The pope will also publish a document on Oct. 28 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Gravissimum Educationis.
Leo’s document will “reflect on the topicality of the declaration and on the challenges that education must confront today, in particular the Catholic schools and universities,” de Mendonça said.
Gravissiumum Educationis, the cardinal said, is a “fundamental document with a strong impact on the contemporary vision of education. The document had a fundamental role in and outside of the Church, and it should be recognized.”
In addition to reaffirming the universal right to education, the Vatican II declaration marked “an important change in the language, that is, the mentality, for speaking about school, not in terms of institutions but rather in terms of educational communities,” he added.
The cardinal quoted at length from the pope’s document to be published Oct. 28, which says that Gravissimum Educationis “has lost none of its bite” since its publication.
“Since its reception, a constellation of works and charisms has been born ... a spiritual and pedagogical heritage capable of crossing the 21st century and responding to the most pressing challenges,” the pope says in the document.
“This heritage is not set in stone: It is a compass that continues to point the way,” Leo says. “Today’s expectations are no less than those the Church faced 60 years ago. Indeed, they have expanded and become more complex. ... History challenges us with new urgency. Rapid and profound changes expose children, adolescents, and young people to unprecedented fragility. It is not enough to preserve: We must relaunch.”
“I ask all educational institutions to inaugurate a season that speaks to the hearts of the new generations, recomposing knowledge and meaning, competence and responsibility, faith and life.”
According to the latest Vatican statistics shared at the Oct. 22 press conference, there are 230,000 Catholic universities and schools present across 171 countries, serving almost 72 million students.
Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.
