'Mission of the Church must guide, inform, and inspire the work of Catholic education,' priest says
Prairie Messenger
WINNIPEG (CCN)
For Catholic schools to fulfill the hopes and dreams of Pope Francis, they will have to make some noise and get dirty as they proclaim the joy of the Gospel.
"Catholic education exists to serve the mission of the Church, which is the proclamation of the Gospel," said Father Len Altilia, SJ. "There is no other reason for its existence.
"It is the only thing that distinguishes Catholic education from any other form of education, and that mission must be firmly established at the core of Catholic education, and not be simply some peripheral adjunct.
"From the highest levels of leadership to the classrooms and playgrounds and cafeterias, the mission of the Church must guide, inform, and inspire the work of Catholic education."
Father Altilia, president of St. Paul's High School in Winnipeg, was speaking to 400 Catholic educators and support staff Feb. 12.
"Is the compassionate love of Jesus Christ at the core of your work? Do people see in you a reflection of Jesus Christ?" he asked.
"You will be tested by government, by society, by parents. Your leadership will be judged by your responses. Only those responses that reflect the compassion, the joy, and the active love of Christ can be considered acceptable. Anything less is inadequate."
Pope Francis's vision is one of mercy, joy, and action, Father Altilia said. "These three themes, then, being at the centre of the mission of Pope Francis, and therefore of the Church, become of necessity the principal themes of the mission of Catholic education, as an embodiment of the mission of the Church under the leadership of the Pope."
He added the Pope wants the Church to "engage the world on its own turf, so if the Church is going to deal with that messiness it cannot respond 'by the book' unless that book is the Gospel."