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Dear Friends and
Benefactors,
Helping families
educate their children, especially by the running of schools, has long been a
priority of the Society of St. Pius X.
There are currently
25 schools throughout the United States District. The District Department of
Education, under the direction of the First Assistant, Fr. Gerard Beck, is
working hard to improve the teaching in our schools, the formation given, and
even the discipline in place— everything related to the education of the
children. For a number of years now those priests who are principals of our
schools have met each summer to strengthen, through their experience, the work
being done. Teachers’ meetings and retreats have also been organized, and this
year, for the first time, regional teachers’ seminars will be held across the
country to help unify the minds and work in our schools. There is still much to
do, but over the years much progress has been made.
One of the main
objectives of our schools is obviously to arm and to protect our youth from the
corruption of the world. The students receive a moral formation in accordance
with the teachings of the Catholic Church. This moral formation must be,
according to the directives laid out by Pope Pius IX, grounded in doctrine, on
the mysteries and commandments of our Catholic Faith:
In these schools
especially, all children of every class of the people, even from their tender
years, are to be carefully instructed in the mysteries and precepts of our
most Holy Religion, and carefully formed both to piety and moral virtue, and
to religious and civil culture: and in these schools religious doctrine in
particular ought to hold so primary and dominant a place in instruction and
education, that all other kinds of knowledge which are there imparted to the
young, should plainly appear to be merely accessory to this. Quum non sine
(July 17, 1864)
Religious and moral
formation is the most obvious, but not the singular, goal of our schools. We
also strive to give the children an intellectual and cultural formation. For
some parents, this goal would seem to be of relatively little importance. The
constant teaching of the popes on education, however, stresses the contrary.
The youth need to be
enlightened, to have their minds led towards the Truth—not just the divine truth
of Revelation, but natural truths as well. They must learn to apply themselves
in order to discover and love the beauty of truth, to recognize and avoid error
and false opinion, and to acquire, above all, a judgment that is properly
formed.
This formation takes
work—hard work. It involves the study of languages—one’s mother tongue firstly,
but when possible, other languages as well, especially Latin, the language of
the Church. It involves likewise the study of the liberal arts. Through
literature, for example, we come to know the whole of the created world, and
human nature with both its weaknesses and beauty. We learn to judge what is
right or wrong, true or false. It is a whole formation based on Christian
philosophy and on divine revelation, a formation enlightened by them and leading
to them.
... it has to be
given to youth entrusted to Catholic schools, an instruction in letters and
sciences, fully in accordance with the special requirements in our time, but
at the same time, strong and deep... Pope Pius XI, Divini ilius Magistri
(December 31, 1929)
One of the great
failures of the current public education system is the deterioration of general
education. Today’s youth come out of high school and even college, with very
little knowledge or understanding of world history (even the history of their
own country!), of geography, of the great works of literature… Their
comprehension is limited, as is their ability to reason. This is attested to
even by official assessments of schools today.
The Catholic Church
has always strived to provide a good general education at all levels, from
elementary school through college, for this is essential to becoming a truly
educated Catholic and citizen. The learning required is not easy; it demands
real intellectual effort from the students, a personal initiative that we find
more and more difficult to obtain from them. But it is imperative that our
schools continue to be diligent in giving, even perfecting this intellectual and
cultural formation.
Another aspect of
education that cannot be overlooked is the education of the will. It is as
important as the formation of the mind – perhaps more so.
In education, if
one neglects the will, focusing all efforts on the cultivation of the mind, he
will transform this instruction into a dangerous weapon in the hand of the
wicked, because such intellectual arguments, when added to malicious penchants
of the will, may give them a force against which it is impossible to resist.
Leo XIII: In mezzo, June 26, 1878
There is nothing more
disappointing and even frightening than a weak, apathetic youth. It is the
modern environment that creates such feeble human beings, especially by sloppy
education.
The only answer to
this very real danger is to implement discipline in both home and school—strong
discipline, especially as regards duties. At home, it is not easy for parents to
be constantly after their children to keep their rooms tidy, to take their
homework seriously, to be on time, to be disciplined in whatever they
undertake. It is, however, absolutely necessary.
In schools, this same
discipline must be obliged, not only in the work done, but also in the
children’s behavior towards others, in their dress, in their manners… Such
constant discipline is the only way to form the will, thereby giving the
children for life the most useful formation and gift they can receive.
Without will power, how will they be faithful to God, Who is far more demanding
than any teacher—telling us that we must become saints?
In conclusion, my
dear brethren, I wish to express our will to continue working with all parents
and of course, teachers, to provide an ever improving education to the children
entrusted to us.
In educating
children—naturally in collaboration with the family, whose function is
essential - you must have the conviction to perform one of the most noteworthy
works. Perhaps the results of your work may not be evident, but it requires a
great effort and a spirit of the apostolate which is among the most beneficial
for the fate of the Church and the homeland. Allocution of Pope Pius XII
Allocution (December 30, 1953)
I take this
opportunity to thank all those who dedicate themselves in this noble task.
May God bless you,
and may Our Blessed Mother protect you always.
In the Immaculate
Heart of Mary,
Fr. Arnaud Rostand |
