Dear Brother and Sisters

Today is Education Sunday and on this particular occasion it falls within the Year of Catholic Education. During his recent visit to our country, Pope Benedict paid special tribute to the contribution Catholic schools have made over the years not just to the life of the Catholic Church, but to the life of the nation as a whole. At the opening of his address to our young people at The Big Assembly he called them to be holy, to be saints: He said “When I invite you to become saints, I am asking you not to be content with second best. I am asking you not to pursue one limited goal and ignore all the others. Happiness is something we all want – the key to it is very simple – true happiness is to be found in God. We need to have the courage to place our deepest hopes in God alone, not in money, in a career, in worldly success, or in our relationships with others, but in God. Only he can satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts.”

Sometimes the perception is that Catholic schools are places that consolidate division and intolerance. In fact, the very opposite is true. Catholic schools tend to be places of great ethnic richness. Far from the caricature of indoctrinating young people, they are places characterised by tolerance, respect, a genuine spirit of enquiry and search for truth. Perhaps it is for these reasons that so many parents who are not of our faith also choose to send their children to a Catholic school. The Church fully understands the innate dignity of every human person made in the image and likeness of God, and as a result She seeks to avoid any narrow understanding of education that is seen only in terms of good examination results or training for work, important as these are. Speaking about the nature of a Catholic school, Pope Benedict said in his address to our young people, “A good school provides a rounded education for the whole person. And a good Catholic school, over and above this, should help all its students to become saints. Non-Catholics too will feel encouraged to practise virtue and to grow in knowledge and friendship with God alongside their Catholic classmates. Respect and friendship for members of other religious traditions should be among the virtues learned in a Catholic school.” Our Catholic schools are part of our contribution to the Common Good of society as a whole. We believe that they are places in which young people learn how to be more than just good workers, but good citizens, and good human beings who know how to look beyond their own needs to the needs of the wider world.

The education we provide must be first rate. Education is one of the most powerful weapons in combating poverty and in helping children to reach their full potential as human beings. So Catholic education is part of the Church’s effort to realise Christ’s desire for us all that we might “have life, and have it to the full.” We know how difficult it is to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in our world today. In our Catholic schools, young people have an opportunity to encounter the person of Jesus Christ and his Church. This is achieved not just in the teaching of RE, but by a whole system of gospel-based values encompassing the way everyone relates to each other and in extracurricular activities; in other words by the whole Catholic ethos of the school. Here we find a genuine means of evangelisation – of exposing young people to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and of helping them to respond to Christ’s invitation to “follow me”. In this way the values of the gospel are offered as their guide through life. So our Catholic schools are a very important part of the life of our Church in fulfilling our primary purpose – to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. Schools enable us to do this in ways that parishes alone would find difficult.

Every child is welcomed, valued and respected in a Catholic school. Although the majority of children will normally be Catholic, the social, cultural and ethnic diversity of the Catholic school is very rich, which means that tolerance and mutual respect are priorities. In a Catholic School, the person and teachings of Jesus Christ form the foundation of the life and activity of the school. This does not mean that a child will be pressured into accepting the Catholic faith. However it does mean that the gospel values of love, truth, mutual respect, forgiveness, and a special care for the vulnerable and those in need will be evident. This is true both of what is taught in the classroom, and what is taught through the values by which the school operates. In a Catholic school, our aim is that every child – whether they are Catholic, of another faith or none, will be respected, affirmed, supported and encouraged.

Catholic Education is not just a theory or an idea which exists in thin air. In the end it is those who work on behalf of it and those who participate in it who craft this great treasure. Parents who choose a Catholic school and contribute to its life; parishioners who serve as foundation governors or members of chaplaincy teams or who help in practical ways with the running of a school; teaching and support staff who have particularly chosen to work in a Catholic school and often go the extra mile and of course the students themselves. Over the years our forefathers fought hard to establish and maintain Catholic Education in these lands. Now it is our turn to ensure that Catholic Education is maintained and enabled to grow and develop for future generations. This is no easy task so today we not only celebrate the achievements of Catholic Education, we pray for all who are involved in this holy endeavour now and in the future.

Yours in blessed hope

Bishop of Middlesbrough