28. Education and Society
45. Nature and Purpose of Education
“Education consists essentially in preparing man for what he must be and for what he must do here below, in order to attain the sublime end for which he was created.”1 Through education, humans acquire the habits that are needed to competently fulfill their proper operations and ends. Education thus extends to the different aspects of human activity: physical, intellectual, and moral. However, these aspects are not addressed separately, but integrated in the harmonious whole of the personality.
The last end to which all human acts are remotely ordained is God. Education, therefore, if properly understood, should lead to God. Every educational activity should lead to knowing and loving God more, and to the proper appreciation of moral values.2 Hence the fallacy of naturalist approaches, which see education as the mere spontaneous development of nature, and reject any need to comply with objective moral ends, which man would naturally discover through his reason and obey through his will.
Education is precisely respect for human values; it takes shape gradually, but can also be deformed if it is not properly protected. This education, according to the ancient and always valid Socratic concept, means drawing out the intimacy of the human spirit in order to bring it to the light, to life, to perfection. Consequently, it should not mean injecting poison into it, consciously fostering evil passions, contributing to the clouding or, even worse, to the oppression, to the debasement of human dignity.3
Besides this general content, each person will have to receive a specific education, in agreement with his individual abilities and with the culture and traditions of his local and national community. In this sense, education is not only a right, but also a serious duty for every person upon reaching the age of reason. “We must do everything possible to make all persons aware of their right to culture and their duty to develop themselves culturally and to help their fellows.”4
The betterment of society—made up of free and responsible persons—thus depends on the well-directed education of each individual. Education begins and ends in the recipient, and is possible only when his freedom is taken into account. It is the recipient who directs the immediate preparation of his powers for the stability and continuity of the acts that are involved in learning, and who guides their implementation. The educator has a merely auxiliary or cooperating role, as we will see later. The education of a society is the education of each of its members in all virtues: family, professional, social, civic, etc.
46. The Universal Right to Education
Education is an inalienable right of every person. It must be imparted in different ways, depending on the age, sex, culture, and professional level of the subject. At the same time, it should instill a respect for legitimate differences, and seek through them the underlying, deeper roots of the unity of mankind.
47. Roles of Family, State, and Church
The education of the person takes shape in the triple setting of the family, the state, and the Church. Each makes a specific contribution: the family and the state in the natural order, the Church in the supernatural order of grace. Man is born in a family, which is not a whole society (in the sense that it is not self-sufficient within its own order). The family thus needs the help of the state, which is a whole society (insofar as it has the means to fulfill its purpose: the temporal common good of its citizens). It is thus the role of the state to make it easier for the family to fulfill its primary educational mission. The Church, on the other hand, is also a whole society because it has all the means needed for her mission: the eternal salvation of people.
From such priority of rights on the part of the Church and of the family in the field of education, most important advantages, as we have seen, accrue to the whole of society. Moreover, in accordance with the divinely established order of things, no damage can follow from it to the true and just rights of the State in regard to the education of its citizens. These rights have been conferred upon civil society by the Author of nature Himself, not by title of fatherhood, as in the case of the Church and the family, but in virtue of the authority that the civil society possesses to promote the common temporal welfare, which is precisely the purpose of its existence. Consequently education cannot pertain to civil society in the same way in which it pertains to the Church and to the family, but in a different way corresponding to its own particular end and object.…
It is the right, or to speak more correctly, it is the duty of the State to protect in its legislation the prior rights … of the family as regards the Christian education of its offspring, and consequently also to respect the supernatural rights of the Church in this same realm of Christian education.5
47a) Family and Education
For as long as children cannot fend for themselves, the task and responsibility of their education falls on their parents.6 This is an original and fundamental right, and is prior to the state. The imposition of a state school for all children is therefore unjust, as is the failure of the state to offer parents the means to exercise their right to choose schools. This right is so sacred that even the Church, in spite of her being painfully aware of the necessity of Baptism for salvation, cannot violate it.
So jealous is she of the family’s inviolable natural right to educate the children, that she never consents, save under peculiar circumstances and with special cautions, to baptize the children of non-Christians, or provide for their education against the will of the parents, till such time as the children can choose for themselves and freely embrace the Faith.7
Parents exercise their educational role through example and instruction. Both means must go together. This family education is a preparation for the practice of virtues in the wider sphere of society, which children join as they grow up.
The self-giving that inspires the love of husband and wife for each other is the model and norm for the self-giving that must be practiced in the relationships between brothers and sisters and the different generations living together in the family. And the communion and sharing that are part of everyday life in the home at times of joy and at times of difficulty are the most concrete and effective pedagogy for the active, responsible and fruitful inclusion of the children in the wider horizon of society.8
Parents are especially suited for education, since nature has built in them a special concern and solicitude for their children. This will lead them to cherish their children, not for their external success or for any other particular dimension of their activity, but in themselves, for their own sake. Still, it is, above all, the sacramental grace of marriage that transforms parents into cooperators of the authority and love of God the Father and of Christ the Shepherd, as well as of the motherly love of the Church. At the same time, it enriches them with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as wisdom, counsel, and fortitude, which greatly help in their educational task.9
Parents must also make sure that the doctrinal formation that their children receive is sound. They must actually exercise their right—and obligation—to participate in the direction of their education.
47b) Church and Education
Besides the administration of the sacraments, the educational work of the Church is carried out through schools and charitable undertakings. These are humanizing channels that facilitate the transmission of the evangelical message. The Church has been instituted by Christ to propagate and continue his mission. On account of the divine origin of her power, she is independent of any earthly authority, both in her end and in the means that are necessary or appropriate for its fulfillment.10
The Church also has the right and duty to issue clarifying judgments on the teachings and educational policies of civil institutions, based on the doctrine and morals that she has received in trust. “Nor should the exercise of this right be considered undue interference, but rather maternal care on the part of the Church.”11
The mission of the Church extends to all people, not just to the faithful, since Christ wants that all be saved and that all congregate in the sole ecclesial community. The universality of the educational mission of the Church is based both on the moral aspect of the content of her teaching and on its application to all people. It is made possible because the supernatural order, far from opposing the intellectual and moral nature of man, is built upon it. Grace does not destroy nature, but elevates it.
A consequence of this is the advisability of cooperation between the three institutions that are involved in education—the family, the state, and the Church—insofar as the moral and theological virtues are practiced and developed in the family and at school as well. The respect that is due to all consciences does not imply that a Christian should refrain from energetically professing his faith whenever necessary. Neither should he give up his effort to practice in all spheres of his life the demands of Christian life, as taught by the Church.
True ecumenical activity means openness, drawing closer, availability for dialogue, and a shared investigation of the truth in the full evangelical and Christian sense; but in no way does it or can it mean giving up or in any way diminishing the treasures of divine truth that the Catholic Church has constantly confessed and taught.12
47c) State and Education
In the field of education, the state has a subsidiary role of protection and promotion. The application of the principle of subsidiarity to this area has two consequences. On the one hand, the state must promote and foster private initiative. On the other hand, it must take over the tasks that exceed the possibilities of private initiative,13 always respecting, however, the free choice of school by families.14 It must pay a special attention to the education of the underprivileged.
It is the duty of the state to ensure that all its citizens have access to an adequate education and are prepared for the proper exercise of their civic rights and duties. The state itself, therefore, should safeguard the rights of children to an adequate education in schools. It should be vigilant about the ability of the teachers and the standard of teaching. It should watch over the health of the pupils and in general promote the work of the schools in its entirety. In this, however, the principle of subsidiarity must be borne in mind.15
In general, it is the right and duty of the State to protect, according to the rules of right reason and faith, the moral and religious education of youth.… It pertains to the State, in view of the common good, to promote in various ways the education and instruction of youth. It should begin by encouraging and assisting, of its own accord, the initiative and activity of the Church and the family, whose successes in this field have been clearly demonstrated by history and experience. It should moreover supplement their work whenever this falls short of what is necessary, even by means of its own schools and institutions.… Over and above this, the State can exact, and take measures to secure that all its citizens have the necessary knowledge of their civic and political duties, and a certain degree of physical, intellectual and moral culture, which, considering the conditions of our times, is really necessary for the common good.16
47d) State Monopoly is Unjust
One of the demands of the principle of subsidiarity is that the state must not assume a monopoly of education.
Therefore there must be no monopoly of schools which would be prejudicial to the natural rights of the human person and would militate against the progress and extension of education, and the peaceful coexistence of citizens. It would, moreover, be inconsistent with the pluralism which exists today in many societies.17
If ideologies opposed to the Christian faith are taught in the schools, the family must join with other families, if possible through family associations, and with all its strength and with wisdom help the young not to depart from the faith.18
The freedom to choose a school is based on the natural primary right of parents to educate their children according to the values that are inspired by their faith. Pope John Paul II has affirmed “the right that belongs to all families to educate their children in schools that correspond to their view of the world, and in particular, the strict right of believing fathers not to see their children subject in the schools to programs inspired by atheism.”19
Footnotes:
1. Pius XI, Enc. Divini Illius Magistri, 5.
2. Cf. GE, 1.
3. John XXIII, Enc. Siamo Particolarmente, 13–14.
4. GS, 60.
5. Pius XI, Enc. Divini Illius Magistri, 22–23.
6. Cf. CCC, 2221–2231.
7. Pius XI, Enc. Divini Illius Magistri, 20.
8. John Paul II, Ap. Ex. Familiaris Consortio, 37.
9. Cf. Ibid., 38.
10. Cf. Pius XI, Enc. Divini Illius Magistri, 10.
11. Ibid., 13.
12. John Paul II, Enc. Redemptor Hominis, 6.
13. Cf. Pius XI, Enc. Divini Illius Magistri, 24.
14. Cf. GE, 6.
15. Ibid.; cf. CCC, 2211.
16. Pius XI, Enc. Divini Illius Magistri, 46–47.
17. GE, 6; cf. CCC, 1883, 2209.
18. John Paul II, Ap. Ex. Familiaris Consortio, 40.
19. John Paul II, Address to UNESCO, June 2, 1980.
“Education consists essentially in preparing man for what he must be and for what he must do here below, in order to attain the sublime end for which he was created.”1 Through education, humans acquire the habits that are needed to competently fulfill their proper operations and ends. Education thus extends to the different aspects of human activity: physical, intellectual, and moral. However, these aspects are not addressed separately, but integrated in the harmonious whole of the personality.
The last end to which all human acts are remotely ordained is God. Education, therefore, if properly understood, should lead to God. Every educational activity should lead to knowing and loving God more, and to the proper appreciation of moral values.2 Hence the fallacy of naturalist approaches, which see education as the mere spontaneous development of nature, and reject any need to comply with objective moral ends, which man would naturally discover through his reason and obey through his will.
Education is precisely respect for human values; it takes shape gradually, but can also be deformed if it is not properly protected. This education, according to the ancient and always valid Socratic concept, means drawing out the intimacy of the human spirit in order to bring it to the light, to life, to perfection. Consequently, it should not mean injecting poison into it, consciously fostering evil passions, contributing to the clouding or, even worse, to the oppression, to the debasement of human dignity.3
Besides this general content, each person will have to receive a specific education, in agreement with his individual abilities and with the culture and traditions of his local and national community. In this sense, education is not only a right, but also a serious duty for every person upon reaching the age of reason. “We must do everything possible to make all persons aware of their right to culture and their duty to develop themselves culturally and to help their fellows.”4
The betterment of society—made up of free and responsible persons—thus depends on the well-directed education of each individual. Education begins and ends in the recipient, and is possible only when his freedom is taken into account. It is the recipient who directs the immediate preparation of his powers for the stability and continuity of the acts that are involved in learning, and who guides their implementation. The educator has a merely auxiliary or cooperating role, as we will see later. The education of a society is the education of each of its members in all virtues: family, professional, social, civic, etc.
46. The Universal Right to Education
Education is an inalienable right of every person. It must be imparted in different ways, depending on the age, sex, culture, and professional level of the subject. At the same time, it should instill a respect for legitimate differences, and seek through them the underlying, deeper roots of the unity of mankind.
47. Roles of Family, State, and Church
The education of the person takes shape in the triple setting of the family, the state, and the Church. Each makes a specific contribution: the family and the state in the natural order, the Church in the supernatural order of grace. Man is born in a family, which is not a whole society (in the sense that it is not self-sufficient within its own order). The family thus needs the help of the state, which is a whole society (insofar as it has the means to fulfill its purpose: the temporal common good of its citizens). It is thus the role of the state to make it easier for the family to fulfill its primary educational mission. The Church, on the other hand, is also a whole society because it has all the means needed for her mission: the eternal salvation of people.
From such priority of rights on the part of the Church and of the family in the field of education, most important advantages, as we have seen, accrue to the whole of society. Moreover, in accordance with the divinely established order of things, no damage can follow from it to the true and just rights of the State in regard to the education of its citizens. These rights have been conferred upon civil society by the Author of nature Himself, not by title of fatherhood, as in the case of the Church and the family, but in virtue of the authority that the civil society possesses to promote the common temporal welfare, which is precisely the purpose of its existence. Consequently education cannot pertain to civil society in the same way in which it pertains to the Church and to the family, but in a different way corresponding to its own particular end and object.…
It is the right, or to speak more correctly, it is the duty of the State to protect in its legislation the prior rights … of the family as regards the Christian education of its offspring, and consequently also to respect the supernatural rights of the Church in this same realm of Christian education.5
47a) Family and Education
For as long as children cannot fend for themselves, the task and responsibility of their education falls on their parents.6 This is an original and fundamental right, and is prior to the state. The imposition of a state school for all children is therefore unjust, as is the failure of the state to offer parents the means to exercise their right to choose schools. This right is so sacred that even the Church, in spite of her being painfully aware of the necessity of Baptism for salvation, cannot violate it.
So jealous is she of the family’s inviolable natural right to educate the children, that she never consents, save under peculiar circumstances and with special cautions, to baptize the children of non-Christians, or provide for their education against the will of the parents, till such time as the children can choose for themselves and freely embrace the Faith.7
Parents exercise their educational role through example and instruction. Both means must go together. This family education is a preparation for the practice of virtues in the wider sphere of society, which children join as they grow up.
The self-giving that inspires the love of husband and wife for each other is the model and norm for the self-giving that must be practiced in the relationships between brothers and sisters and the different generations living together in the family. And the communion and sharing that are part of everyday life in the home at times of joy and at times of difficulty are the most concrete and effective pedagogy for the active, responsible and fruitful inclusion of the children in the wider horizon of society.8
Parents are especially suited for education, since nature has built in them a special concern and solicitude for their children. This will lead them to cherish their children, not for their external success or for any other particular dimension of their activity, but in themselves, for their own sake. Still, it is, above all, the sacramental grace of marriage that transforms parents into cooperators of the authority and love of God the Father and of Christ the Shepherd, as well as of the motherly love of the Church. At the same time, it enriches them with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as wisdom, counsel, and fortitude, which greatly help in their educational task.9
Parents must also make sure that the doctrinal formation that their children receive is sound. They must actually exercise their right—and obligation—to participate in the direction of their education.
47b) Church and Education
Besides the administration of the sacraments, the educational work of the Church is carried out through schools and charitable undertakings. These are humanizing channels that facilitate the transmission of the evangelical message. The Church has been instituted by Christ to propagate and continue his mission. On account of the divine origin of her power, she is independent of any earthly authority, both in her end and in the means that are necessary or appropriate for its fulfillment.10
The Church also has the right and duty to issue clarifying judgments on the teachings and educational policies of civil institutions, based on the doctrine and morals that she has received in trust. “Nor should the exercise of this right be considered undue interference, but rather maternal care on the part of the Church.”11
The mission of the Church extends to all people, not just to the faithful, since Christ wants that all be saved and that all congregate in the sole ecclesial community. The universality of the educational mission of the Church is based both on the moral aspect of the content of her teaching and on its application to all people. It is made possible because the supernatural order, far from opposing the intellectual and moral nature of man, is built upon it. Grace does not destroy nature, but elevates it.
A consequence of this is the advisability of cooperation between the three institutions that are involved in education—the family, the state, and the Church—insofar as the moral and theological virtues are practiced and developed in the family and at school as well. The respect that is due to all consciences does not imply that a Christian should refrain from energetically professing his faith whenever necessary. Neither should he give up his effort to practice in all spheres of his life the demands of Christian life, as taught by the Church.
True ecumenical activity means openness, drawing closer, availability for dialogue, and a shared investigation of the truth in the full evangelical and Christian sense; but in no way does it or can it mean giving up or in any way diminishing the treasures of divine truth that the Catholic Church has constantly confessed and taught.12
47c) State and Education
In the field of education, the state has a subsidiary role of protection and promotion. The application of the principle of subsidiarity to this area has two consequences. On the one hand, the state must promote and foster private initiative. On the other hand, it must take over the tasks that exceed the possibilities of private initiative,13 always respecting, however, the free choice of school by families.14 It must pay a special attention to the education of the underprivileged.
It is the duty of the state to ensure that all its citizens have access to an adequate education and are prepared for the proper exercise of their civic rights and duties. The state itself, therefore, should safeguard the rights of children to an adequate education in schools. It should be vigilant about the ability of the teachers and the standard of teaching. It should watch over the health of the pupils and in general promote the work of the schools in its entirety. In this, however, the principle of subsidiarity must be borne in mind.15
In general, it is the right and duty of the State to protect, according to the rules of right reason and faith, the moral and religious education of youth.… It pertains to the State, in view of the common good, to promote in various ways the education and instruction of youth. It should begin by encouraging and assisting, of its own accord, the initiative and activity of the Church and the family, whose successes in this field have been clearly demonstrated by history and experience. It should moreover supplement their work whenever this falls short of what is necessary, even by means of its own schools and institutions.… Over and above this, the State can exact, and take measures to secure that all its citizens have the necessary knowledge of their civic and political duties, and a certain degree of physical, intellectual and moral culture, which, considering the conditions of our times, is really necessary for the common good.16
47d) State Monopoly is Unjust
One of the demands of the principle of subsidiarity is that the state must not assume a monopoly of education.
Therefore there must be no monopoly of schools which would be prejudicial to the natural rights of the human person and would militate against the progress and extension of education, and the peaceful coexistence of citizens. It would, moreover, be inconsistent with the pluralism which exists today in many societies.17
If ideologies opposed to the Christian faith are taught in the schools, the family must join with other families, if possible through family associations, and with all its strength and with wisdom help the young not to depart from the faith.18
The freedom to choose a school is based on the natural primary right of parents to educate their children according to the values that are inspired by their faith. Pope John Paul II has affirmed “the right that belongs to all families to educate their children in schools that correspond to their view of the world, and in particular, the strict right of believing fathers not to see their children subject in the schools to programs inspired by atheism.”19
Footnotes:
1. Pius XI, Enc. Divini Illius Magistri, 5.
2. Cf. GE, 1.
3. John XXIII, Enc. Siamo Particolarmente, 13–14.
4. GS, 60.
5. Pius XI, Enc. Divini Illius Magistri, 22–23.
6. Cf. CCC, 2221–2231.
7. Pius XI, Enc. Divini Illius Magistri, 20.
8. John Paul II, Ap. Ex. Familiaris Consortio, 37.
9. Cf. Ibid., 38.
10. Cf. Pius XI, Enc. Divini Illius Magistri, 10.
11. Ibid., 13.
12. John Paul II, Enc. Redemptor Hominis, 6.
13. Cf. Pius XI, Enc. Divini Illius Magistri, 24.
14. Cf. GE, 6.
15. Ibid.; cf. CCC, 2211.
16. Pius XI, Enc. Divini Illius Magistri, 46–47.
17. GE, 6; cf. CCC, 1883, 2209.
18. John Paul II, Ap. Ex. Familiaris Consortio, 40.
19. John Paul II, Address to UNESCO, June 2, 1980.