The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School
Guidelines for Reflection and Renewal

By the Congregation for Catholic Education

Introduction

1. On October 28, 1965, the Second Vatican Council promulgated the Declaration on Christian Education, Gravissimum Educationis. The document describes the distinguishing characteristic a Catholic school in this way: "The Catholic school pursues cultural goals and the natural development of youth to the same degree as any other school. What makes the Catholic school distinctive its attempt to generate a community climate in the school that permeated by the gospel spirit of freedom and love. It tries to guide the adolescents in such a way that personality development goes hand in hand with the development of the 'new creature' that each one has become through Baptism. It tries to relate all of human culture to the good news of salvation so that the light of faith will illumine everything that the students will gradually come to learn about the world, about life, and about the human person." 1

The Council, therefore, declared that what makes the Catholic school distinctive is its religious dimension, and that this is to be found in a) the educational climate, b) the personal development of each student, c) the relationship established between culture and the Gospel, d) the illumination of all knowledge with the light of faith.

2. More than twenty years have passed since this declaration of the Council. In response to suggestions received from many parts of the world, the Congregation for Catholic Education warmly invites local ordinaries and the superiors of religious congregations dedicated to the education of young people to examine whether or not the words of the Council have become a reality. The Second Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of 1985 said that this opportunity should not be missed! The reflection should lead to concrete decisions about what can and should be done to make Catholic schools more effective in meeting the expectations of the Church, expectations shared by many families and students.

3. In order to be of assistance in implementing the Council's declaration, the Congregation for Catholic Education has already published several papers dealing with questions of concern to Catholic schools. The Catholic School 2 develops a basic outline the specific identity and mission of the school in today's world. Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to the Faith 3 emphasizes the contributions of lay people, who complement the valuable service offered in the past and still offered today by so many religious congregations of men and women. This present document is closely linked to the preceding ones: it is based on the same sources, appropriately applied to the world of today. 4

4. The present document restricts its attention to Catholic schools: that is, educational institutions of whatever type, devote to the formation of young people at all pre-university levels dependent on ecclesiastical authority, and therefore falling within the competence of this dicastery. This clearly leaves many other questions untouched, but it is better to concentrate our attention on one area rather than try to deal with several different issues at once. We are confident that attention will be given to the other question, at some appropriate time. 5

5. The pages which follow contain guidelines which are rather general. Different regions, different schools, and even different classes within the same school will have their own distinct history, ambience, and personal characteristics. The Congregation asks bishops, religious superiors and those in charge of the schools to study these general guidelines and adapt them to their own local situations.

6. Not all students in Catholic schools are members of the Catholic Church; not all are Christians. There are, in fact, countries in which the vast majority of the students are not Catholics - a reality which the Council called attention to. 6 The religious freedom and the personal conscience of individual students and their families must be respected, and this freedom is explicitly recognized by the Church. 7 On the other hand, a Catholic school cannot relinquish its own freedom to proclaim the Gospel and to offer information based on the values to be found in a Christian education this is its right and its duty. To proclaim or to offer is not to impose, however; the latter suggests a moral violence which is strictly forbidden, both by the Gospel and by Church law.8