VATICAN CITY — As young people become more concerned with quick professional success and rely on social networks as a replacement for community, Pope Benedict XVI said that families and governments must work for the authentic education of students.
In a Dec. 13 address in the Vatican’s Clementine Hall to new ambassadors from Guinea, Niger, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Zambia, the Pope turned the diplomats’ attention to the “unprecedented” rifts in society that need to be addressed.
“Family and school no longer seem to be the first and natural fertile ground where younger generations can receive the lifeblood of their existence,” Pope Benedict said.
The Pope asserted that the “natural areas of society and communications” have been replaced by the “novelty” of social networking.
At the same time, he observed that many young people seem to be increasingly concerned with speedy economic success without paying attention to the “required skills, training and experience” needed to achieve such goals.
Modern technology has contributed to this dilemma, the Pope noted, saying that it makes the temptation to achieve success while “making the minimal effort” even greater than before.
Pope Benedict urged parents, educators and governments to respond to this situation by striving for a more balanced education of students, one that encourages “effort and perseverance through difficulties.”
He called the “education in correct values” a “right” that should “never be forgotten or denied” due to politics.
The Pope also asked the ambassadors to urge their leaders to courageously “work on the consolidation of moral authority” that is “necessary for a true and healthy upbringing of the younger generation.”
Such formation requires “the promotion of a sound anthropology, which is an indispensable basis for any genuine education, and consistent with the common natural heritage.”
The Holy Father noted that today many people ask the same question that Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?”
“Nowadays telling the truth makes you suspect, wanting to live the truth seems outdated, and promotion of the truth futile,” the Pope remarked.
Nonetheless, he said, “the future of humanity” rests in “the relationship of children and young people with truth.”
Comments
Post a Comment
Technology does add to the dilemma, as the Holy Father points out, especially when it is used to supplant the skills and rationale that have generally made a Catholic education a cut above public schools.
With libraries falling by the wayside, incursive writing skills a thing of the past and the continual rush for more and more technology, Catholic schools are increasingly becoming the same as their counterparts.
At the lower level, having students commit to memory certain skills (like Catholic prayers, multiplication tables, etc) are now being questioned: Why should we have students remember these things when they can use their I-pads to look them up? We need to teach students the “language” of the computer, expressions such as LOL and others, so they “can compete in the modern world.” Why have a library in school when they can find information on-line and a lot of it can be read for them by the computer? Have Stations of the Cross in your classrooms, having the entire school go over to the Church “wastes” too much time. (These are among some actual statements that have been made by Catholic school administrators.)
Following this logic, why bother sending students to school? Just make sure there is internet access for your computer and everything you need is at your fingertips.
One can only, frightfully, imagine what the next generation of Catholic laity will be like - just when you thought that the Vatican II generation had messed the Church up beyond all recognition, “you ain’t seen nothing yet!”
This is why the “CATECHISM of the CATHOLIC CHURCH, Second Edition” should be used as a required text for all seniors in High School, and all Catholic Universities and Colleges.
People can not pass on the truth, if they do not know the truth - of what the Church teaches in matters of Faith and Morals.
Younger Teens should use ‘Youcat’ or the “Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church” (both of which refer back to the CCC.)
Thank you, Heavenly Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the gift of Pope Benedict XVI! Amen!
Post a Comment
By submitting this form, you give The National Catholic Register permission to publish this comment. Comments will be published at our discretion, and may be edited for clarity and length. For best formatting, please limit your response to one paragraph and don't hit "enter" to force line breaks.
The time period for commenting on this article has expired.