Catholic Education in the West: Roots, Reality, and Revival

By Philip Booth

Catholic education has played a major role in the development of Western nations, yet it is in many places in crisis. To bring about renewal, it is necessary to revisit the subject with an eye to fundamental questions. What is the purpose of education? What is distinctive about Catholic education? What is the right relationship between schools, parents, Church, and society?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Acton Institute
• Release date: Oct 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781938948657

Philip Booth

Philip Booth is Director of Catholic Mission and Professor of Finance, Public Policy and Ethics at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London.

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Catholic Education in the West:

Roots, Reality, and Revival

Christiaan Alting von Geusau

and Philip Booth

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2013 by Acton Institute

An imprint of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty

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CONTENTS

I. Introduction

II. What Is Catholic Education?

III. The Rise and Decline of Catholic Education

IV. Catholic Education and the State: Foundational Principles of Catholic Social Teaching

V. Practice in Various Countries

VI. The Road Ahead

VII. Conclusion

References

About the Authors

I

Introduction

Catholic education is a vast topic vastly misunderstood. Were one to ask a parent or teacher from any Western country what they consider to be the most important hallmark of the Catholic schools and universities that they know, likely answers would be academic quality, inclusiveness or the school being value-oriented. These aspects are, indeed, all very important, but they are not what a Catholic educational institution is primarily about. If it were, then little would distinguish a Catholic institution from many of its secular counterparts. There is, or should be, much more about Catholic education than meets the modern eye.

This monograph seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of the nature of Catholic education, to analyse the current unsatisfying state of affairs in Catholic education in the West as a whole, and to propose possible solutions as we move forward. Discussions about education policy at government level are informed by the foundational principles of Catholic social teaching and the particular way in which these foundational principles have been applied in documents published by the Church on the subject of education. This discussion is related to practice in a number of Western countries and policy conclusions are suggested.

However, though the public policy environment is important, simply ensuring that we have the right government policies in place is no guarantee of an education system fit for the purpose of educating and forming today’s young Catholics. Catholics themselves must take responsibility. As Catholics, we should already know what we are looking for: The kind of education we want is one that fits us to know the truth that will set us free.¹ It is Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life, who will set us free. Christ should thus be the centre of any Catholic educational initiative. Indeed, during one of his first public appearances after being elected pope in 2005, Benedict XVI, commenting on the outpouring of love for the deceased Blessed John Paul II by youth around the world, dispelled the notion that the young are only superficial and materialistic. To the contrary, he said, They want great things, good things. This is why young people are—you are—once again fully open to Christ.²

Notes

1. Stratford Caldecott, Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education (Tacoma, WA: Angelico Press, 2012), 8.

2. Address of Pope Benedict XVI to German pilgrims (25 April 2005).

* * * * *

II

What Is Catholic Education?

A regeneration of Christian culture is not only possible, says Catholic author and artist Michael O’Brien, it is our responsibility. This is so, he says, because we bear witness to the greatest story of all that in the words of Chesterton fulfils man’s greatest needs.¹ Catholic education, then, supporting parents in their role as the primary educators of their children, should aim to fulfil these needs; it can only do so when the story is told in the right way. Catholic education, in the words of Benedict XVI to educators in Washington, DC, in 2008, should first and foremost be a place where we encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming love and truth.² Here we have a very clear definition that leaves little doubt as to what the core message of every Catholic school and university should be. Curtis Hancock says the same in a different way: "For the Christian, then, God is the Alpha and Omega of education, a fact that gives the Christian knowledge and wisdom."³

How seriously do we take this profound understanding of Catholic education in the West today? Do students really encounter the living God in our Catholic schools and universities and are Christ’s love and truth indeed revealed to them in the classroom, the hallway and the library, let alone the chapel if it has not been turned into a meditation room or multi-faith centre? Are students introduced to the Word of God or to the word of secularism? Do they even know the difference? Are they fitted to deal with secularism, both in discourse with their neighbour and in its more aggressive form in the political sphere? Is God indeed the Alpha and Omega of our Catholic institutions of education? Do we take the words of Pope Benedict as literally as they are meant to be, or do we—publicly or privately—say that this is indeed a worthy ideal but hardly attainable in our secular and pluralistic society? After all, we can’t impose our views and the state—which is often funding Catholic schools and universities—demands what it describes as a neutral worldview.

During the past decades many—perhaps the majority—of those involved in Catholic education have compromised heavily the Christian identity and principles of their schools and universities because adhering to the rules for state funding have forced them to do so. They may have done so willingly or reluctantly, implicitly or explicitly, but the effect is the same. It is vital for the Catholic school to have a great deal of independence from the state to pursue a mission that is truly Catholic in all aspects and that treats the person as a whole and not as separate compartments each of which is educated according to different philosophies.

A more prevalent reason for the dramatic decline in Catholic identity is, however, the lack of faith formation and personal conviction of the faculty and leadership of many Catholic educational institutions. This decline has led to a Catholic population in the West today that, for the most part, is well-meaning but little (in)formed about the faith and its eternal wisdom. We see this development in spite of the fact that the Catholic Church and Catholics as such possess all the content, tools, and experience to offer the best possible education and human formation. The success of those educational institutions that have retained an uncompromised Catholic identity and mission are proof of the validity of Pope Benedict’s exhortation and the Church’s unrelenting teaching on this subject. Wherever it is