The “C” question. What does “Catholic teaching” still mean in a secularized century? This was the question answered in Free August 19 Etienne Michel. The Director General of Segec (the General Secretariat of Catholic Education, which is the main free network) explained that “ the reference to the Christian tradition is mobilized to contribute to the formation of the identity of the pupils in a context of plurality “. He specified that“ it is however a question of prohibiting any proselytism by encouraging freedom of thought and the capacity to form one’s own opinions “.
reactions. We have received different contradictory reactions and we publish two of them this Monday. They did not relate to a hypothetical merger of the networks (the freedom of education being inscribed in the Constitution), but to this reference to “Catholicism”. The basic question being this: is the recourse to a particular tradition a straitjacket that encloses, prevents or excludes? Or is there a pedestal on which to hoist oneself to be able to look further? And if the answer is between these two points of view, when should this tradition be explicitly mentioned?
“The Catholic school must be inspired by… the Scouts”
A text by Quentin le Bussy, Municipal Councilor at the City of Liège (Green Ardent list)
In French-speaking Belgium, approximately 50% of children are educated in free subsidized education, ie nearly 500,000 young people. What is a choice of trust but also of inclusion and excellence must cease to be correlated with a denominational choice linked to the Christian tradition, because that actually contradicts the spirit of cooperation and encounter that we can find in this educational network.
From Saint-Louis to the Sacred Heart, from Martin V to Notre-Dame du Rosaire, Christian inspiration is clear in free education and is part of both its history and its heritage. In 2022, it is nevertheless clear that if the Christian message retains its relevance, the fact remains that our society has been largely secularized, for a long time and perhaps definitively. I do not judge here that this is happy or sad: it is a fact that must be taken into account. However, free education is not only Christian, carrying values that come exclusively from the Gospels: it is also Christian through the harmonious relationship that it seeks to create in young people between fulfillment and well-being. common ; by the tradition of welcoming everyone, whether he/she comes from here or from far away; by a benevolent requirement that respects everyone, pulls the group up and encourages everyone to realize their potential.
“The Scouts” essentially share the same origins and values as free education. This movement is also aimed at young people of the same age, from childhood to adulthood. This federation of youth movements carried out some twenty years ago, step by step and throughout a collective process which commands respect, an essential change in order to gradually abolish any religious reference. Better still, it might be done without denying his heritage, as if to leave behind good memories while preparing for a better future, without jerks or fevers. This has allowed it in recent years to open up to all, to broaden its audiences and to be today more diverse and inclusive than ever.
There are other examples of successful voluntary secularization by certain organizations from the social-Christian orbit: the “Organized and combative young people” of 2021 have nothing to envy to the “Christian working youth” founded almost a hundred years ago. years and do not deny it. Their struggles today are the continuation of yesterday’s social struggles. In the same vein, the first French trade union, the CFDT, was created in 1919 as a confederation of Christian trade unions but knew how to open up in 1964, nearly sixty years ago… and has since become the first trade union French while remaining faithful to its founding principles. The same goes for the League of Families, which defends today through its fights all family situations, defends for all the values of emancipation and solidarity but also of pluralism and inclusion.
Why not “Rosa Parks”?
To come out of it and educate children there, I think that an evolution of this type for free education is necessary and welcome today. In fact, religion courses in secondary school have for decades become courses for the discovery of religions (in the plural), for spiritual, philosophical and civic awakening. In kindergarten and primary, the current lessons might very well be better used to awaken children to the world – to its beauty, to its complexity and to the otherness that they often experience on a daily basis in their classes -, a real vaccine once morest so many forms of obscurantism. In any case, these courses have the advantage of being received all together and not separately… This is indeed one of the strengths of free education, because how to understand the separation of children on a denominational basis… when living together is a crucial issue in our society, which is more multicultural than ever?
This evolution would not be, as I conceive it, not at all an abandonment of values, but indeed an evolution in phase with our century and which might be embodied differently. How would a school called “Rosa Parks” be less inspiring than “Notre-Dame”? Wouldn’t Nelson Mandela fully find his place, in terms of meaning, in free education in the same way as Saint Francis de Sales? The “merger of networks” is a defensible principle but is not relevant for various constitutional and financial reasons. Does this exempt free education from any overall responsibility for welcoming and opening up to everyone? Far from it, it encourages it all the more and its inclusive pluralism should be its strength: individual commitment for the benefit of the collective, welcoming without preconceptions, solidarity and fraternity, sharing and respect… are principles that I acquired both in free education and in scouting. Let us bring to life the values and principles that are dear to us, hear the message beyond the messenger, but free ourselves from beliefs and dogmas.
“Naming your parentage is not proselytizing, but a matter of honesty and, sometimes, courage”
A text by Charles Delhez, Jesuit priest
Thanks to Étienne Michel for daring to assume his heritage, for maintaining an explicit reference to Christian faith and spirituality in a society such as ours. Surprisingly, indeed, in Belgium, there is still a teaching clearly displayed as Catholic whereas this country is hardly any more. In the French and German-speaking community, 42% of children attend Catholic primary school, 60% secondary education (and even more in Flanders). The weight of history explains this, of course. Many Belgians wanted a Catholic education for their children and paid the price for it. But what sense is there today in maintaining, at great expense and under less favorable conditions than in the official system, such an educational apparatus? If it were only a question of framing the practicing Catholics, that would hardly be justified any more.
A service to society
Fortunately, believers do not want to be an identical community, withdrawn into itself; they are at the service of society, like any citizen, for that matter. They believe they have something of their own to contribute, and not just religion (even if, rightly, the teaching of it is compulsory there). It is not, however, regarding proselytism; in some Muslim countries, for example, Christian schools are attended by many non-Christians. If it was disguised recruitment, the parents would have quickly noticed it and would no longer have registered their children there.
To respond to my astonishment, I immersed myself in “Mission of the Christian school. Educational project of Catholic education”, August 2021 edition. “Every generationbelieve the authors of the 24-page brochure, is invited to reclaim the founding intuitions of the educational project, to confront them with the challenges of its time, to reinterpret them in a context of cultural, ecological, political and social changes. Little gem that this text. The Christian tradition is the bedrock – “unlike the State, our establishments have no duty of convictional neutrality” -, but with openness and respect for other convictions. This is a real service to society, offered to all.
The person is at the center. The Christian school wants to lead each young person – and particularly the most vulnerable – towards adulthood during a journey of self-centering, in five directions: the cognitive and practical development of the person, the relationship with others, the aesthetic sensitivity, bodily fulfilment, the religious and spiritual dimension, without forgetting education for political citizenship, respect for nature, climate justice… What a programme!
In the dialog
If the Christian faith constitutes the privileged reference, the Catholic school wants to open up to this religious and spiritual dimension by maintaining the dialogue with other paths. “By the diversity that composes it, the Catholic school constitutes a laboratory of the dialogue which it calls for with all its wishes.”
The Judeo-Christian tradition is therefore never imposed, even if support is given to the school pastoral teams. However, it remains the primary reference as cultural heritage and as a resource for questions of existence. The Gospels, believe the authors, extend and nourish the interpretation of the common values of our culture “by imprinting on them an increase in radicalism through love, forgiveness, the option for the poor, the gift without return”.
“In an all-market society, volunteering keeps the network alive. Ten thousand volunteers are active in nearly 800 establishments.” “Our schools thus bear shining testimony to the power of civil society association in our country.” These people come together freely and organize schools, under the freedom of assembly and association, a fundamental right of our democracies. The principle of subsidiarity, one of the great pillars of the social vision of the Church, is thus implemented: decisions are taken, as far as possible, at the lowest level. Confidence is therefore placed in all those who, at all levels, keep Catholic schools alive.
Naming one’s parentage is not proselytism, but a question of honesty and transparency and, in certain circumstances, courage.