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September 4, 2002
Catholic Education: Becoming Salt and
Light for the World
In his homily concluding the 17th World Youth Day in Toronto on
July 28th, Pope John Paul, drawing upon the gospel imperative, challenged the
youth of the world to be "salt" and "light" for the world.
The
world you are inheriting is a world which desperately needs a new sense of
brotherhood and human solidarity. It is a world which needs to be touched and
healed by the beauty and richness of God's love. It needs witnesses to that
love. The world needs salt. It needs you - to be the salt of the earth and the
light of the world. Salt is used to preserve and keep. As apostles for the
third millennium, your task is to preserve and keep alive the awareness of our
Saviour Jesus Christ, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist, the
memorial of his saving death and glorious resurrection. You must keep alive the
memory of the words of life which he spoke, the marvelous works of mercy and
goodness which he performed. You must constantly remind the world of the "power
of the Gospel to save." [Romans 1: 16]
Salt seasons and
improves the flavour of food. Following Jesus, you have to chance and improve
the "taste" of human history. With your faith, hope and love, with your
intelligence, courage and perseverance, you have to humanize the world we live
in, in the way that today's reading from Isaiah indicates: "loose the bonds of
injustice … share your bread with the hungry … remove the pointing of
the finger, the speaking of evil … then your light shall rise in the
darkness." [Isaiah 58: 6-10]
In Catholic education we seek to
keep alive the memory of the words of life which Jesus spoke, and the marvelous
works of mercy and goodness which Jesus performed. The heart and soul of
Catholic education is following Jesus Christ, and our school system finds its
very reason for existence in the communication of the Christian message. The
goal of Catholic education is nothing less than a truly holistic formation of
persons who will become living witnesses to the faith. This vision of Catholic
education is inspired and sustained by an understanding of the Catholic school
as a participant in the saving mission of the Church, a mission that is
realized in and for the world.
Following Jesus, we must change and
improve the "taste" of human history. With our faith, hope and love, and with
our intelligence, courage and perseverance, we are called to humanize the world
we live in.
As bishops, we are committed to working together with
parents, educators, and trustees to ensure the integrity of Catholic education.
This responsibility does not and cannot rest solely on the shoulders of a few
individuals but is grounded in the interdependence of all members of the
Catholic education community.
"Catholic education is inspired by
the general principles enunciated by the Second Vatican Council concerning
collaboration between the hierarchy and those who work in the apostolate. In
consequence of the principle of participation and co-responsibility, the
various groupings which constitute the educational community are, according to
their several competencies, to be associated in the decision-making concerning
the Catholic school and in the application of decisions once taken."
[The Catholic School, Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education 1977,
70]
Together we all face the task of developing schools into communities
of faith in which the requirements of good citizenship will be learned in a
vital way from the perspective of the message of the Gospel and the teachings
of the Church. We are bound together by a common faith and in common
service.
In order to realize this mission and instill the virtues of the
Catholic community of faith in our youth, we require and employ the same basic
principles that are employed in a family. In intimate circles of communion,
love, and service we work to foster the virtues and lifestyle that will later
serve the common good of our whole society. For this to be effective, a
Catholic school, like a family, needs some time and a place for itself. It is a
basic requirement if we are to submerge our youth in the culture of the
faith.
In light of this mission, we would like to share a few
reflections with you on the phenomenon of "shared facilities." This has become
a major issue of concern for Catholic Education in Alberta. During the past
four years there has been increasing pressure on Catholic boards to resolve
their need for space by negotiating with public school boards to construct one
shared school building rather than having each build its own independent,
stand-alone schools.
The pressure to build "shared facilities" has led
to division within communities, overcrowding in some Catholic Schools, and many
meetings with our community members, with government, and with School Boards,
public and separate, in an attempt to provide educational space for our
children. It is not our intention to close or make non-viable existing public
schools. We see ourselves as an integral part of the educational endeavor in
Alberta.
Nevertheless, we are compelled to stress with the utmost
clarity that the sharing of facilities creates grave problems for Catholic
education. Our concern with "shared facilities" does not arise out of any
desire to segregate ourselves from the rest of society. When a family raises
its children in the separate confines of its own home, it does not reject every
other home and every other family. It is merely preparing its own children for
the necessary and desirable interaction to come. Our insistence on having our
own schools is not a rejection of society, but a preparation for full
engagement in it.
In the same way, a separate Catholic school is not a
rejection of the culture, but a designated environment of faith formation,
which requires its own separate space for the sake of cohesion, unity, and
growth. Far from rejecting our pluralistic society, we nurture these young
citizens in an atmosphere of faith, so that they can make a unique contribution
to that society. The particular contribution they do, in fact, make to our
province because of their Catholic education is recognized and valued by our
fellow citizens of all faiths.
To educate our youth in the context of
the Gospel a certain distinct educational environment is needed. Catholic
schools are places where the whole ethos and learning environment - the
syllabus, curriculum and the total life of the school - are permeated with our
faith. School buildings are blessed and dedicated as special places where
study, prayer, and faith celebrations are an integral part of school life.
Religious symbols and artifacts are displayed in each classroom, in the halls,
and in signage both inside and outside the building. These are regularly used
as teaching opportunities. Often there is a dedicated chapel in a Catholic
school, and the Blessed Sacrament is reserved there. The shared faith life of
the school permeates every part of the building and every activity that happens
within and around it. Anything that detracts from this permeation, such as a
"shared facility" situation, leads to the loss of something vital to Catholic
education.
The Catholic community of Alberta must be allowed to continue
the time-honoured and constitutionally-protected tradition of forming and
educating our children in an environment we foster and fashion. Together we
must continue to state clearly our position that "shared facilities" are not
acceptable to the Catholic community. There are many opportunities for
ecumenical co-operation with people of diverse faith traditions. The "shared
facilities" approach is not one of them. Ecumenism is based upon a conversion
of hearts and upon prayer that will also lead to the necessary purification of
past memories. With the grace of the Holy Spirit, Christians, inspired by love,
by the power of the truth, and by a sincere desire for mutual forgiveness and
reconciliation, are called to re-examine together their painful past and to
inspire in everyone a renewed willingness to proclaim the Gospel. This mission
is clearly outside the mandate of public schools.
From childhood, all of
us are taught that sharing is good, and there are many creative ways in which
distinct school systems, or distinct stand-alone neighbouring schools, can
share resources so as to assist each other as they go about the mission of
education in their own very different ways. There might on occasion be some
situations in which there is a good reason for negotiating the construction of
a community recreation facility alongside the school if the recreational
facility is independently owned and managed, and does not contravene the
Facilities Covenant of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees'
Association.
It is not true creative sharing, however, when two schools
with significantly different educational philosophies are simply attached to
one another, in a mechanical way, in the hope that this will somehow
automatically produce added convenience or economic benefit. This uncreative
strategy may look like sharing, but there is little real benefit to be gained
from it.
Furthermore, such arrangements not only impede the ability of a
Catholic school to have the distinct environment which is needed for Catholic
education, but also set the stage for the future merging of the two intertwined
entities, at which point Catholic education ceases. This would be a loss to the
Catholic community, but also to our wider society. Canadian society continues
to define itself as one in which community values (linguistic, cultural and
religious) are to be respected rather than denied. We have staked our hope as a
nation on the possibility of strengthening the common social fabric by
safeguarding the distinctive quality of each thread within it. One such thread
is the preservation of a vibrant Catholic education system, not just for our
good but for the good of our whole society.
Catholic education creates a
real hope for the future when we teach the next generation the mystery of the
Body of Christ, where all members are important for the body's well being, and
where the body brings together the members into a life-giving unity. The rise
of nationalism and war around the globe demands such a unity - a unity that
respects legitimate diversity and recognizes the God-given freedom and dignity
of each human being, whatever their race, colour, or creed.
Real hope
for the world is created when we form our youth in the spiritual principles of
justice and of respect for all human life. Environmental crises plague us, yet
we form real hope when we imbue our youth with the Biblical standard of a
people who know themselves to be called by name as stewards of
creation.
Our ongoing commitment to the development of Catholic
education is one of our greatest contributions to the common fabric of society.
By reinforcing this distinctive thread of what is best in our Church community,
far from closing in on ourselves, we release formidable energies for the
benefit of society, so that we may help each other to grow wiser, and to
harmonize personal rights with the other requirements of social living in the
world.
We conclude our reflections on Catholic education and shared
facilities, with the prayer of John Paul II:
O Lord Jesus Christ, keep (our)
young people in your love. Let them hear your voice and believe what you say,
for you alone have the words of life. Teach them how to profess their faith,
bestow their love, and impart their hope to others. Make them convincing
witnesses to your Gospel in a world so much in need of your saving grace. Make
them the new people of the Beatitudes, that they may be the salt of the earth
and the light of the world at the beginning of the Third Christian Millennium!
Mary, Mother of the Church, protect and guide these young men and women of the
Twenty-first Century. Keep us all close to your maternal heart.
Amen.
Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Edmonton
Arthé Guimond,
Archbishop of Grouard-McLennan
Frederick Henry, Bishop of Calgary
Luc
Bouchard, Bishop of St. Paul
Lawrence Huculak, OSBM, Bishop of Edmonton
Eparchy
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