Pointers of the Superior General in support of Catholic Education
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“The future of Catholic schools will depend on their capacity to adapt to the new times in which we are living, fostering innovation, connecting better with the new generations and presenting Gospel values”, said Br Ernesto Sánchez Barba, Superior General, during his speech at the XXVII Interamerican Congress of Catholic Education, held in Mexico on May 27 and 28.
The Catholic event aimed to reflect, rethink and put into practice in the Catholic School of America the UNESCO initiative, called ‘Futures of education’, which is in synergy with the Global Compact on Education.
At the opening of the Congress, which had as its theme “Futures of Education”, were present: Msgr. Miguel Cabrejos, president of CELAM, and Sr. Daniela Canavina, general secretary of the CLAR. Several Marist Brothers also participated in the Congress, including Br. Carlos Alberto Rojas, director of the Secretariat for Education and Evangelization. See in this link the program and the complete list of speakers.
During his speech, on May 28, Br Ernesto presented the document “Pointers to the Present and Future of Catholic Education“, where he highlights 4 important points, which we summarize below:
- Sit out together on mission, which expresses that “to be aware that we are sent is to understand that we carry out a mission of service which is the mission of God”.
- We are sowers of hope, where he questions whether we really believe in the value and relevance of what we can offer the church and the world through Catholic education”.
- With young people we make participation a feature of Catholic Schools: “The younger generations of today are bearers of novelty and creativity, just as ours were in their time. How can we listen better to them? How can we relate better to them, employing words that touch their hearts and really communicate?”
- Schools where students learn and we learn to accept the most vulnerable and marginalized: “The key question to ask ourselves is: in what way are we as a Catholic School contributing to social transformation? Is solidarity our priority? Are we focussing our energies and attention on the most needy and vulnerable?”
The Superior General concluded his intervention, recalling how “St Marcellin Champagnat knew how to “look beyond”, and to teach young people to “look beyond”, to open themselves to God, to the horizons of Gospel love”. And left the question: “What challenges does “looking beyond” pose for education in America today? It is about looking beyond the particular context in which we are living, beyond our geographical and cultural borders, beyond our own organisations and beyond the Catholic Church itself, to make its dimension of universality a reality”.
In this link it is possible to read details about the XXVII Interamerican Congress of Catholic Education.
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