Passion and Progress: Church and School Team Up To Educate: this newest publication by the Daughters of St. Paul of Italy was launched in the FSP Multimedia Center, Rome, at the end of April.
Present for the launch were Fr. Edmondo Lanciarotta, the book’s author, and Fr. Maurizio Viviani, director of the Italian Episcopal Conference’s National Office for Secondary and University Education. The book, a very helpful instrument for both parents and teachers, addresses the problem of education today–a particular challenge due to the characteristics of modern Western society. The presentation of the text was followed by a lively debate that highlighted the importance of education in various areas of pastoral work. The discussion revealed the urgent need for the Church to rethink and relaunch its activities in the field of education since she is a “community of teachers” at the service of all people.
As Pope Benedict XVI said: “Education is carried out in many crucial environments. Among these, the family holds a special and irreplaceable position, but no less important are other ambients such as the school (a common horizon above and beyond ideological choices), and the parish–the “village well”–a place in which Faith initiates and is woven into our daily relationships.”
