In his address to a group of Indian bishops who are in Castel Gandolfo for their quinquennial visita ad limina, Pope Benedict XVI stressed the importance for the Church of educating the young, especially in the schools it runs, as a way to prepare them to bear witness in today’s Indian society to the values embedded in Christianity.
After reminding them that the “Church in India is blessed with a multitude of institutions, which are intended to be expressions of the love of God for humanity through the charity and example of the clergy, religious and lay faithful who staff them,” the pope focused on the “efforts made by the whole Christian community to prepare the young citizens of your noble country to build a more just and prosperous society”, efforts which “have long been a hallmark of the Church in your Dioceses and throughout India.”
“I encourage you,” he added, “to continue to pay close attention to the quality of instruction in the schools present in your Dioceses, to ensure that they be genuinely Catholic and therefore capable of passing on those truths and values necessary for the salvation of souls and the up-building of society.”
“The capacity to present the truth gently but firmly,” he explained, “is a gift to be nurtured especially among those who teach in Catholic institutes of higher education and those who are charged with the ecclesial task of educating seminarians, religious or the lay faithful, whether in theology, catechetical studies or Christian spirituality.”
“Those who teach in the name of the Church have a particular obligation faithfully to hand on the riches of the tradition, in accordance with the Magisterium and in a way that responds to the needs of today, while students have the right to receive the fullness of the intellectual and spiritual heritage of the Church.”
After reminding them that the “Church in India is blessed with a multitude of institutions, which are intended to be expressions of the love of God for humanity through the charity and example of the clergy, religious and lay faithful who staff them,” the pope focused on the “efforts made by the whole Christian community to prepare the young citizens of your noble country to build a more just and prosperous society”, efforts which “have long been a hallmark of the Church in your Dioceses and throughout India.”
“I encourage you,” he added, “to continue to pay close attention to the quality of instruction in the schools present in your Dioceses, to ensure that they be genuinely Catholic and therefore capable of passing on those truths and values necessary for the salvation of souls and the up-building of society.”
“The capacity to present the truth gently but firmly,” he explained, “is a gift to be nurtured especially among those who teach in Catholic institutes of higher education and those who are charged with the ecclesial task of educating seminarians, religious or the lay faithful, whether in theology, catechetical studies or Christian spirituality.”
“Those who teach in the name of the Church have a particular obligation faithfully to hand on the riches of the tradition, in accordance with the Magisterium and in a way that responds to the needs of today, while students have the right to receive the fullness of the intellectual and spiritual heritage of the Church.”