Pope Francis has sent a message, signed by the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, within the framework of the first African Congress of Catholic Education, held after the approval of the African Educational Pact presented to the Holy Father on June 1 in the Vatican.
Pope Francis highlights that “Africa is not immune to the crisis that the educational system is going through today, which has become, as in many places, too selective and elitist, aspiring to form only intelligence and not the whole person.”
Faced with this situation, the Pontiff indicates that Catholic education, “enriched by the African Educational Pact, will be able to offer a renewed, more open and inclusive formation, creating in young people a beautiful harmony between thought and action.”
He stated that this initiative can help “form a generation that is inspired by the sociocultural values of the African continent, without giving in to the temptation to withdraw into itself, but also capable of dialogue with other cultures and religions.”
He stressed the importance of “all those involved in Catholic education being animated by the desire to communicate the Gospel through their lives, demonstrating coherence and adopting a pedagogical style that promotes the human and spiritual growth of students.”
In order to achieve this, he invited all those involved in this process to work “so that Catholic education prepares young people not for a spirit of competition, which leads to selfishness, but for a spirit of community and solidarity.”
Likewise, he pointed out that young people must be able to choose “positive and constructive options”, with the purpose of becoming “those responsible for tomorrow, committed to building an increasingly fraternal society and at the service of all, in respect of the common good.”
For the Pontiff, “quality education is a sign of hope and a solid foundation for the peaceful coexistence that Africa needs today.”
The African Educational Pact was the fruit of the international Symposium that was held in November 2022 in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, under the sponsorship of the Episcopal Conference of the Congo.
The Symposium brought together bishops, priests, scientists and scholars from several African countries and other continents, and was organized by the Catholic University of the Congo.
This project aims to implement the Global Educational Pact promoted by Pope Francis in the African reality and respond to the educational needs of the territory.
As the Holy Father recalled in June of this year, the African Educational Pact is “an educational alliance ideally signed by all members of the people, for whom the task of accompanying each child is not the exclusive responsibility of the father and mother, but of all members of the community.”
He also stressed that, “in addition to recovering and strengthening this community and horizontal dimension of relationships,” the other dimension must be highlighted, “the vertical: the relationship with God.”