Quotes: Religious Truths, Values, and Culture

"Thus one crucial measure of the success or failure of the educational ministry is how well it enables men to hear the message of hope contained in the Gospel, to base their love and service of God upon this message, to achieve a vital personal relationship with Christ, and to share the Gospel's realistic view of the human condition which recognizes the fact of evil and personal sin while affirming hope." (To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #8)

"The Church, too, must use contemporary methods and language to proclaim the message of Christ to men and women today. The proclamation of the message is therefore 'not a mere repetition of ancient doctrine' (General Catechetical Directory)." (To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #18)

"Where this [proclaiming the Gospel of Christ in our times] is a summons to change, we must be willing to change. Where this is a call to stand firm, we must not yield." (To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #41)

"Christian education is intended to 'make men's faith become living, conscious, and active, through the light of instruction' (The Bishops' Office in the Church, 14). The Catholic school is the unique setting within which this ideal can be realized in the lives of Catholic children and young people." (To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #102)

"The Catholic school 'strives to relate all human culture eventually to the news of salvation, so that the life of faith will illumine the knowledge which students gradually gain of the world, of life, and of mankind' (Christian Education, 8)." (To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #103)

"Here, too, [in the Catholic school] instruction in religious truth and values is an integral part of the school program. It is not one more subject alongside the rest, but instead it is perceived and functions as the underlying reality in which the student's experiences of learning and living achieve their coherence and their deepest meaning." (To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #103)

"This integration of religious truth and values with life distinguishes the Catholic school from other schools. This is a matter of crucial importance today in view of contemporary trends and pressures to compartmentalize life and learning and to isolate the religious dimension of existence from other areas of human life." (To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #105)

"[The Catholic school is unique because it is distinguished]...by its total design and operation which foster the integration of religion with the rest of learning and living." (To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #106)

"[The Catholic school is]...contemporary because it enables students to address with Christian insight the multiple problems which face individuals and society today." (To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #106)

"The program of studies in a Catholic school reflects the importance which the school and sponsoring community attach to Christian formation." (To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #107)

"Most important, the commitment of Catholic schools to Christian values and the Christian moral code renders a profound service to society which depends on spiritual values and good moral conduct for its very survival."
(To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #111)

"The tendency to emphasize one aspect [high quality academic instruction] at the expense of the other [total Christian formation] has given way to recognition that both are necessary and possible, and indeed are being accomplished in Catholic schools." (Teach Them, 1976, p. 5)

"Indeed, culture is only educational when young people can relate their study to real-life situations with which they are familiar." (The Catholic School, 1977, #27)

"...the school is an institution where young people gradually learn to open themselves up to life as it is, and to create in themselves a definite attitude to life as it should be." (The Catholic School, 1977, #31)

"...[a school is] a place where one has presented an array of values which are actively lived."
(The Catholic School, 1977, #32)

"Its [the Catholic school's] duty to cultivate human values in their own legitimate right in accordance with its particular mission to serve all men has its origin in the figure of Christ. He is the One Who ennobles man, gives meaning to human life, and is the Model which the Catholic school offers to its pupils." (The Catholic School, 1977, #35)

"These premises indicate the duties and the content of the Catholic school. Its task is fundamentally a synthesis of culture and faith [and a synthesis of faith and life]...the first is reached by integrating all the different aspects of human knowledge through the subjects taught, in the light of the Gospel." (The Catholic School, 1977, #37)

"In helping pupils to achieve through the medium of its teaching an integration of faith and culture, the Catholic school sets out with a deep awareness of the value of knowledge as such. Under no circumstances does it wish to divert the imparting of knowledge from its rightful objective." (The Catholic School, 1977, #38)

"Their aim [individual subjects areas] is not merely the attainment of knowledge but the acquisition of values and the discovery of truth." (The Catholic School, 1977, #39)

"The teacher can form the mind and heart of his pupils and guide them to develop a total commitment to Christ, with their whole personality enriched by human culture." (The Catholic School, 1977, #40)

"The school considers human knowledge as a truth to be discovered." (The Catholic School, 1977, #41)

"In the measure in which subjects are taught by someone who knowingly and without restraint seeks the truth, they are to that extent Christian." (The Catholic School, 1977, #41)

"Discovery and awareness of truth leads man to the discovery of Truth itself." (The Catholic School, 1977, #41)

"A teacher who is full of Christian wisdom, well prepared in his own subject, does more than convey the sense of what he is teaching to his pupils. Over and above what he says, he guides his pupils beyond his mere words to the heart of total Truth." (The Catholic School, 1977, #41)

"The cultural heritage of mankind includes other values apart from the specific ambient of truth. When the Christian teacher helps a pupil to grasp, appreciate and assimilate these values, he is guiding him towards eternal realities. This movement towards the Uncreated Source of all knowledge highlights the importance of teaching for the growth of faith." (The Catholic School, 1977, #42)

"For all these reasons, Catholic schools must be seen as 'meeting places for those who wish to express Christian values in education.'" (The Catholic School, 1977, #53)

"The Catholic school, far more than any other, must be a community whose aim is the transmission of values for living." (The Catholic School, 1977, #53)

"Knowledge is not to be considered as a means of material prosperity and success, but as a call to serve and to be responsible for others." (The Catholic School, 1977, #56)

"Belief can also be expressed in the visual arts, in poetry and literature, in music and architecture, in philosophy, and scientific or technological achievements. These, too, can be signs of God's presence, continuations of His creative activity, instruments by which believers glorify Him and give witness to the world concerning the faith that is in them." (The Catholic School, 1977, #59)

"Its nature as a Christian educational community, the scope of its teaching, and the effort to integrate all learning with faith distinguish the Catholic school from other forms of the Church's educational ministry to youth and give it special impact." (Sharing the Light of Faith, 1979, #232)

"In Catholic schools children and young people 'can experience learning and living fully integrated in the light of faith,' because such schools strive 'to relate all human culture eventually to the news of salvation, so that the life of faith will illumine the knowledge which students gradually gain of the world, of life and of mankind.'" (Sharing the Light of Faith, 1979, #232)

"Faith will provide Catholic educators with some essential principles for critique and evaluation [of culture]: faith will help them to see all of human history as a history of salvation which culminates in the fullness of the kingdom. This puts culture into a creative context, constantly being perfected." (Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 1982, #20)

"New horizons will be opened to students through the responses that Christian revelation brings to questions about the ultimate meaning of the human person, of human life, of history, and of the world. These must be offered to the students as responses which flow out of the profound faith of the educator, but at the same time with the greatest sensitive respect for the conscience of each student." (Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 1982, #28)

"It must never be forgotten, during the days of formation, that the role of a teacher is to present the class material in such a way that students can easily discover a dialogue between faith and culture, and gradually be led to a personal synthesis of these." (Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 1982, #64)

"...it [the Catholic school] tries to relate all of human culture to the good news of salvation so that the light of faith will illumine everything that the students will gradually come to learn about the world, about life, and about the human person." (The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 1988, #1)

"A Catholic school is not simply a place where lessons are taught; it is a center that has an operative educational philosophy, attentive to the needs of today's youth and illumined by the gospel message. A thorough and exact knowledge of the real situation will suggest the best educational methods." (The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 1988, #22)

"We need to integrate what has already been learned, and respond to the questions which come from the restless and critical minds of the young." (The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 1988, #23)

"We need to break through the wall of indifference, and at the same time be ready to help those who are doing well to discover a 'better way,' offering them a knowledge that also embraces Christian wisdom." (The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 1988, #23)

"The specific methods and the steps used to accomplish the educational philosophy of the school will, therefore, be conditioned and guided by an intimate knowledge of each student's unique situation." (The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 1988, #23)

"The Catholic school is one of these pastoral instruments; its specific pastoral service consists in mediating between faith and culture: being faithful to the newness of the Gospel while at the same time respecting the autonomy and the methods proper to human knowledge." (The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 1988, #31)

"In a Catholic school, and analogously in every school, God cannot be the Great Absent One or the unwelcome intruder. The Creator does not put obstacles in the path of someone trying to learn more about the universe he created, a universe which is given new significance when seen with the eyes of faith." (The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 1988, #51)

"A Catholic secondary school will give special attention to the 'challenges' that human culture poses for faith. Students will be helped to attain that synthesis of faith and culture which is necessary for faith to be mature. But a mature faith is also able to recognize and reject cultural counter-values which threaten human dignity and are therefore contrary to the Gospel." (The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 1988, #52)

"The student who is able to discover the harmony between faith and science will, in future professional life, be better able to put science and technology to the service of men and women, and to the service of God. It is a way of giving back to God what he has first given to us." (The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 1988, #54)

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