8 Catholic Schools

The influence of the Church in the field of education is shown in a special manner by the Catholic school. No less than other schools does the Catholic school pursue cultural goals and the human formation of youth. But its proper function is to create for the school community a special atmosphere animated by the Gospel spirit of freedom and charity, to help youth grow according to the new creatures they were made through baptism as they develop their own personalities, and finally to order the whole of human culture to the news of salvation so that the knowledge the students gradually acquire of the world, life and man is illumined by faith.[25]

So indeed the Catholic school, while it is open, as it must be, to the situation of the contemporary world, leads its students to promote efficaciously the good of the earthly city and also prepares them for service in the spread of the Kingdom of God, so that by leading an exemplary apostolic life they become, as it were, a saving leaven in the human community. Since, therefore, the Catholic school can be such an aid to the fulfillment of the mission of the People of God and to the fostering of the dialogue between the Church and mankind, to the benefit of both, it retains even in our present circumstances the utmost importance.

Consequently this sacred synod proclaims anew what has already been taught in several documents of the magisterium,[26] namely: the right of the Church freely to establish and to conduct schools of every type and level. And the council calls to mind that the exercise of a right of this kind contributes in the highest degree to the protection of freedom of conscience, the rights of parents, as well as to the betterment of culture itself.

Introduction

11. Finally, I turn to the whole Church, convinced that Catholic Universities are essential to her growth and to the development of Christian culture and human progress. For this reason, the entire ecclesial Community is invited to give its support to Catholic Institutions of higher education and to assist them in their process of development and renewal.

THE IDENTITY OF A CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

3. The Catholic University in the Church

27. Every Catholic University, without ceasing to be a University, has a relationship to the Church that is essential to its institutional identity. As such, it participates most directly in the life of the local Church in which it is situated; at the same time, because it is an academic institution and therefore a part of the international community of scholarship and inquiry, each institution participates in and contributes to the life and the mission of the universal Church, assuming consequently a special bond with the Holy See by reason of the service to unity which it is called to render to the whole Church.

One consequence of its essential relationship to the Church is that the institutional fidelity of the University to the Christian message includes a recognition of and adherence to the teaching authority of the Church in matters of faith and morals. Catholic members of the university community are also called to a personal fidelity to the Church with all that this implies. Non-Catholic members are required to respect the Catholic character of the University, while the University in turn respects their religious liberty(26).

28. Bishops have a particular responsibility to promote Catholic Universities, and especially to promote and assist in the preservation and strengthening of their Catholic identity, including the protection of their Catholic identity in relation to civil authorities. This will be achieved more effectively if close personal and pastoral relationships exist between University and Church authorities, characterized by mutual trust, close and consistent cooperation and continuing dialogue. Even when they do not enter directly into the internal governance of the University, Bishops "should be seen not as external agents but as participants in the life of the Catholic University"(27).

THE MISSION OF SERVICE OF A CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

1. Service to Church and Society

2. Pastoral Ministry

41. Pastoral ministry is an indispensable means by which Catholic students can, in fulfillment of their baptism, be prepared for active participation in the life of the Church; it can assist in developing and nurturing the value of marriage and family life, fostering vocations to the priesthood and religious life, stimulating the Christian commitment of the laity and imbuing every activity with the spirit of the Gospel. Close cooperation between pastoral ministry in a Catholic University and the other activities within the local Church, under the guidance or with the approval of the diocesan Bishop, will contribute to their mutual growth(35).

4. Evangelization

48. The primary mission of the Church is to preach the Gospel in such a way that a relationship between faith and life is established in each individual and in the socio-cultural context in which individuals live and act and communicate with one another. Evangelization means "bringing the Good News into all the strata of humanity, and through its influence transforming humanity from within and making it new...

It is a question not only of preaching the Gospel in ever wider geographic areas or to ever greater numbers of people, but also of affecting and, as it were, upsetting, through the power of the Gospel, humanity's criteria of judgment, determining values, points of interest, lines of thought, sources of inspiration and models of life, which are in contrast with the Word of God and the plan of salvation"(40).

Part IV. Workers of Renewal Catholic Educational Institutions

622 Catholic educational institutions have been making a distinct contribution to the well-being of our country.

623 Catholic educational institutions are among the most necessary and potent means of evangelization

624 Distinct from non-sectarian schools, Catholic schools share with other Christian educational institutions an integrated view of the human person grounded in the person of Jesus Christ.

625 Distinct from other Christian schools, the Catholic school is equipped with an understanding of the dynamics of the Christian person as he/she participates in the living tradition of the Catholic Church.

626 Distinct from the other works of evangelization, Catholic educational institutions can offer a systematic understanding of the link between faith and life.

627 We must sadly admit, however, that many of the graduates, do not seem to have sufficiently assimilated Christian values.

628 While evangelization is supposed to be the primary concern of Catholic education, in practice this has not always been so.

629 Besides, not all teachers of religion are sufficiently trained in theology and religious education.

630 Furthermore, are the schools providing opportunities for administrators, faculty, staff and students to celebrate their faith in worship centered on the Eucharist? Are there enough structures to challenge them to live the faith they understand and celebrate? Does the school provide a counter-culture to a materialistic world? Are simple lifestyle and action on behalf of justice seriously and effectively promoted?

631 We need to know the causes of these deficiencies.

632 (1)The existing trend towards competition among different Catholic schools

633 (2) Many affluent Filipinos have a cultural fixation towards elitism in education.

634 (3) There is a prevailing consumerism in our society.

635 In our Catholic institutions, we should aim to develop in our administrators, faculty, staff and students, in close coordination with parents a critical assimilation of culture.

636 Catholic institutions of learning should not only prepare for Christian community living but should already provide an experience of Christian community.

637 Catholic institutions should therefore reaffirm evangelization as their primary goal for education.

638 The vision-mission needs to be structuralized in order to provide students, administrators, faculty and staff with an experience of Christian community.

The following are some of the needed reforms:

639 (1) Religious education should be taken as the core subject of the school curriculum.

640 Students’ integrated formation should help them realize that their graduation is a mission-sending event after a period of discipleship.

641 (2) On-going spiritual formation for the administrative, faculty and non-academic staff and the students should be emphasized, with the Eucharist as the center of their community life.

642 (3) There should be periodic and systematic exposure of administrators, faculty, staff and students to the context of the poor and the needy.

643 (4) School policies should express the vision-mission statement, leading to an articulation of values.

645Coordination with parents is crucial if Catholic schools are to be effective vehicles of evangelization.

646 The Church looks with gratitude on teachers, administrators, and employees of Catholic educational institutions who at great personal sacrifice have serve these institutions and have thus immensely contributed to the Church’s growth and our country’s well-being.