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Pope Francis’ address to the Movement for Educational Commitment of Catholic Action (MIEAC)
MIEAC is an educational project linked to Italy’s Catholic Action which was founded in 1990
with the aim of promoting the integral development of young people in all its dimensions:
Existential, spiritual, affective, cultural, social, and political.
“Staying together so as not to get lost in the labyrinths of complexity”
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am pleased to welcome you to the 11th National Congress of the Movement for Educational Commitment of Catholic Action) (MIEAC).
I greet the Presidency, the Assistant and all of you, and I thank you for the choice, never to be taken for granted, of being an association in the Church.
The educational service that defines your Movement brings with it, today perhaps even more so than in the past, the challenge of working on a human and Christian level. To Educate – as you well know and testify – means above all to rediscover and to appreciate the centrality of the person in a relational context in which the dignity of human life finds fulfilment and adequate space to grow.
The project of formation of the Italian Catholic Action is structured according to an organic vision, systematic of the educational mission.
Since the Constituent Assembly of 1990, when you took over the heritage of the Catholic Teachers’ Movement, you have dedicated yourselves to this task with creativity, attentive to the signs of the times and always enlightened by the Gospel.
You have carried out this educational work by seeking to remain firmly rooted in the territories, in a spirit of collaboration with the local Churches and with the other Catholic lay organizations.
In this epochal change, in the midst of the secularization process – which is clear, the spirit of this world can be clearly seen – educational activity finds itself immersed in an almost unprecedented landscape.
Christian education crosses unexplored terrains, marked by anthropological and cultural changes, on which we are still searching for answers in the light of the Word of God.
At the same time, we collect the positive experiences that many families share with us, that are transmitted to us by schools, parishes, associations and pedagogy itself.
There are many urgent matters today, but one of these urgent matters is – to use your own expression – to be ‘big-hearted educators … in the labyrinths of complexity’. And you know how one gets out of a labyrinth. Never alone, never. And, secondly, from above. You come out of a labyrinth from above and never alone. Think about this.
You are educators with a big heart, for the good of the children, young people and adults who live next to you.
You are called to broaden your hearts – you cannot have a narrow heart: broaden your hearts -, not to be afraid to propose high ideals, without being discouraged in the face of difficulties.
The difficulties are there and they and many.
And in order not to lose the thread in these ‘labyrinths of complexity’, it is important not to be alone, but to establish and strengthen fruitful relationships with the various actors in the educational process: families, teachers, social workers, sports coaches and instructors, catechists, priests, religious men and women, without neglecting collaborators with public institutions.
And involve the young people, because the young people are involved: they must not be passive in the educational process, they must be active!
In the Congress that you have experienced over the past few days, you have renewed your commitment to an idea and practice of education that effectively places the person, his or her inalienable value and original dignity, so that he or she is always seen as an end and never, for any reason, reduced to a means.
An education – as your project puts it – that helps to come to one’s senses, to cultivate interiority, transcendence, spirituality, as essential elements for the integral development of the human person, in all its dimensions: spiritual, existential, affective, cultural, social, political’.
This is indeed the right perspective in which to continue the journey of your Movement. And continue!
Do not get discouraged.
As we approach the Jubilee, which is a time to sow hope – because we all have a vital need for hope – I would like to leave you with one last piece of advice: pay special attention to children, adolescents and young people. We must look to them with confidence, with empathy, I would like to say with the gaze and the heart of Jesus. They are the present and the future of the world and the Church.
It is our educational task to accompany them, to support them, to encourage them, and, to show them through our witness, the good way that leads to being ‘all brothers and sisters’.
‘Those who love educate”: – Don’t forget this – is the title of a book that was promoted by Catholic Action a few years ago: it is an intelligent and specific criterion. that you should bear in mind in all your activities. Through educational processes, we express our love for others, for those who are close to us or entrusted to us; and at the same time, it is essential that education be based on love in its method and in its aims. You cannot educate without love. Always educate with love!
I entrust you to the intercession of the Venerable Giuseppe Lazzati, a credible teacher and witness, a model of a Christian educator, who should inspire us.
Thank you for your visit! I cordially bless you. And do not forget to pray for me. Thank you very much.
