The meeting was attended by principals of schools in the Archdiocese of Warsaw and teachers of various subjects, including lay catechists, diocesan priests who teach this subject, nuns and monks. Auxiliary Archbishop of Warsaw Rafal Markowski, representatives of the Department of Children and Youth of the Metropolitan Curia of Warsaw and inspectors of religious education were present.
Offering New Year's greetings to the catechists, Cardinal Nich emphasized that this was reported in the media. Discussion about Polish education First of all, it lies in the fact that when a new stage of its functioning comes and new people responsible for education appear, there is also a desire to “start everything from scratch”, and meanwhile education – he noted – “does not tolerate fuss and jerks – yes, it requires constant reform and improvement, but not revolution, but evolution resulting from experience and existing needs.
Cardinal Nycz: I hear disturbing voices about what we will liquidate
– and since I sometimes hear disturbing noises about what we're going to cancel, it's not a big deal if it's about secondary things, but it's generally important for the school – that there won't be homework or an eighth-grade test. should be abolished – then I ask if this is well thought out and what will happen next, what will be the method of raising the qualifications of secondary schools? – the Metropolitan of Warsaw was surprised.
He noted that if education is discussed not in schools or the institutions responsible for them, but in front of microphones and cameras, the principle begins: “the more populist, the better.” – Is it good for education? We don't know that, he added.
As he noted, this discussion – currently in the media, with the participation of ministers, journalists, but also bishops – also raises the issue of having religion classes in schools. – Of course, no one, including me, excludes the need to talk about catechesis in school, the manner and dimension of its presence, just to avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater, that is, not entering. The path of ideological discussion that leads to nothing concrete will not work, said the cardinal. Nich.
– When you learn about this, the easiest wish for you will be to survive all this positively, that is, not to go crazy – added the Metropolitan of Warsaw addressing the catechists.
Religion in school
He also emphasized that Religion as a subject Teaching is now in almost all European countries. And catechesis in the modern education system, built since the Enlightenment, must establish axiological foundations in the lives of young people and introduce knowledge about the foundations of our civilization, among others, based on: the biblical cultural code. It is impossible to understand sacred painting or music without knowledge of scripture.
– To understand this world, we need a subject of education that can explain all this – even if someone no longer believes, but lives in this world – added the Metropolitan of Warsaw.
Cardinal Nycz also presented awards to religion teachers who have been in the profession for at least 25 years.
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