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The influence of the Church in the field of education is shown in a
special manner by the Catholic school. No less than other schools
does the Catholic school pursue cultural goals and the human formation
of youth. But its proper function is to create for the school
community a special atmosphere animated by the Gospel spirit of freedom
and charity, to help youth grow according to the new creatures they
were made through baptism as they develop their own personalities, and
finally to order the whole of human culture to the news of salvation so
that the knowledge the students gradually acquire of the world, life
and man is illumined by faith.[25] So indeed the Catholic
school, while it is open, as it must be, to the situation of the
contemporary world, leads its students to promote efficaciously the
good of the earthly city and also prepares them for service in the
spread of the Kingdom of God, so that by leading an exemplary
apostolic life they become, as it were, a saving leaven in the human
community.
Since, therefore, the Catholic school can be such an aid to the
fulfillment of the mission of the People of God and to the fostering
of the dialogue between the Church and mankind, to the benefit of
both, it retains even in our present circumstances the utmost
importance. Consequently this sacred synod proclaims anew what has
already been taught in several documents of the magisterium,[26]
namely: the right of the Church freely to establish and to conduct
schools of every type and level. And the council calls to mind that
the exercise of a right of this kind contributes in the highest degree
to the protection of freedom of conscience, the rights of parents, as
well as to the betterment of culture itself.
But let teachers recognize that the Catholic school depends upon them
almost entirely for the accomplishment of its goals and
programs.[27] They should therefore be very carefully prepared so
that both in secular and religious knowledge they are equipped with
suitable qualifications and also with a pedagogical skill that is in
keeping with the findings of the contemporary world. Intimately linked
in charity to one another and to their students and endowed with an
apostolic spirit, may teachers by their life as much as by their
instruction bear witness to Christ, the unique Teacher. Let them
work as partners with parents and together with them in every phase of
education give due consideration to the difference of sex and the proper
ends Divine Providence assigns to each sex in the family and in
society. Let them do all they can to stimulate their students to act
for themselves and even after graduation to continue to assist them with
advice, friendship and by establishing special associations imbued with
the true spirit of the Church. The work of these teachers, this
sacred synod declares, is in the real sense of the word an apostolate
most suited to and necessary for our times and at once a true service
offered to society. The Council also reminds Catholic parents of the
duty of entrusting their children to Catholic schools wherever and
whenever it is possible and of supporting these schools to the best of
their ability and of cooperating with them for the education of their
children.[28]
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