paul II, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, 31.

    Google Scholar 

  161. John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, 40.

    Google Scholar 

  162. Cf. Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 20.

    Google Scholar 

  163. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gravissimum Educationis, introduction; Benedict XVI, Angelus (30 October 2005): L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 44 (2 November 2005), 1.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Catholic Education, Vatican City

    Archbishop J. Michael Miller CSB

Authors
  1. Archbishop J. Michael Miller CSB
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research and Development in Catholic Education, University of London, Institute of Education, UK

    Gerald Grace

  2. Lynch School of Education, Boston College, USA

    Joseph O’Keefe   (SJ)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2007 Springer

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Miller, A.J.M. (2007). Challenges Facing Catholic Schools: A View from Rome. In: Grace, G., O’Keefe, J. (eds) International Handbook of Catholic Education. International Handbooks of Religion and Education, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5776-2_24

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation