THE SCHOOL IS THE FUTURE OF SOCIETY

 

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
TO THE CATHOLIC UNION OF TEACHERS, MANAGERS, EDUCATORS, TRAINERS (UCIIM);
ITALIAN ASSOCIATION OF CATHOLIC TEACHERS (AIMC);
ASSOCIATION OF CATHOLIC SCHOOL PARENTS (AGESC)

Paul VI Audience Hall
Saturday, 4 January 2025

[Multimedia]

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Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

I am pleased to meet you on the occasion of the anniversaries of your Associations: the eightieth of the Italian Association of Catholic Primary School Teachers and of the Italian Union of Catholic School Teachers, Managers, Educators and Trainers, and the fiftieth of the Association of Catholic School Parents. It is a good opportunity to remember, to remember your history and to look to the future. This exercise, this movement between roots, memory and fruits, the results, is the key to commitment in education.

Our meeting takes place in the liturgical season of Christmas, a time that shows us God's pedagogy. And what is His “educational method”, God's educational method? It is that of proximity, closeness. God is close, compassionate and tender. The three qualities of God: closeness, compassion and tenderness. Closeness. Proximity. It is the Lord who, as a teacher who enters the world of his pupils, chooses to live among men to teach through the language of life and love. Jesus was born in a condition of poverty and simplicity: this calls us to a pedagogy that values the essential and places humility, gratuitousness and acceptance at the centre. A remote pedagogy, distant from the people, is no use, it does not help. Christmas teaches us that greatness is not manifested in success or wealth, but in love and service to others. God’s is a pedagogy of giving, a call to live in communion with Him and with others, as part of a plan of universal fraternity, a plan in which the family has a central and irreplaceable position. The family. In addition, this pedagogy is an invitation to recognize the dignity of every person, starting from those who are rejected and at the margins, just as the shepherds were treated two thousand years ago, and to appreciate the value of every phase of life, including childhood. The family is at the centre, do not forget. Someone told me that one Sunday he was having lunch in a restaurant, and at a nearby table there was a family: father, mother, son and daughter. All four of them were on their mobile phones, and they did not talk among themselves. This man felt something, and he approached them, saying: “But you are a family, why don’t you talk to each other and talk like this, it is strange…”. They listened to him, then they sent him packing and carried on doing these things… Please, in the family, one talks! Family is dialogue, it is dialogue that makes us grow.

Today’s meeting also takes place at the beginning of the Jubilee journey, which began a few days ago with the celebration of the event by which, with the incarnation of the Son of God, hope entered the world. The Jubilee has a lot to say to the world of education, and also to the world of the school. Indeed, “pilgrims of hope” are all the people who look for a meaning for their life and also those who help the smallest to walk on this path. A good teacher is a man or a woman of hope, because they devote themselves with confidence and patience to a project of human growth. Their hope is not naive, it is rooted in reality, sustained by the conviction that every educational effort has value and that every person has a dignity and every person has a vocation that deserve to be nurtured. It pains me when I see children who are not educated and who go to work, many times exploited, or who go looking for food or things to sell among the rubbish. It is hard. And there are such children!

Hope is the motor that sustains the educator in their daily effort, even in difficulty and failure. But what can we do so as not to lose hope, and to foster it every day? Keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, teacher and travelling companion: this allows us truly to be pilgrims of hope. Think of the people you meet at school, children and adults: “Everyone knows what it is to hope. In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring” (Spes non confundit, 1). These human hopes, through each one of us, can encounter Christian hope, the hope that is born of faith and lives in charity. And let us not forget: hope does not disappoint. Optimism disappoints, but hope does not disappoint. A hope that exceeds every human desire, because it opens minds and hearts to life and eternal beauty.

The school needs this! You are called to develop and transmit a new culture, a new culture, based on the encounter between generations, on inclusion, on the discernment of the true, the good and the beautiful; a culture of responsibility, both personal and collective, to face global challenges such as the environmental, social and economic crises, and the great challenge of peace. At school you can “imagine peace”, that is, lay the foundations for a more just and fraternal world, with the contribution of all disciplines and the creativity of children and young people. But if at school you wage war among yourselves, if at school you bully girls and boys who have problems, that is preparing for war, not peace. Please, never bullying, do you understand this? I think not... [reply: ‘Yes!’] No bullying! Let us all say it together! Come on! Never bully! I don't understand... [repeat: Never bully!] Be bold and go ahead. Work on this.

Dear sisters and dear brothers, you are here today to celebrate significant anniversaries for your associations, which were founded to offer a contribution to the school, for the best fulfilment of its educational purposes. Ah, I can’t remember, what was it you were saying? [They answer: “No bullying!”]. Understood. And not to the school as a container, but to the people who live and work in it: the students, the teachers, the parents, the administrators and all the staff. At the beginning of your history there was the insight that only by associating, walking together, can one improve the school, which by its nature is a community, a community in need of the contribution of everyone. Your founders lived in times when the values of the person and of democratic citizenship needed to be witnessed and strengthened, for the good of all; and also the value of educational freedom. Never forget where you come from, but do not walk with your head facing the other way, mourning times past! This is important. And what mustn’t you do, what was it? [They answer: “Never bully!”]. You have learned! Think instead of the present of the school, which is the future of society, getting to grips with an epoch change. Think of the young teachers who are taking their first steps in school, and of the families who feel alone in their educational task. To each one of them, propose your educational and associative style with humility and freshness; and what was it? [They answer: “No bullying!”] Do not forget this.

I encourage you to do all this together, with a sort of “pact between associations”, because in this way you can better bear witness to the face of the Church in the school and for the school. Hope never disappoints, never; hope is never still, it is always on the move, and makes us move. So, go forward confidently! I bless you all and those who make up the network of your associations. And do not forget to pray for me, and do not forget to…? [They answer: “Never bully!”]. You have learned! Thank you.

__________________

Holy See Press Office Daily Bulletin, 4 January 2025

 

SOCIAL JUSTICE

 

World Day of Social Justice:

 Why are we here if not to serve humanity?

On World Day of Social Justice, the CIDSE Secretary General reminds us that every decision we take and every new policy that is implemented have an impact on the lives and livelihoods of others, and that the crises we face today are interconnected.

-By Francesca Merlo

 Social Justice means equality and dignity for all. It means a system is put in place not only to protect but to aid choices people make, as well as to create an environment that keeps them safe and helps them flourish.

 World Day of Social Justice is celebrated annually on 20 February and its observance aims to do just that: to remind us, each year, of the need to build fairer, more equitable societies.

 A multiple crisis

Today, the main challenge we are facing within this realm, according to Josianne Gauthier, Secretary General of CIDSE, is that “we are speaking of a pluri-crisis”.

 On the frontline in the battle for social justice, CIDSE is an international family of Catholic social justice organisations working together for social justice, and Ms Gauthier explains that “we've gone from seeing that multiple crises we dealt with in the past are deeply interconnected.

 "Whether it's climate disruption, extreme poverty, violence, war and conflict over resources, gender, social and racial inequality," she says, adding they are all triggered by "power imbalances and a culture of waste, we're now recognizing that they are just one interconnected crisis of relationships between humans and between humans and the rest of creation”.

 Pope Francis' appeals

“Culture of waste” as Ms Gauthier notes, is a concept used often by Pope Francis, who has dedicated much of his pontificate to fighting the global indifference that causes injustices. In particular, Pope Francis continuously appeals for the protection of our common home that is threatened by climate change, for the protection and welcome of migrants and refugees, and he warns against what he describes as “the globalization of indifference” calling on richer countries to take concrete action to help the poor.

 Speaking of migration Ms Gauthier notes that when people are forced to leave their home country, because it’s uninhabitable and offers them no future, “we're facing a crisis of our own morality”.

 “How can we allow for other human beings to flee their homes due to our own political and economic choices that are impacting them and then turn them away when they cross the border and are in need of our solidarity?” she asks.

 "It's only a matter of justice!"

 An "opportunity"

Ms Gauthier invites everyone to see World Day of Social Justice as a unique opportunity to “take a pause and reflect on how we treat each other, how we can build more just relationships with each other and with life on this planet, which is our common home”.

 Pope Francis' call for social justice and human rights, according to Ms Gauthier, is “extremely relevant”, and it “should be the most important and resounding message for policymakers right now”.  She says she believes that policies must always be linked and rooted in how they affect people's lives, all of our lives, on a daily basis, because, she adds, “what else are we here for if it's not to serve humanity and make it a welcoming and just home for all?”

 Finally, Ms Gauthier reminds us that “it is not a game” and that working together, thinking of everyone, is a common and collective responsibility, which “Pope Francis does not tire of reminding us of”.

 Vatican News

 

MULTILATERALISM, FRATERNITY NEEDED ON PATH TOWARD BETTER SOCIETY

The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, highlights key elements central to ongoing efforts toward achieving a fraternal society envisioned by Pope Francis in his Encyclical "Fratelli tutti." He reflects on the themes of healthcare, refugees, work, international humanitarian law and disarmament during a high-level online meeting held on Thursday, themed: "Fraternity, Multilateralism and Peace."

By Fr. Benedict Mayaki, SJ

Cardinal Pietro Parolin gave a discourse on Thursday, focusing on important themes in Pope Francis’s latest Encyclical, Fratelli tutti, in order to reflect on the impact that the crisis generated by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic is having on the international community and the entire human family.

The high-level online event on “Fraternity, Multilateralism and Peace” was divided into two panels. The first, dedicated to the importance of multilateralism, saw Cardinal Parolin and UN officials reflect on this important theme. The second panel, opened by a discourse from the President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Cardinal Miguel Ayuso Guixot, analyzed how interreligious dialogue can contribute to promoting a culture of social justice, dialogue and peace on the path toward human fraternity.

The virtual meeting was organized by the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations and promoted by the Mission of the Order of Malta to the UN in Geneva, with the collaboration of the International Catholic Migration Commission, the Forum of Catholic NGOs, the Caritas in Veritate Foundation, as well as the Pontifical Lateran University.

Fraternity at center of Holy See’s diplomatic actions

In his discourse, Cardinal Parolin highlighted that to fully understand the concept of fraternity and its place in the Holy See’s multilateral diplomatic action, it is important to recall that fraternity was the first theme Pope Francis referred to on the day of his election as Pope, eight years ago. On that day in fact, Pope Francis said: “Let us always pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world, that there may be a great spirit of fraternity.”

“All the subsequent actions and activities of the Pontificate have been a natural and coherent consequence of a path oriented towards it,” Cardinal Parolin said.

Re-echoing Pope Francis’ 2017 message to the President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, Cardinal Parolin noted that “while solidarity is the principle of social planning that allows the unequal to become equal; fraternity is what allows the equal to be different people. Fraternity allows people who are equal in their essence, dignity, freedom, and their fundamental rights to participate differently in the common good according to their abilities, their life plan, their vocation, their work, or their charism of service.”

In the same regard, continued the Cardinal, fraternity, when applied to multilateral action, translates into “the courage and generosity to freely establish certain common goals and to ensure their fulfilment of certain essential norms throughout the world” while maintaining faith with legitimately manifested will and resolving disputes through means offered by diplomacy, to achieve “a truly universal common good and the protection of weaker states.”

Therefore, in the present time – one year after the start of the pandemic - fraternity is important to help overcome the current dichotomy between the “code of efficiency” and the “code of solidarity”, as it pushes the world towards “an even more demanding and inclusive code,” Cardinal Parolin stressed.

Equal access to healthcare

In line with efforts towards achieving fraternity, Cardinal Parolin went on to propose some reflections on access to healthcare, refugees, work, international humanitarian law and disarmament.

As regards healthcare, the Vatican Secretary of State highlighted the “indissoluble bond” experienced around the world in the past year due to the pandemic, which has aroused the awareness that we are in the same boat and that the suffering of one affects all. He however lamented that this bond has given way to a race for vaccines and treatments at national levels, further making evident the gap in access to healthcare between developed countries and the rest of the world.

On this issue, Cardinal Parolin noted that the Holy See has issued a set of guidelines, inspired by a conviction of the importance of fraternity. Also from this perspective, the Cardinal emphasized that “the international community has an obligation to ensure that any Covid-19 vaccine and treatment is safe, available, accessible and affordable to all who need it.”

Care for refugees

“Attention to the neediest and those in vulnerable situations, especially refugees, migrants and internally displaced persons, is not only a testimony of fraternity, but a recognition of a concern for the real needs of our sisters and brothers,” the Vatican Secretary of State affirmed.

Recalling Pope Francis’ incessant appeals to leaders and international organizations for a globalization of solidarity capable of supplanting indifference, he bemoaned the suffering of refugees which continues to be a “wound in the social fabric of the international community” even in the year that marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).               

The Cardinal went on to reaffirm the Holy See’s support for the underlying vision of the Global Compact on Refugees which seeks to strengthen international cooperation through equitable sharing of responsibility for a sustainable solution to refugee situations.

Workers, hard-hit by pandemic

Another group significantly impacted by global pandemic containment strategies is workers, including informal workers, small business owners and traders, “who have seen an erosion of their savings and have often faced systematic barriers to accessing basic health care,” Cardinal Parolin pointed out.

To respond to this, he proposed that the traditional format of social dialogue be expanded to include the involvement of workers’ and employers’ organizations, complemented by actors in the informal economy, as well as a consideration for environmental protection.

Citing Fratelli tutti, the Cardinal insisted that we need to think about “social, political and economic participation that can include popular movements and invigorate local, national and international governing structures with that torrent of moral energy that springs from including the excluded in the building of a common destiny.”

Need to strengthen international humanitarian law

Cardinal Parolin went on to re-emphasize the importance of strengthening and promoting a respect for humanitarian law, stressing that it aims to safeguard the essential principles of humanity, protect civilians and ban the use of certain weapons in the context of war, which itself, is inhuman and dehumanizing.

He recalled that Henry Durant, the founder of the Red Cross, was inspired by a sense of fraternity when he convinced local populations and volunteers to provide aid to parties in conflict regardless of their affiliation. He added that in the same vein, the Geneva Conventions of 1949 represent an implicit recognition of the bond of fraternity that unites peoples, as well an acknowledgement of the need to set limits in conflicts.

In this regard, the Cardinal reiterated the Holy See’s hopes that States will achieve further development in humanitarian law “in order to take proper account of the characteristics of contemporary armed conflicts and the physical, moral and spiritual suffering that goes with them, with the aim of eliminating conflicts altogether.”

Disarmament

“The desire for peace, security and stability is in fact one of the deepest desires of the human heart, since it is rooted in the Creator, who makes all peoples members of the human family,” Cardinal Parolin said.

This aspiration, he insisted, cannot be satisfied by military means alone, and even less by the possession of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction.

He further noted that “it is not rhetorical to say that war is the antithesis of fraternity as “conflicts always cause suffering” – in those who experience them, but also in those who fight in them.

Despite some encouraging signs, including the re-entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, Cardinal Parolin laments the huge amounts allocated to armaments, pointing out that the disproportion between the material resources and human talents dedicated to the service of death and the resources dedicated to the service of life is a cause for scandal.

The Cardinal therefore seized the opportunity presented by the online event to reiterate the Holy See’s encouragement for efforts by States in the field of disarmament and arms control towards lasting peace and nuclear disarmament.

Concluding his discourse, the Vatican Secretary of State noted that it is not enough to proclaim commitment or encourage efforts in response to these great challenges, rather we are invited to respond concretely through individual responsibility and the capacity to share in a reciprocity of relationships through a spirit of fraternity that will help to overcome isolation. He added that that Pope Francis’ calls demand a presence and conduct that “responds to the actuality of relations between states and between peoples, especially when attitudes that abandon the vision of the common good seem to prevail.”

Vatican News

MESSAGE

 

EU - BISHOPS CALL FOR SOLIDARITY AND HOPE ON PATH TOWARDS BETTER FUTURE

The Bishops Conferences of Europe highlight the values of solidarity, fraternity and unity as keystones to guiding the continent’s path to a better society.

 FR - DE - IT - ES  

 By Vatican News staff writer

 The Bishops of Europe have addressed a message of hope and a call to solidarity to European Institutions and Member states amid the health crisis that has overwhelmed the world these past months.

In a message released on Wednesday under their umbrella body, COMECE, they reiterated their commitment to the construction of Europe and to its founding values of “solidarity, freedom, inviolability of the human dignity, democracy, rule of law, equality and defence and promotion of human rights.”

Inspired by Christian faith, which “is the ultimate foundation of our hope and universal brotherhood,” the Bishops also reaffirm their will to strive, together with other sister Churches and ecclesial communities, to “build a universal fraternity that leaves no one out.”

The Covid-19 pandemic

Highlighting some of the wide-ranging effects of the Covid-19 health crisis, they noted that the pandemic has shaken many “previous securities and has revealed our vulnerability and our interconnectedness.”

Many, the Bishops noted, were worried that the EU itself “as an economic, political, social and cultural project, was at risk.”

However, propelled by the realization that everyone is in the same boat and we can only save ourselves by staying together, the EU is demonstrating its capacity to rediscover the spirit of the Founding Fathers and is beginning to respond in a united manner. This spirit, the Bishops hope, will be reflected in the Covid-19 recovery instrument and the reinforced EU budget for 2021 – 2027.

A new mindset

The future of the European Union does not depend only on economy and finance, but also on a common spirit and a new mindset, the Bishops stressed.

In this regard, efforts should not be simply devoted to returning to the “old normal.” Instead, the continent must take advantage of the crisis to bring about a “radical change for the better” by rethinking the present models of globalization, guaranteeing respect for the environment, openness to life, social equality, protecting the dignity of workers and the rights of future generations.

The Bishops also pointed out that Pope Francis’ Encyclicals Laudato sí and Fratelli tutti can be a source of inspiration for shaping a new civilization. In Fratelli tutti, the Bishops note, Pope Francis “calls on the whole of humanity to universal brotherhood and social friendship, not forgetting those on the margins, wounded and suffering”. At the same time, the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, with their emphasis on human dignity, solidarity, preferential option for the poor and sustainability, can guide the path to building a different economic model in a post-pandemic society.

Solidarity

COMECE stressed the importance of solidarity as a fundamental principle of the Social Doctrine of the Church as well as being at the core of the European Integration process.

Solidarity, the Bishops said, “is to be understood in terms of ‘doing together’ and as ‘being open to integrate everyone’,” including those on the margins.

In this light, the Bishops appealed for the Covid-19 vaccine, when it becomes available, to be accessible to all, especially to the poor. They also called for increased humanitarian aid and development cooperation, and for military spending to the redirected towards health and social services.

Care for Migrants and refugees

The European Bishops noted that solidarity towards refugees should not only involve funding but extended to include “opening up the borders of the European Union proportionally by each Member State.”

They proposed that the Pact on Migration and Asylum presented by the EU can be a step toward establishing a common and just policy on migration. However, they said, it must also be carefully evaluated. Besides, certain principles and international legal obligations have to be respected “regardless of the persons involved.”

On this issue, the Bishops recommend collaboration with Church institutions and private associations already working in this field.

They further stressed the respect for the freedom of religion of believers, in particular, “the freedom to gather together to exercise their freedom of worship, in full respect of sanitary requirements” during the pandemic.

Post-pandemic society

During these months of pandemic, the Bishops note that they have witnessed “so many signs that open us up to hope,” from the work of health personnel, to caregivers for the elderly and the gestures of ecclesial communities - notwithstanding the difficult moments, including times of suffering, loneliness and sometimes, death.

The Bishops recalled Pope Francis’ Urbi et Orbi message on Easter Sunday when he noted that Europe was able to rise again and overcome the rivalries of the past after the Second World War. For the Pope, they noted, it is important that “these rivalries do not regain force, but that all recognize themselves as part of a single family and support one another.”

Therefore, whether the world will be better or worse after the crisis, or whether we will come out strengthened in solidarity or not, the depends on us, the Bishops stressed.

Concluding, the European Bishops expressed their hope that Europe can come out from this crisis “stronger, wiser, more united, exercising more solidarity, caring more for our common home, being a continent that pushes the whole world forward towards greater fraternity, justice, peace and equality.”

 Vatican News

THE BISHOPS MESSAGE 

Download the statement in EN - FR - DE - IT - ES  

 

 

TOWARDS A PARTICIPATORY SOCIETY: NEW ROADS TO SOCIAL AND CULTURAL INTEGRATION

 THE PONTIFICAL ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Plenary Session 28 April-2 May 2017 – Since the beginning of his Pontificate, Pope Francis has asked our Academy to give more attention to the poor, the marginalized, the sick, the suffering, and to make a renewed commitment to fight all forms of social marginalization and exclusion. This Plenary will respond to his call by seeking to deepen our understanding and explanation of the reasons for social exclusion and, above all, to suggest practicable steps for promoting a thorough-going social and cultural integration, which we have termed the ‘participatory society’. Unlike other meetings that are focused on particular problems, this Plenary will address the topic from the broadest vantage point, emphasizing new ways to promote the full participation of people in society, meaning participation in all spheres of civil and political society.

The aim is not only to make the current structure of societies more participatory, but also to outline the characteristics of a participatory society capable of promoting the dignity of the human person in a context oriented to the common good and based on the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity. One aspect has to do with dissatisfaction with existing ideas for progressive social transformation that are incapable of avoiding recurring processes of exclusion and marginalization of entire populations, generations and social groups on a world scale. The other aspect is the need to develop a genuine concept of participation in social life and highlight the best practices that can lead the society toward a good life for all in the different realms: in the economy, in the political institutions, in the cultural dynamics that are now heavily influenced by the spread of information and communication technologies.

Through such research, we do not pretend to be elaborating a new empirical model of participatory society. Instead, our aim is rather to highlight the structural elements that would enable any given social system to develop into a more participatory .....

Read: A PARTECIPATORY SOCIETY

POPE FRANCIS' MESSAGE

Pope Francis: :DO NOT DISCARD THE MAN, BUT A FRATERNAL AND COOPERATIVE GLOBALIZATION

Before all else, I would restate my conviction that a world economic system that discards men, women and children because they are no longer considered useful or productive according to criteria drawn from the world of business or other organizations, is unacceptable, because it is inhumane. This lack of concern for persons is a sign of regression and dehumanization in any political or economic system. Those who cause or allow others to be discarded – that’s a boomerang! The truth is that, sooner or later, they will be discarded - whether refugees, children who are abused or enslaved, or the poor who die on our streets in cold weather – become themselves like soulless machines. For they implicitly accept the principle that they too, sooner or later, will be discarded, when they no longer prove useful to a society that has made mammon, the god of money, the centre of its attention.

En primer lugar quisiera reiterar que es inaceptable, porque es inhumano, un sistema económico mundial que descarta a hombres, mujeres y niños, por el hecho de que no parezcan útiles según los criterios de rentabilidad de las empresas u otras organizaciones. Precisamente este descartar a las personas comporta la regresión y la deshumanización de cualquier sistema político y económico: los que causan o permiten el descarte de los demás —los refugiados, los niños abusados ​​o esclavos, los pobres que mueren en la calle cuando hace frío— se convierten en máquinas sin alma, aceptando implícitamente el principio de que ellos también, tarde o temprano, serán descartados. ¡Esto es un boomerang! Pero es verdad: antes o después ellos serán descartados, cuando ya no sean útiles a una sociedad que ha puesto en el centro al dios dinero.

Je voudrais avant tout répéter qu’un système économique mondial qui met au rebut hommes, femmes et enfants, parce qu’ils semblent ne plus être utiles selon les critères de rentabilité des entreprises ou d’autres organisations, est inacceptable, parce qu’inhumain. Cette mise au rebut des personnes constitue précisément la régression et la déshumanisation de tout système politique et économique : ceux qui causent ou permettent le rejet des autres — réfugiés, enfants victimes d’abus ou esclavagisés, pauvres qui meurent dans la rue quand il fait froid — deviennent eux-mêmes des machines sans âme, acceptant implicitement le principe qu’eux aussi, tôt ou tard, seront écartés — cela est un boomerang! Mais c’est la vérité : tôt ou tard, il seront écartés — quand ils ne seront plus utiles à une société qui a mis au centre le dieu argent.

ADDRESS POPE FRANCIS - DISCURSO DEL SANTO PADRE - DISCOURS DU PAPE FRANCOIS