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CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

OF YOUTH

ENCYCLICAL LETTER

POPE PIUS XI

( With a Discussion Club Outline) by Rev. Qerald C. Tracy, S.J.)



Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2016

https://archive.org/details/christianeducaticath



ENCYCLICAL LETTER

OF HIS HOLINESS

PIUS XI

BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE

POPE

TO THE PATRIARCHS, PRIMATES, ARCHBISHOPS, BISHOPS

AND OTHER ORDINARIES IN PEACE AND COMMUNION
WITH THE APOSTOLIC SEE, AND TO ALL THE FAITHFUL

OF THE CATHOLIC WORLD, ON

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

New York

rHE PAULIST PRESS

401 West 59th Street



PRINTED AND PUBLISHED EN THE U. S. A.

BY THE PAULIST PRESS. NEW YORK. N. Y.



ENCYCLICAL LETTER

Of His Holiness

PIUS XI

By Divine Providence

POPE

To the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops and other

Ordinaries in Peace and Communion with the Apostolic

See, and to All the Faithful of the Catholic World on

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

Venerable Brethren and Beloved Children

Health and Apostolic Benediction

REPRESENTATIVE on earth of that Divine Master Whowhile embracing in the immensity of His love all man-
kind, even unworthy sinners, showed nevertheless a special ten-

derness and affection for children, and expressed Himself in

those singularly touching words: “Suffer the little children to

come unto Me.”1 We also on every occasion have endeavored
to show the predilection wholly paternal which We bear towards
them, particularly by our assiduous care and timely instructions

with reference to the Christian education of youth.

Reasons for Treating of Christian Education

And so, in the spirit of the Divine Master, We have directed
a helpful word, now of admonition, now of exhortation, now ol

direction, to youths and to their educators, to fathers and moth-

ers, on various points of Christian education, with that solici-

tude which becomes the common Father of all the faithful, with

lMark x. 14: Smite parvulos venire ad me.

5



4 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

an insistence in season and out of season, demanded by our pas-

toral office and inculcated by the Apostle: “Be instant in sea-

son, out of season; reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and

doctrine .”
2

Such insistence is called for in these our times, when,

alas, there is so great and deplorable an absence of clear and

sound principles, even regarding problems the most fundamental.

Now this same general condition of the times, this ceaseless
agitation in various ways of the problem of educational rights

and systems in different countries, the desire expressed to Us

with filial confidence by not a few of yourselves, Venerable

Brethren, and by members of your flocks, as well as Our deep

affection towards youth above referred to, move Us to turn more

directly to this subject, if not to treat it in all its well-nigh

inexhaustible range of theory and practise, at least to sum-

marize its main principles, throw full light on its important con-

clusions, and point out its practical applications.

Let this be the record of Our Sacerdotal Jubilee which, with

altogether special affection, We wish to dedicate to our beloved
youth, and to commend to all those whose office and duty is the

work of education.

Indeed never has there been so much discussion about edu-

cation as nowadays; never have exponents of new pedagogical

theories been so numerous, or so many methods and means de-

vised, proposed and debated, not merely to facilitate education,

but to create a new system infallibly efficacious, and capable of

preparing the present generations for that earthly happiness

which they so ardently desire.

The reason is that men, created by God, to His image and

likeness and destined for Him Who is infinite perfection, realize

today more than ever amid the most exuberant material progress,

the insufficiency of earthly goods to produce true happiness either

for the individual or for the nations. And hence they feel more

keenly in themselves the impulse towards a perfection that is

higher, which impulse is implanted in their rational nature by the

Creator Himself. This perfection they seek to acquire by means

of education. But many of them with, it would seem, too great

insistence on the etymological meaning of the word, pretend to

draw education out of human nature itself and evolve it by its

2 II. Tim. iv. 2: Insta opportune, importune: argue, obsecra, increpa in omni

patientia et doctrina



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 5

own unaided powers. Such easily fall into error, because, in-

stead of fixing their gaze on God, first principle and last end

of the whole universe, they fall back upon themselves, becoming

attached exclusively to passing things of earth; and thus their

restlessness will never cease till they direct their attention and

their efforts to God, the goal of all perfection, according to the

profound saying of St. Augustine: “Thou didst create us, O
Lord, for Thyself, and our heart is restless till it rest in Thee .” 8

Importance of Christian Education

It is therefore as important to make no mistake in education,

as it is to make no mistake in the pursuit of the last end, with

which the whole work of education is intimately and necessarily

connected. In fact, since education consists essentially in pre-

paring man for what he must be and for what he must do here

below, in order to attain the sublime end for which he was cre-

ated, it is clear that there can be no true education which is

not wholly directed to man’s last end, and that in the present

order of Providence, since God has revealed Himself to us in

the Person of His Only Begotten Son, Who alone is “the way,

the truth and the life,” there can be no ideally perfect educa-

tion which is not Christian education.

From this we see the supreme importance of Christian edu-

cation, not merely for each individual, but for families and for

the whole of human society, whose perfection comes from the

perfection of the elements that compose it. From these same

principles, the excellence, we may well call it the unsurpassed

excellence, of the work of Christian education becomes manifest

and clear; for after all it aims at securing the Supreme Good,

that is, God, for the souls of those who are being educated, and

the maximum of well-being possible here below for human so-

ciety. And this it does as efficaciously as man is capable of

doing it, namely by cooperating with God in the perfecting of

individuals and of society, in as much as education makes upon

the soul the first, the most powerful and lasting impression for

life, according to the well-known saying of the Wise Man, “A

young man according to his way, even when he is old, he will not

depart from it.”
4 With good reason therefore did St. John

sConfess . I, 1 : Fecisti nos, Domine, ad Te, et inquietum est cor nostrum donee

requiescat in Te.

*Prov. xrii. 6: Adolescens iuxta viam suam etiam cum senuerit non recedet ab ea.



6 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

Chrysostom say, “What greater work is there than training the

mind and forming the habits of the young?” 5

But nothing discloses to us the supernatural beauty and ex-

cellence of the work of Christian education better than the sub-

lime expression of love of Our Blessed Lord, identifying Himself

with children, “Whosoever shall receive one such child as this

in My name, receiveth Me.”6

Now in order that no mistake be made in this work of utmost
importance, and in order to conduct it in the best manner pos-

sible with the help of God’s grace, it is necessary to have a

clear and definite idea of Christian education in its essential as-

pects, viz., who has the mission to educate, who are the subjects

to be educated, what are the necessary accompanying circum-

stances, what is the end and object proper to Christian education

according to God’s established order in the economy of His

Divine Providence.

A Social Activity

Education is essentially a social and not a mere individual

activity. Now there are three necessary societies distinct from

one another and yet harmoniously combined by God, into which

man is bom: two, namely the family and civil society, belong

to the natural order; the third, the Church, to the supernatural

order.

In the first place comes the family, instituted directly by

God for its peculiar purpose, the generation and formation of

offspring; for this reason it has priority of nature and therefore

of rights over civil society. Nevertheless, the family is an im-

perfect society, since it has not in itself all the means for its

own complete development; whereas civil society is a perfect

society, having in itself all the means for its peculiar end, which

is the temporal well-being of the community; and so, in this

respect, that is, in view of the common good, it has preeminence

over the family, which finds its own suitable temporal perfection

precisely in civil society.

The third society, into which man is born when through

baptism he receives the divine life of grace, is the Church; a

5Horn. 60, in c. 18 Matt.: Quid maius quam animis moderari, quam adolescentu-

lorum fingere mores?

eMark ix. 36: Quisquis unum ex huiusmodi pueris receperit in nomine meo, dm
redpit.



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 7

society of the supernatural order and of universal extent; a per-

fect society, because it has in itself all the means required for

its own end, which is the eternal salvation of mankind; hence it

is supreme in its own domain.

Consequently, education which is concerned with man as a

whole, individually and socially, in the order of nature and in the

order of grace, necessarily belongs to all these three societies,

in due proportion, corresponding, according to the disposition

of Divine Providence, to the coordination of their respective ends.

The Church

And first of all education belongs preeminently to the

Church, by reason of a double title in the supernatural order,

conferred exclusively upon her by God Himself; absolutely supe-

rior therefore to any other title in the natural order.

The first title is founded upon the express mission and su-

preme authority to teach given her by her Divine Founder:

“All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth. Going there-
fore, teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the

Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them

to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and

behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of

the world .”
7 Upon this magisterial office Christ conferred in-

fallibility, together with the command to teach His doctrine.

Hence the Church “was set by her Divine Author as the pillar

and ground of truth, in order to teach the divine faith to men,

and keep whole and inviolate the deposit confided to her; to

direct and fashion men, in all their actions individually and so-

cially, to purity of morals and integrity of life, in accordance

with revealed doctrine .”
8

Supernatural Motherhood

The second title is the supernatural motherhood, in virtue

of which the Church, spotless spouse of Christ, generates, nur-

7Matt. xxviii. 18-20: Data est mihi omnis potestas in caelo et in terra. Euntes

ergo docete omnes gentes, baptizantes eos in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti:

docentes eos servare omnia quaecumque mandavi vobis. Et ecce ego vobiscum sum

omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi.

8Pius IX, Ep. Quutn non sine, 14 Iul. 1864: Columna et firmamentum veritatis a

Divino suo Auctore fuit constituta, ut omnes homines divinam edoceat fidem, eiusque

depositum sibi traditum integrum inviolatumque custodiat. ac homines eorumque con-

sortia et 'actiones ad morum honestatem vitaeque integritatem, iuxta revelatae doctrinae
normam, dirigat et fingat.



8 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

tures and educates sonls in the divine life of grace, with her

Sacraments and her doctrine. With good reason then does St.

Augustine maintain: “He has not God for father who refuses

to have the Church as mother .” 9

Hence it is that in this proper object of her mission, that is,

“in faith and morals, God Himself has made the Church sharer

in the divine magisterium and, by a special privilege, granted her

immunity from error; hence she is the mistress of men, supreme

and absolutely sure, and she has inherent in herself an inviolable

right to freedom in teaching .”10 By necessary consequence the

Church is independent of any sort of earthly power as well in

the origin as in exercise of her mission as educator, not merely in

regard to her proper end and object, but also in regard to the

means necessary and suitable to attain that end. Hence with

regard to every other kind of human learning and instruction,

which is the common patrimony of individuals and society, the

Church has an independent right to make use of it, and above all

to decide what may help or harm Christian education. And this

must be so, because the Church as a perfect society has an inde-

pendent right to the means conducive to its end, and because

every form of instruction, no less than every human action, has

a necessary connection with man’s last end, and therefore cannot

be withdrawn from the dictates of the divine law, of which the

Church is guardian, interpreter and infallible mistress.

This truth is clearly set forth by Pius X of saintly memory:
“Whatever a Christian does even in the order of things of earth,

he may not overlook the supernatural; indeed, he must, according

to the teaching of Christian wisdom, direct all things towards

the supreme good as to his last end; all his actions, besides, in

so far as good or evil in the order of morality, that is, in keep-

ing or not with natural and divine law, fall under the judgment

and jurisdiction of the Church .”11

9De Symbolo ad catech., XIII: Non habebit Deum patrem, qui Ecclesiam noluerit
habere matrem.

ioEp. enc. Libertas, 20 Iun. 1888: in fide atque in institutione morum, divini
magisterii Ecclesiam fecit Deus ipse participem, eamdemque divino eius beneficio falli
nesciam: quare magistra mortalium est maxima ac tutissima, in eaque inest non violabile

ius ad magisterrii libertatem.

liEp. enc. Singulart quadam, 24 Sept. 1912: Quidquid homo christianus agat, etiam
in ordine rerum terrenarum, non ei licet bona negligere quae sunt supra naturam, immo
opportet ad summum bonum, tamquam ad ultimum finem, ex christianae sapientiae
praescriptis omnia dirigat: omnes autem actiones eius, quatenus bonae aut malae sunt

In genere morum id est cum iure naturali et divino congruunt aut discrepant, indici

et jurisdiction! Ecclesiae subsunt.



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 9

It is worthy of note how a layman, an excellent writer and

at the same time a profound and conscientious thinker, has been

able to understand well and express exactly this fundamental

Catholic doctrine! “The Church does not say that morality be-

longs purely, in the sense of exclusively, to her; but that it be-

longs wholly to her. She has never maintained that outside her

fold and apart from her teaching, man cannot arrive at any

moral truth; she has on the contrary more than once condemned

this opinion because it has appeared under more forms than one.

She does however say, has said, and will ever say, that because

of her institution by Jesus Christ, because of the Holy Ghost

sent her in His Name by the Father, she alone possesses what

she has had immediately from God and can never lose, the whole

of moral truth, omnem veritatem, in which all individual moral

truths are included, as well those which man may learn by the

help of reason, as those which form part of revelation or which

may be deduced from it .”12

The Rights of the Church

Therefore with full right the Church promotes letters, science,

art, in so far as necessary or helpful to Christian education, in

addition to her work for the salvation of souls; founding and

maintaining schools and institutions adapted to every branch of

learning and degree of culture .
13 Nor may even physical cul-

ture. as it is called, be considered outside the range of her mater-

nal supervision, for the reason that it also is a means which may

help or harm Christian education.

And this work of the Church in every branch of culture is of

immense benefit to families and nations which without Christ

are lost, as St. Hilary points out correctly; “What can be more

fraught with danger for the world than the rejection of Christ ?”
14

Nor does it interfere in the least with the regulations of the

State, because the Church in her motherly prudence is not un

willing that her schools and institutions for the education of the

laity be in keeping with the legitimate dispositions of civil au-

thority; she is in every way ready to cooperate with this au-

12A. Manzoni, Osservazioni sulla Morale Cattolica, c. III.

isCodex Iuris Canonici, c. 1375.

14Commentar, in Matt. cap. 18: Quid mundo tam periculosum quam non recepissr
Christum?



10 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

thority and to make provision for a mutual understanding,

should difficulties arise.

Again it is the inalienable right as well as the indispensable

duty of the Church, to watch over the entire education of her

children, in all institutions, public or private, not merely in re-

gard to the religious instruction there given, but in regard to

every other branch of learning and every regulation in so far as

religion and morality are concerned .
15

Nor should the exercise of this right be considered undue in-

terference, but rather maternal care on the part of the Church

in protecting her children from the grave danger of all kinds

of doctrinal and moral evil. Moreover this watchfulness of the

Church not merely can create no real inconvenience, but must

on the contrary confer valuable assistance in the right ordering

and well-being of families and of civil society; for it keeps far

away from youth the moral poison which at that inexperienced

and changeable age more easily penetrates the mind and more

rapidly spreads its baneful effects. For it is true, as Leo XIII

has wisely pointed out, that without proper religious and moral

instruction “every form of intellectual culture will be injurious;

for young people not accustomed to respect God, will be unable

to bear the restraint of a virtuous life, and never having learned

to deny themselves anything, they will easily be incited to dis-

turb the public order.”
16

The Church’s Mission

The extent of the Church’s mission in the field of educa-

tion is such as to embrace every nation, without exception,

according to the command of Christ: “Teach ye all nations ;”17

and there is no power on earth that may lawfully oppose her or

stand in her way. In the first place, it extends over all the

Faithful, of whom she has anxious care as a tender mother. For

these she has throughout the centuries created and conducted an

immense number of schools and institutions in every branch of

learning. As we said on a recent occasion: “Right back in the

far-off middle ages when there were so many (some have even

i5Cod. I. C., cc 1381, 1382.

lGEp. enc. Nobilissima Gallorutn Gens., 8 Febr. 1884: male sana omnis futura

est animarum cultura: insueti ad verecundiam Dei adolescentes nullam ferre poterunt

honeste vivendi disciplinam, suisque cupiditatibus nihil unquam negare ausi, facile ad
miscendas civitates pertrahentur.

l7Matt. xxviii. 19: docete omnes gentes.



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 11

said too many) monasteries, convents, churches, collegiate-

churches, Cathedral chapters, etc., there was attached to each a

home of study, of teaching, of Christian education. To these

we must add all the universities, spread over every country and

always by the initiative and under the protection of the Holy

See and the Church. That grand spectacle, which today we see

better, as it is nearer to us and more imposing because of the

conditions of the age, was the spectacle of all times; and they

who study and compare historical events remain astounded at

what the Church has been able to do in this matter, and marvel

at the manner in which she has succeeded in fulfilling her God-'

given mission to educate generations of men to a Christian life,

producing everywhere a magnificent harvest of fruitful results.

But if we wonder that the Church in all times has been able

to gather about her and educate hundreds, thousand, millions

of students, no less wonderful is it to bear in mind what she

has done not only in the field of education, but in that also of

true and genuine erudition. For, if so many treasures of cul-

ture, civilization and literature have escaped destruction, this is

due to the action by which the Church, even in times long past

and uncivilized, has shed so bright a light in the domain of let-

ters, of philosophy, of art, and in a special manner of architec-

ture .”
18

All this the Church has been able to do because her mission

to educate extends equally to those outside the fold, seeing that

all men are called to enter the kingdom of God and reach eternal

salvation. Just as today when her Missions scatter schools by

the thousand in districts and countries not yet Christian, from

the banks of the Ganges to the Yellow River and the great

islands and archipelagos of the Pacific Ocean, from the Dark

Continent to the Land of Fire and to frozen Alaska, so in every

age the Church by her missionaries has educated to Christian

life and to civilization the various peoples which now consti-

tute the Christian nations of the civilized world.

Hence it is evident that both by right and in fact the mis-

sion to educate belongs preeminently to the Church, and that no

one free from prejudice can have a reasonable motive for oppos-

ing or impeding the Church in this her work, of which the world

today enjoys the precious advantages.

l8Discourse to the students of Mondragone College, May 14, 1929.



12 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

The Family and the State

This is the more true because the rights of the family and

of the State, even the rights of individuals regarding a just lib-

erty in the pursuit of science, of methods of science and all sorts

of profane culture, not only are not opposed to this preeminence

of the Church, but are in complete harmony with it. The fun-

damental reason for this harmony is that the supernatural

order, to which the Church owes her rights, not only does not

in the least destroy the natural order, to which pertain the other

rights mentioned, but elevates the natural and perfects it, each

affording mutual aid to the other, and completing it in a manner

proportioned to its respective nature and dignity. The reason

is because both come from God, Who cannot contradict Himself:
“The works of God are perfect and all His ways are judgment.”19

This becomes clearer when we consider more closely and in

detail the mission of education proper to the family and to the

State.

The Family

In the first place the Church’s mission of education is in

wonderful agreement with that of the family, for both proceed

from God, and in a remarkably similar manner. God directly

communicates to the family, in the natural order, fecundity,

which is the principle of life, and hence also the principle of

education to life, together with authority, the principle of order.

The Angelic Doctor with his wonted clearness of thought

and precision of style, says: “The father according to the flesh

has in a particular way a share in that principle which in a man-

ner universal is found in God. . . . The father is the principle

of generation, of education and discipline and of everything that

bears upon the perfecting of human life .”20

The family therefore holds directly from the Creator the mis-

sion and hence the right to educate the offspring, a right in-

alienable because inseparably joined to the strict obligation, a

right anterior to any right whatever of civil society and of the

State, and therefore inviolable on the part of any power on earth.

That this right is inviolable St. Thomas proves as follows:

i9Deut. xxxii. 4: Dei perfecta sunt opera, et omnes viae eius iudicia.

20S. Th., 2-2, Q. CII, a. 1: Carnalis pater particulariter participat rationem principii

quae universaliter invenitur in Deo. . . . Pater est principium et generation^ et educa-

tions et disciplinae, et omnium quae ad perfectionem humanae vitae pertinen*



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 13

“The child is naturally something of the father ... so by nat-

ural right the child, before reaching the use of reason, is under

the father’s care. Hence it would be contrary to natural jus-

tice if the child, before the use of reason, were removed from

the care of its parents, or if any disposition were made concern-

ing him against the will of the parents.”
21 And as this duty on

the part of the parents continues up to the time when the child

is in a position to provide for himself, this same inviolable

parental right of education also endures. “Nature intends not

merely the generation of the offspring, but also its development

and advance to the perfection of man considered as man, that is,

to the state of virtue”
22

says the same St. Thomas.

The wisdom of the Church in this matter is expressed with

precision and clearness in the Codex of Canon Law, can. 1113:

“Parents are under a grave obligation to see to the religious and

moral education of their children, as well as to their physical and

civic training, as far as they can, and moreover to provide for

their temporal well-being.”
23

On this point the common sense of mankind is in such com-

plete accord, that they would be in open contradiction with it who

dared maintain that the children belong to the State before they

belong to the family, and that the State has an absolute right

over their education. Untenable is the reason they adduce,

namely that man is born a citizen and hence belongs primarily

to the State, not bearing in mind that before being a citizen

man must exist; and existence does not come from the State,

,but from the parents, as Leo XIII wisely declared: “The chil-

dren are something of the father, and as it were an extension of

the person of the father; and, to be perfectly accurate, they en-

ter into and become part of civil society, not directly by them-

selves, but through the family in which they were born.”
24

21 S. Th., 2-2, Q. X. a. 12: Filius enim naturaliter est aliquid patris . . ita de
iure naturali est quod filius, antequam habeat usum rationis, sit sub cura patris. Unde
contra iustitiam naturalem esset, si puer, antequam habeat usum rationis, a cura paren-
tum subtrahatur, vel de eo aliquid ordinetur invitis parentibus.

22Suppl. S. Th. 3. p. Q. 41, a. 1: Non enim intendit natura solum generationem
prolis, sed etiam traductionem et promotionem usque ad perfectum statum hominis in

quantum homo est, qui est virtutis status.

23Cod. I. C., c. 1113: Parentes gravissima obligatione tenentur prolis educationem

turn religiosam et moralem, turn physicam et civilem pro viribus curandi, et etiam

temporali eorum bono providendi.

24Ep. enc. Rerum novarum, IS Maii 1891: Filii sunt aliquid patris, et velut
paternae amplificatio quaedam personae proprieque loqui si volumus, non ipsi per se,
sed per communitatem domesticam, in qua gen.erati sunt, civilem ineunt ac participant

societatem.



14 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

“And therefore,” says the same Leo XIII, “the father’s power

is of such a nature that it cannot be destroyed or absorbed by the

State; for it has the same origin as human life itself.”25

Not Despotic

It does not follow from this that the parents’ right to educate

their children is absolute and despotic; for it is necessarily sub-

ordinated to the last end and to natural and divine law, as Leo

XIII declares in another memorable Encyclical, where he thus

sums up the rights and duties of parents: “By nature parents

have a right to the training of their children, but with this added

duty that the education and instruction of the child be in accord

with the end for which by God’s blessing it was begotten. There-

fore it is the duty of parents to make every effort to prevent any

invasion of their rights in this matter, and to make absolutely

sure that the education of their children remains under their own

control in keeping with their Christian duty, and above all to

refuse to send them to those schools in which there is danger of

imbibing the deadly poison of impiety.”
26

It must be borne in mind also that the obligation of the

family to bring up children, includes not only religious and moral

education, but physical and civic education as well
,

27
principally

in so far as it touches upon religion and morality.

This incontestable right of the family has at various times

been recognized by nations anxious to respect the natural law in

their civil enactments. Thus, to give one recent example, the

Supreme Court of the United States of North America, in a de-

cision on an important controversy, declared that it is not in the

competence of the State to fix any uniform standard of educa-

tion by forcing children to receive instruction exclusively in pub-

lic schools, and it bases its decision on the natural law: the child

is not the mere creature of the State; those who nurture him and

25Ep. enc. Rerum novarum, IS Maii 1891: Patris potestas est eiusmodi, ut nec

extingui, neque absorbed a republica possit, quia idem et commune habet cum ipsa

hominum vita principium.

2«Ep. enc. Sapientiae christianae, 10 Ian. 1890: Natura parentes habent ius suum

instituendi, quos procrearint, hoc adiuncto officio, ut cum fine, cuius gratia sobolem

Dei beneficio susceperunt, ipsa educatio conveniat et doctrina puerilis. Igitur parentibus

est necessarium eniti et contendere, ut omnem in hoc genere propulsent iniuriam,

omninoque pervincant ut sua in potestate sit educere liberos, uti par est, more chris-

tiano, maximeque prohibere scholis iis. a quibus periculum est ne malum venenum

imbihant impietatis.

27Cod. I. C., c. 1113.



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 15

direct his destiny have the right coupled with the high duty, to

educate him and prepare him for the fulfilment of his obliga-

tions .
28

Tutelage of the Church

History bears witness how, particularly in modern times, the

State has violated and does violate rights conferred by God on

the family. At the same time it shows magnificently how the

Church has ever protected and defended these rights, a fact

proved by the special confidence which parents have in Catholic

schools. As We pointed out recently in Our letter to the Cardi-
nal Secretary of State: “The family has instinctively understood

this to be so, and from the earliest days of Christianity down to

our own times, fathers and mothers, even those of little or no

faith, have been sending or bringing their children in millions

to places of education under the direction of the Church .”
20

It is paternal instinct, given by God, that thus turns with

confidence to the Church, certain of finding in her the protection

of family rights, thereby illustrating that harmony with which

God has ordered all things. The Church is indeed conscious of

her divine mission to all mankind, and of the obligation which

all men have to practise the one true religion; and therefore she

never tires of defending her right, and of reminding parents of

their duty, to have all Catholic-bom children baptized and

brought up as Christians. On the other hand so jealous is she

of the family’s inviolable natural right to educate the children,

that she never consents, save under peculiar circumstances and

with special cautions, to baptize the children of infidels, or pro-

vide for their education against the will of the parents, till such

time as the children can choose for themselves and freely em-

brace the faith .
80

We have therefore two facts of supreme importance, as We
said in our discourse cited above: The Church placing at the dis-

posal of families her office of mistress and educator, and the fami-

lies eager to profit by the offer, and entrusting their children

28‘The fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments in this Union
repose excludes any general power of the State to standardize its children by forcing
them to accept instruction from public teachers only. The child is not the mere crea-
ture of the State; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right coupled
with the high duty, to recognize, and prepare him for additional duties.” U. S.
Supreme Court Decision in the Oregon School Case, June 1, 1925.

29Letter to the Cardinal Secretary of State, May 30, 1929.

soCod. I. C., c. 750, § 2. S. Th., 2, 2. O. X, a. 12.



16 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

to the Church in hundreds and thousands. These two facts re-

call and proclaim a striking truth of the greatest significance in

the moral and social order. They declare that the mission of

education regards before all, above all, primarily the Church and

the family, and this by natural and divine law, and that therefore

it cannot be slighted, cannot be evaded, cannot be supplanted .
31

State Rights

From such priority of rights on the part of the Church and

of the family in the field of education, most important ad-

vantages, as we have seen, accrue to the whole of society. More-

over in accordance with the divinely established order of things,

no damage can follow from it to the true and just rights of the

State in regard to the education of its citizens.

These rights have been conferred upon civil society by the

Author of nature Himself, not by title of fatherhood, as in the

case of the Church and of the family, but in virtue of the au-

thority which it possesses to promote the common temporal wel-

fare, which is precisely the purpose of its existence. Conse-

quently education cannot pertain to civil society in the same way

in which it pertains to the Church and to the family, but in a

different way corresponding to its own particular end and object.

Now this end and object, the common welfare in the temporal

order, consists in that peace and security in which families and

individual citizens have the free exercise of their rights, and at

the same time enjoy the greatest spiritual and temporal pros-

perity possible in this life, by the mutual union and coordination

of the work of all. The function therefore of the civil authority

residing in the State is twofold, to protect and to foster, but by

no means to absorb the family and the individual, or to substi-

tute itself for them.

Accordingly in the matter of education, it is the right, or to

speak more correctly, it is the duty of the State to protect in its

legislation, the prior rights, already described, of the family as

regards the Christian education of its offspring, and consequently

also to respect the supernatural rights of the Church in this same

realm of Christian education.

It also belongs to the State to protect the rights of the child

itself when the parents are found wanting either physically or

siDiscourse to the students of Mondragone College, May 14, 1929.



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 17

morally in this respect, whether by default, incapacity, or mis-

conduct, since, as has been shown, their right to educate is not an

absolute and despotic one, but dependent on the natural and di-

vine law, and therefore subject alike to the authority and jurisdic-

tion of the Church, and to the vigilance and administrative care

of the State in view of the common good. Besides, the family is

not a perfect society, that is, it has not in itself all the means

necessary for its full development. In such cases, exceptional no

doubt, the State does not put itself in the place of the family,

but merely supplies deficiencies, and provides suitable means, al-

ways in conformity with the natural rights of the child and the

supernatural rights of the Church.

In general then it is the right and duty of the State to protect,

according to the rules of right reason and faith, the moral and

religious education of youth, by removing public impediments

that stand in the way.

Instruction of Youth

In the first place it pertains to the State, in view of the com-

mon good, to promote in various ways the education and instruc-

tion of youth. It should begin by encouraging and assisting,

of its own accord, the initiative and activity of the Church and

the family, whose successes in this field have been clearly demon-

strated by history and experience. It should moreover supple-

ment their work whenever this falls short of what is necessary,

even by means of its own schools and institutions. For the State

more than any other society is provided with the means put at

its disposal for the needs of all, and it is only right that it use

these means to the advantage of those who have contributed

them .
32

Over and above this, the State can exact, and take measures

to secure that all its citizens have the necessary knowledge of

their civic and political duties, and a certain degree of physical,

intellectual and moral culture, which, considering the conditions

of our times, is really necessary for the common good.

However it is clear that in all these ways of promoting educa-

tion and instruction, both public and private, the State should

respect the inherent rights of the Church and of the family con-

cerning Christian education, and moreover have regard for dis-

32Discourse to the students of Mondragone College, May 14, 1929



18 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

tributive justice. Accordingly, unjust and unlawful is any mo-

nopoly, educational or scholastic, which, physically or morally,

forces families to make use of government schools, contrary to

the dictates of their Christian conscience, or contrary even to

their legitimate preferences.

Civic Education

This does not prevent the State from making due provision

for the right administration of public affairs and for the protec-

tion of its peace, within or without the realm. These are things

which directly concern the public good and call for special apti-

tudes and special preparation. The State may therefore reserve

to itself the establishment and direction of schools intended to

prepare for certain civic duties and especially for military service,

provided it be careful not to injure the rights of the Church or

of the family in what pertains to them. It is well to repeat this

warning here; for in these days there is spreading a spirit of na-

tionalism which is false and exaggerated, as well as dangerous to

true peace and prosperity. Under its influence various excesses

are committed in giving a military turn to the so-called physical

training of boys (sometimes even of girls, contrary to the very

instincts of human nature)
;

or again in usurping unreasonably

on Sunday, the time which should be devoted to religious duties

and to family life at home. It is not our intention however to

condemn what is good in the spirit of discipline and legitimate

bravery promoted by these methods: We condemn only what is
excessive, as for example violence, which must not be confounded

with courage nor with the noble sentiment of military valor in de-

fense of country and public order; or again exaltation of ath-

leticism which even in classic pagan times marked the decline

and downfall of genuine physical training.

In general also it belongs to civil society and the State to

provide what may be called civic education, not only for its

youth, but for all ages and classes. This consists in the practise

of presenting publicly to groups of individuals information hav-

ing an intellectual, imaginative and emotional appeal, calculated

to draw their wills to what is upright and honest, and to urge its

practise by a sort of moral compulsion, positively by disseminat-

ing such knowledge, and negatively by suppressing what is op-



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 19

posed to it .
33

This civic education, so wide and varied in itself

as to include almost every activity of the State intended for the

public good, ought also to be regulated by the norms of rectitude,

and therefore cannot conflict with the doctrines of the Church

which is the divinely appointed teacher of these norms.

Church and State

All that we have said so far regarding the activity of the

State in educational matters, rests on the solid and immovable

foundation of the Catholic doctrine of The Christian Constitution

of States set forth in such masterly fashion by Our Predecessor

Leo XIII, notably in the Encyclicals Immortale Dei and Sapientiae

Christianae. He writes as follows: “God has divided the govern-

ment of the human race between two authorities, ecclesiastical

and civil, establishing one over things divine, the other over things

human. Both are supreme, each in its own domain; each has its

own fixed boundaries which limit its activities. These boundaries

are determined by the peculiar nature and the proximate end of

each, and describe as it were a sphere within which, with exclu-

sive right, each may develop its influence. As however the same

subjects are under the two authorities, it may happen that the

same matter, though from a different point of view, may come

under the competence and jurisdiction of each of them. It fol-

lows that Divine Providence, whence both authorities have their

origin, must have traced with due order the proper line of action

for each. The powers that are, are ordained of God .”34

Now the education of youth is precisely one of those matters
that belong both to the Church and to the State, “though in dif-

ferent ways,” as explained above. “Therefore,” continues Leo

XIII, “between the two powers there must reign a well ordered

harmony. Not without reason may this mutual agreement be

compared to the union of body and soul in man. Its nature

3SP . L. Taparelli, Saggio teor. di Diritto Naturale, n. 922; a work never suffi-

ciently praised and recommended to university students (Cfr. Our Discourse of Dec.

18, 1927).

S4Ep. enc. Immortale Dei, 1 Nov. 1885: Deus humani generis procurationem

inter duas potestates partitus est, scilicet ecdesiasticam et civilem, alteram quidem

divinis, alteram humanis rebus praepositam. Utraque est in suo genere maxima: habet

utraque certos, quibus contineatur, terminos, eosque sua cuiusque natura causaque

proxime definitos: unde aliquis velut orbis circunvsmbitnr. inoim «ua cuiusque act!''

hire proprio versetur. Sed quia utriusque imperium est in eosdem. cum usuvenire
possit, ut res una atque eadem quamquam aliter atque aliter, sed tamen eadem res,
ad utriusque ius iudiciumque pertineat, debet providentissimus Deus, a quo sunt ambae

constitutae, utriusque itinera recte atque ordine composuisse. Quae autem sunt, a Deo

ordinatae sunt (Rom. xiii. 1).



•>n CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

and extent can only be determined by considering, as we have

said, the nature of each of the two powers, and in particular the*

excellence and nobility of the respective ends. One is com-

mitted directly and specifically the charge of what is helpful in

worldly matters; while the other is to concern itself with the

things that pertain to heaven and eternity. Everything there-

fore in human affairs that is in any way sacred, or has reference

to the salvation of souls and the worship of God, whether by its

nature or by its end, is subject to the jurisdiction and discipline

of the Church. Whatever else is comprised in the civil and po-

litical order, rightly comes under the authority of the State; for

Christ commanded us to give to Caesar the things that are

Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”35

Whoever refuses to admit these principles, and hence to apply

them to education, must necessarily deny that Christ has founded

His Church for the eternal salvation of mankind, and maintain

instead that civil society and the State are not subject to God

and to His law, natural and divine. Such a doctrine is mani-

festly impious, contrary to right reason, and, especially in this

matter of education, extremely harmful to the proper training of

youth, and disastrous as well for civil society as for the well-

being of all mankind. On the other hand from the application

of these principles, there inevitably result immense advantages

for the right formation of citizens. This is abundantly proved by

the history of every age. Tertullian in his Apologeticus could

throw down a challenge to the enemies of the Church in the early

days of Christianity, just as St. Augustine did in his; and we

today can repeat with him, “Let those who declare the teaching

of Christ to be opposed to the welfare of the State, furnish us

with an army of soldiers such as Christ says soldiers ought to

be; let them give us subjects, husbands, wives, parents, children,

masters, servants, kings, judges, taxpayers and taxgatherers who

35Ep. enc. Immortale Dei, 1 Nov. 1885: Itaque inter utramque potestatem

quaedam intercedat necesse est ordinata colligatio: quae quidem coniunctioni non im-

merito comparatur, per quam anima et corpus in homine copulantur. Qualis autem

et quanta ea sit, aliter iudicari non potest, nisi respiciendo, uti diximus, ad utriusque

naturam, habendaque ratione excellentiae et nobilitatis causarum ; cum alteri proxime

maximeque propositum sit rerum mortalium curare commoda, alteri caelestia ac sempi-

terna bona comparare. Quidquid igitur est in rebus humanis quoquo modo sacrum,

quidquid ad salutem animorum cultumve Dei pertinet, sive tale illud sit natura sua,

sive rursus tale intelligatur propter caussam ad quam refertur, id est omne in potestate

arbitrioque Ecclesiae: cetera vero, quae civile et politicum genus complectitur, rectum est

dvili auctoritati esse subiecta, cum Iesus Christus iusserit, quae Caesaris sint, reddi

Caesari, quae Dei, Deo.



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 21

live up to the teachings of Christ; and then let them dare assert

that Christian doctrine is harmful to the State. Rather let them

not hesitate one moment to acclaim that doctrine, rightly ob-

served. the greatest safeguard of the State.”
36

While treating of education, it i> u<»i out of pla< < >

how an ecclesiastical writer, who flourished in more rerent times,

during the Renaissance, the holy and learned Cardinal Silvio

Antoniano, to whom the cause of Christian education is greatly

indebted, has set forth most clearly this well established point of

Catholic doctrine. He had been a disciple of that wonderful edu-

cator of youth, St. Philip Neri; he was teacher and Latin secre-

tary to St. Charles Borromeo, and it was at the latter’s suggestion

and under his inspiration that he wrote his splendid treatise on

The Christian Education of Youth. In it he argues as follows:

True Harmony

“The more closely the temporal power of a nation aligns

itself with the spiritual, and the more it fosters and promotes the

latter, by so much the more it contributes to the conservation of

the commonwealth. For it is the aim of the ecclesiastical au-

thority by the use of spiritual means, to form good Christians in

accordance with its own particular end and object; and in doing

this it helps at the same time to form good citizens, and pre-

pares them to meet their obligations as members of a civil so-

ciety. This follows of necessity because in the City of God, the

Holy Roman Catholic Church, a good citizen and an upright man

are absolutely one and the same thing. How grave therefore
is the error of those who separate things so closely united, and

who think that they can produce good citizens by ways and

methods other than those which make for the formation of good

Christians. For, let human prudence say what it likes and rea-

son as it pleases, it is impossible to produce true temporal peace

and tranquillity by things repugnant or opposed to the peace and

happiness of eternity .”
37

What is true of the State, is true also of science, scientific

ssEp. 138: Proinde qui doctrinam Christi adversam dicunt esse reipublicae, dent
exercitum talem, quales doctrinas Christi esse milites iussit; dent tales provinciales,

tales maritos, tales coniuges, tales parentes, tales filios, tales dominos, tales servos, tales

reges, talesiudices. tales denique debitorum ipsius fisci redditores et exactores, quales

esse praecipit doctrina Christiana, et audeant earn dicere adversam esse reipublicae, ima
vero non dubitent earn confiteri magnam si obtemperetur, salutem esse reiublicae.

37Dell’educaz. crist., lib. I. c. 43.



22 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

methods and scientific research; they have nothing to fear from

the full and perfect mandate which the Church holds in the field

of education. Our Catholic institutions, whatever their grade in

the educational and scientific world, have no need of apology.

The esteem they enjoy, the praise they receive, the learned works

which they promote and produce in such abundance, and above

all, the men, fully and splendidly equipped, whom they provide

for the magistracy, for the professions, for the teaching career,

in fact for every walk of life, more than sufficiently testify in

their favor .
38

These facts moreover present a most striking confirmation

of the Catholic doctrine defined by the Vatican Council: “Not

only is it impossible for faith and reason to be at variance with

each other, they are on the contrary of mutual help Kor while

right reason establishes the foundations of faith, and, by the

help of its light, develops a knowledge of the things of God, faith

on the other hand frees and preserves reason from error and en-

riches it with varied knowledge. The Church therefore, far from

hindering the pursuit of the arts and sciences, fosters and pro-

motes them in many ways. For she is neither ignorant nor un-

appreciative of the many advantages which flow from them to

mankind. On the contrary she admits that just as they come

from God, Lord of all knowledge, so too if rightly used, with the

help of His grace they lead to God. Nor does she prevent sci-

ences, each in its own sphere, from making use of principles and

methods of their own. Only while acknowledging the freedom

due to them, she takes every precaution to prevent them from

falling into error by opposition to divine doctrine, or from over-

stepping their proper limits, and thus invading and disturbing the

domain of faith.”
39

This norm of a just freedom in things scientific, serves also

as an inviolable norm of a just freedom in things didactic, or for

ssLetter to the Cardinal Secretary of State, May 30, 1929.

39Conc. Vat., Sess. 3, cap. 4. Neque solum fides et ratio inter se dessidere nun-
quam possunt, sed opem quoque sibi mutuam ferunt, cum recta ratio fidei fundamenta
demonstret eiusque lumine illustrata rerum divinarum scientiam excolat, fides vero

rationem ab erroribus liberet ac tueatur eamque multiplici cognitione instruat. Qua-

propter tantum abest, ut Ecclesia humanarum artium et disciplinarium culturae obsistat.

ut hanc multis modis invet atque promoveat. Non enim commoda ab iis ad hominum
vitam dimanantia aut ignorat aut despicit; fatetur immo, eas, quemadmodum a Deo
scientiarum Domino profectae sunt, ita, si rite pertractentur, ad Deum iuvante eius
gratia perducere. Nec sane ipsa vetat, ne huiusmodi disciplinae in suo quaeque ambitu

propriis utantur principiis et propria methodo; sed iustam hanc libertatem agnoscens,

id sedulo cavet, ne divinae doctrinae repugnando errores in se suscipiant, aut fines

proprios transgressae ea, quae sunt fidei. occupent et perturbent.



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 23

rightly understood liberty in teaching; it should be observed

therefore in what ever instruction is imparted to others. Its

obligation is all the more binding in justice when there is ques-

tion of instructing youth. For in this work the teacher, whether

public or private, has no absolute right of his own, but only

such as has been communicated to him by others. Besides every

Christian child or youth has a strict right to instruction in har-

mony with the teaching of the Church, the pillar and ground of

truth. And whoever disturbs the pupil’s faith in any way, does

him grave wrong, inasmuch as he abuses the trust which chil-

dren place in their teachers, and takes unfair advantage of their

inexperience and of their natural craving for unrestrained lib-

erty, at once illusory and false.

Subject of Education

In fact it must never be forgotten that the subject of Chris-

tian education is man whole and entire, soul united to body in

unity of nature, with all his faculties natural and supernatural,

such as right reason and revelation show him to be; man, there-

fore, fallen from his original estate, but redeemed by Christ

and restored to the supernatural condition of adopted son of

God, though without the preternatural privileges of bodily im-

mortality or perfect control of appetite. There remain therefore,

in human nature the effects of original sin, the chief of which

are weakness of will and disorderly inclinations.

“Folly is bound up in the heart of a child and the rod of

correction shall drive it away.”40 Disorderly inclinations then

must be corrected, good tendencies encouraged and regulated

from tender childhood, and above all the mind must be en-

lightened and the will strengthened by supernatural truth and

by the means of grace, without which it is impossible to control

evil impulses, impossible to attain to the full and complete per-

fection of education intended by the Church, which Christ has

endowed so richly with divine doctrine and with the Sacraments,

the efficacious means of grace.

False Naturalism

Hence every form of pedagogic naturalism which in any way

excludes or weakens supernatural Christian formation in the

40Prov. xrii. IS: Stultitia colligata est in corde pueri: et virga disdplinae fogabit



24 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

teaching of youth, is false. Every method of education founded,

wholly or in part, on the denial or forgetfulness of original sin

and of grace, and relying on the sole powers of human nature,

is unsound. Such, generally speaking, are those modern systems

bearing various names which appeal to a pretended self-govern-

ment and unrestrained freedom on the part of the child, and

which diminish or even suppress the teacher’s authority and

action, attributing to the child an exclusive primacy of initiative,

and an activity independent of any higher law, natural or divine,

in the work of his education.

if any of these terms are used, less properly to denote the

necessity of a gradually more active cooperation on the part of

the pupil in his own education, if the intention is to banish

from education despotism and violence, which, by the way, just

punishment is not, this would be correct, but in no way new.

It would mean only what has been taught and reduced to prac-

tise by the Church in traditional Christian education, in imita-

tion of the method employed by God Himself towards His crea-

tures, of whom He demands active cooperation according to the

nature of each; for His Wisdom “reacheth from end to end

mightily and ordereth all things sweetly .” 41

But alas! It is clear from the obvious meaning of the words

and from experience, that what is intended by not a few, is the

withdrawal of education from every sort of dependence on the

divine law. So today we see, strange sight indeed, educators and

philosophers who spend their lives in searching for a universal

moral code of education, as if there existed no decalogue, no

gospel law, no law even of nature stamped by God on the heart

of man, promulgated by right reason, and codified in positive

revelation by God Himself in the ten commandments. These

innovators are wont to refer contemptuously to Christian educa-

tion as “heteronomous,” “passive,” “obsolete,” because founded

upon the authority of God and His holy law.

Such men are miserably deluded in their claim to emanci-

pate, as they say, the child, while in reality they are making

him the slave of his own blind pride and of his disorderly affec-

tions, which, as a logical consequence of this false system, come

to be justified as legitimate demands of a so-called autonomous

nature.

41 Sap. VIII. 1: attingit a fine u^aue ad finem fortiter. et disponit omnia suaviter



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 25

But what is worse is the claim, not only vain but false,

irreverent and dangerous, to submit to research, experiment and

conclusions of a purely natural and profane order, those mat-

ters of education which belong to the supernatural order; as for

example questions of priestly or religious vocation, and in gen-

eral the secret workings of grace which indeed elevate the nat-

ural powers, but are infinitely superior to them, and may no-

wise be subjected to physical laws, for “the Spirit breatheth

where He will .”42

Sex-Instruction

Another grave danger is that naturalism which nowadays in-

vades the field of education in that most delicate matter of

purity of morals. Far too common is the error of those who

with dangerous assurance and under an ugly term propagate a

so-called sex-education, falsely imagining they can forearm youth

against the dangers of sensuality by means purely natural, such

as a foolhardy initiation and precautionary instruction for all

indiscriminately, even in public; and, worse still, by exposing

them at an early age to the occasions, in order to accustom

them, so it is argued, and as it were to harden them against such

dangers.

Such persons grievously err in refusing to recognize the in-

born weakness of human nature, and the law of which the

Apostle speaks, fighting against the law of mind
;

43
and also in

ignoring the experience of facts, from which it is clear that, par-

ticularly in young people, evil practises are the effect not so

much of ignorance of intellect as of weakness of a will exposed

to dangerous occasions, and unsupported by the means of grace.

In this extremely delicate matter, if, all things considered,

some private instruction is found necessary and opportune, from

those who hold from God the commission to teach and who have

the grace of state, every precaution must be taken. Such pre-

cautions are well known in traditional Christian education, and

are adequately described by Antoniano cited above, when he

says:

“Such is our misery and inclination to sin, that often in

the very things considered to be remedies against sin, we find

occasions for and inducements to sin itself. Hence it is of the

42To.. TTI 8: Spiritus ubi vult spirat. 4sRom. vii. 23.



26 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

highest importance that a good father, while discussing with his

son a matter so delicate, should be well on his guard and not

descend to details, nor refer to the various ways in which this

infernal hydra destroys with its poison so large a portion of the

world; otherwise it may happen that instead of extinguishing

this fire, he unwittingly stirs or kindles it in the simple and ten-

der heart of the child. Speaking generally, during the period of

childhood it suffices to employ those remedies which produce the

double effect of opening the door to the virtue of purity and

closing the door upon vice.”44

Co-Education

False also and harmful to Christian education is the so-

called method of “co-education.” This too, by many of its sup-

porters, is founded upon naturalism and the denial of original

sin; but by all, upon a deplorable confusion of ideas that mis-

takes a levelling promiscuity and equality, for the legitimate as-

sociation of the sexes. The Creator has ordained and disposed

perfect union of the sexes only in matrimony, and, with vary-

ing degrees of contact, in the family and in society. Besides

there is not in nature itself, which fashions the two quite dif-

ferent in organism, in temperament, in abilities, anything to

suggest that there can be or ought to be promiscuity, and

much less equality, in the training of the two sexes. These

in keeping with the wonderful designs of the Creator are des-

tined to complement each other in the family and in society,

precisely because of their differences, which therefore ought to be

maintained and encouraged during their years of formation, with

the necessary distinction and corresponding separation, accord-

ing to age and circumstances. These principles, with due regard

to time and place, must in accordance with Christian prudence,

be applied to all schools, particularly in the most delicate and

decisive period of formation, that, namely, of adolescence; and

in gymnastic exercises and deportment, special care must be had

of Christian modesty in young women and girls, which is so

gravely impaired by any kind of exhibition in public.

Recalling the terrible words of the Divine Master: “Woe to

the world because of scandals !”
45 We most earnestly appeal to

44Silvio Antonio, DdTeducation* cristiana dei figliuoli., lib. II, c. 88.

48Matt. rviii. 7: Vae mundo a scandalis!



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 27

your solicitude and your watchfulness, Venerable Brethren,
against these pernicious errors, which, to the immense harm of
youth, are spreading far and wide among Christian people.

In order to obtain perfect education, it is of the utmost im-
portance to see that all those conditions which surround the
child during the period of his formation, in other words that the
combination of circumstances which we call environment, cor-
respond exactly to the end proposed.

The Christian Family

The first natural and necessary element in this environment,
as regards education, is the family, and this precisely because so
ordained by the Creator Himself. Accordingly that education,
as a rule, will be more effective and lasting which is received in a
well-ordered and well-disciplined Christian family; and more
efficacious in proportion to the clear and constant good example
set, first by the parents, and then by the other members of the
household.

It is not our intention to treat formally the question of
domestic education, nor even to touch upon its principal points
The subject is too vast. Besides there are not lacking special
treatises on this topic by authors, both ancient and modern
well known for their solid Catholic doctrine. One which seems
deserving of special mention is the golden treatise already re-
ferred to, of Antoniano, on The Christian Education of Youth
which St. Charles Borromeo ordered to be read in public to par-
ents assembled in their churches.

Nevertheless, Venerable Brethren and beloved children, We
wish to call your attention in a special manner to the present-
day lamentable decline in family education. The offices and
professions of a transitory and earthly life, which are certainly
of far less importance, are prepared for by long and careful
study; whereas for the fundamental duty and obligation of edu-
cating their children, many parents have little or no preparation
immersed as they are in temporal cares. The declining influ-
ence of domestic environment is further weakened by another
tendency, prevalent almost everywhere today, which, under one
pretext or another, for economic reasons, or for reasons of in-
dustry, trade or politics, causes children to be more and more
frequently sent away from home even in their tenderest years.



28 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

And there is a country where the children are actually being

torn from the bosom of the family, to be formed (or, to speak

more accurately, to be deformed and depraved), in godless

schools and associations, to irreligion and hatred, according to

the theories of advanced socialism; and thus is renewed in a real

and more terrible manner the slaughter of the Innocents.

Obligation of Parents

For the love of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, therefore, We im-
plore pastors of souls, by every means in their power, by instruc-

tions and catechisms, by word of mouth and written articles

widely distributed, to warn Christian parents of their grave ob-

ligations. And this should be done not in a merely theoretical

and general way, but with practical and specific application to

the various responsibilities of parents touching the religious,

moral and civil training of their children, and with indication

of the methods best adapted to make their training effective,

supposing always the influence of their own exemplary lives.

The Apostle of the Gentiles did not hesitate to descend to such

details of practical instruction in his epistles, especially in the

Epistle to the Ephesians, where among other things he gives this

advice: “And you, fathers, provoke not your children to anger.”
46

This fault is the result not so much of excessive severity, as of

impatience and of ignorance of means best calculated to effect

a desired correction; it is also due to the all too common relaxa-

tion of parental discipline which fails to check the growth of

evil passions in the hearts of the younger generation. Parents

therefore, and all who take their place in the work of educa-

tion, should be careful to make right use of the authority given

them by God, whose vicars in a true sense they are. This au-

thority is not given for their own advantage, but for the proper

upbringing of their children in a holy and filial “fear of God, the

beginning of wisdom,” on which foundation alone all respect for

authority can rest securely; and without which, order, tranquillity

and prosperity, whether in the family or in society, will be im-

possible.

46Eph. vi. 4: Patres, nolite ad iracundiam provocare filios vestros.



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 29

Educational Environment

To meet the weakness of man’s fallen nature, God in His

Goodness has provided the abundant helps of His grace and the

countless means with which He has endowed the Church, the

great family of Christ. The Church therefore is the educational

environment most intimately and harmoniously associated with

the Christian family.

This educational environment of the Church embraces the

Sacraments, divinely efficacious means of grace, the sacred ritual,

so wonderfully instructive, and the material fabric of her

churches, whose liturgy and art have an immense educational

value; but it also includes the great number and variety of

schools, associations and institutions of all kinds, established for

the training of youth in Christian piety, together with literature

and the sciences, not omitting recreation and physical culture.

And in this inexhaustible fecundity of educational works, how

marvelous, how incomparable is the Church’s maternal provi-

dence! So admirable too is the harmony which she maintains

with the Christian family, that the Church and the family may

be said to constitute together one and the same temple of Chris-

tian education.

The School

Since however the younger generations must be trained in

the arts and sciences for the advantage and prosperity of civil

society, and since the family itself is unequal to this task, it

was necessary to create that social institution, the school. But

let it be borne in mind that this institution owes its existence

to the initiative of the family and of the Church, long before

it was undertaken by the State. Hence considered in its his-

torical origin, the school is by its very nature an institution sub-

sidiary and complementary to the family and to the Church.

It follows logically and necessarily that it must not be in opposi-

tion to, but in positive accord with those other two elements,

and form with them a perfect moral union, constituting one sanc-

tuary of education, as it were, with the family and the Church.

Otherwise it is doomed to fail of its purpose, and to become

instead an agent of destruction.

This principle we find recognized by a layman, famous for



30 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

his pedagogical writings, though these because of their liberalism

cannot be unreservedly praised. “The school,” he writes, “if

not a temple, is a den.” And again: “When literary, social,

domestic and religious education do not go hand in hand, man

is unhappy and helpless.”47

From this it follows that the so-called “neutral” or “lay”

school, from which religion is excluded, is contrary to the fun-

damental principles of education. Such a school moreover can-

not exist in practise; it is bound to become irreligious. There

is no need to repeat what Our Predecessors have declared on this

point, especially Pius IX and Leo XIII, at times when laicism

was beginning in a special manner to infest the public school.

We renew and confirm their declarations
,

48
as well as the

Sacred Canons in which the frequenting of non-Catholic schools,

whether neutral or mixed, those namely which are open to Cath-

olics and non-Catholics alike, is forbidden for Catholic children,

and can be at most tolerated, on the approval of the Ordinary

alone, under determined circumstances of place and time, and

with special precautions .
49

Neither can Catholics admit that

other type of mixed school (least of all the so-called “ecole

unique,” obligatory on all), in which the students are provided

with separate religious instruction, but receive other lessons in

common with non-Catholic pupils from non-Catholic teachers.

The Catholic School

For the mere fact that a school gives some religious instruc-

tion (often extremely stinted), does not bring it into accord

with the rights of the Church and of the Christian family, or

make it a fit place for Catholic students. To be this, it is neces-

sary that all the teaching and the whole organization of the

school, and its teachers, syllabus and text-books in every branch,

be regulated by the Christian spirit, under the direction and

maternal supervision of the Church; so that religion may be in

very truth the foundation and crown of the youth’s entire train-

ing; and this in every grade of school, not only the elementary,

4TNlc. Tommaseo, Pensieri sulVeducazione, Parte I, 3. 6.

48Pius IX, Ep. Quum non sine, 14 Iul. 1864.—Syllabus, Prop. 48.—Leo XIII,
alloc. Sttmmi Pontificatus, 20 Aug. 1880, Ep. enc. Nobilissima, 8 Febr. 1884, Ep. eac.

Quod mvltum, 22 Aug. 1886, Ep. Officio sanctissimo, 22 Dec. 1887, Ep. enc. Cantttis.

19 Mart 1*04 etc. (Cfr. Cod. I. C. cum Fontium Annot., c. 1374).

4#CW. I. C., e. 1374.



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 31

but the intermediate and the higher institutions of learning as

well. To use the words of Leo XIII: “It is necessary not only

that religious instruction be given to the young at certain fixed

times, but also that every other subject taught, be permeated

with Christian piety. If this is wanting, if this sacred atmos-

phere does not pervade and warm the hearts of masters and

scholars alike, little good can be expected from any kind of learn-

ing, and considerable harm will often be the consequence .”
50

And let no one say that in a nation where there are different

religious beliefs, it is impossible to provide for public instruction

otherwise than by neutral or mixed schools. In such a case it

becomes the duty of the State, indeed it is the easier and more

reasonable method of procedure, to leave free scope to the initia-

tive of the Church and family, while giving them such assistance

as justice demands. That this can be done to the full satisfac-

tion of families, and to the advantage of education and of public

peace and tranquillity, is clear from the actual experience of some

countries compromising different religious denominations. There

the school legislation respects the rights of the family, and Cath-

olics are free to follow their own system of teaching in schools

that are entirely Catholic. Nor is distributive justice lost sight

of, as is evidenced by the financial aid granted by the State to

the several schools demanded by the families.

In other countries of mixed creeds, things are otherwise, and

a heavy burden weighs upon Catholics, who under the guidance

of their Bishops and with the indefatigable cooperation of the

clergy, secular and regular, support Catholic schools for their

children entirely at their own expense; to this they feel obliged

in conscience, and with a generosity and constancy worthy of

all praise, they are firmly determined to make adequate provi-

sion for what they openly profess as their motto: “Catholic edu-

cation in Catholic schools for all the Catholic youth.” If such

education is not aided from public funds, as distributive justice

requires, certainly it may not be opposed by any civil authority
ready to recognize the rights of the family, and the irreducible

claims of legitimate liberty.

Where this fundamental liberty is thwarted or interfered

50Ep. enc. Militantis Ecclesiae, 1 Aug. 1897: Necesse est non modo certis horis
doreri iuvenes religionem, sed reliquam institutionem omnem christianae pietatis sensus
redolere. Id si desit, si sacer hie halitus non doctorum animos ac discentum pervadat
foveatque, eziguae capientur ez qualibet doctrina utilitates; damna saepe conseauentur
haud ezigua.



32 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

with, Catholics will never feel, whatever may have been the sac-

rifices already made, that they have done enough, for the sup-

port and defense of their schools and for the securing of laws

that will do them justice.

Catholic Action

For whatever Catholics do in promoting and defending the

Catholic school for their children, is a genuinely religious work

and therefore an important task of “Catholic Action.” For this

reason the associations which in various countries are so zeal-

ously engaged in this work of prime necessity, are especially

dear to Our paternal heart and are deserving of every com-

mendation.

Let it be loudly proclaimed and well understood and recog-

nized by all, that Catholics, no matter what their nationality, in

agitating for Catholic schools for their children, are not mixing

in party politics, but are engaged in a religious enterprise de-

manded by conscience. They do not intend to separate their

children either from the body of the nation or its spirit, but to

educate them in a perfect manner, most conducive to the pros-

perity of the nation. Indeed a good Catholic, precisely because

of his Catholic principles, makes the better citizen, attached to

his country, and loyally submissive to constituted civil authority

in every legitimate form of government.

In such a school, in harmony with the Church and the

Christian family, the various branches of secular learning will not

enter into conflict with religious instruction to the manifest detri-

ment of education. And if, when occasion arises, it be deemed

necessary to have the students read authors, propounding false

doctrine, for the purpose of refuting it, this will be done after

due preparation and with such an antidote of sound doctrine,

that it will not only do no harm, but will be an aid to the Chris-

tian formation of youth.

In such a school moreover, the study of the vernacular and of

classical literature will do no damage to moral virtue. There

the Christian teacher will imitate the bee, which takes the

choicest part of the flower and leaves the rest, as St. Basil

teaches in his discourse to youths on the study of the classics .
51

Nor will this necessary caution, suggested also by the pagan

81 P. G.. t. 31. 570.



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 33

Quintilian
,

52
in any way hinder the Christian teacher from gath-

ering and turning to profit whatever there is of real worth in

the systems and methods of our modem times, mindful of the

Apostle’s advice: “Prove all things: hold fast that which is

good .”
58

Hence in accepting the new, he will not hastily aban-

don the old, which the experience of centuries has found expedi-

ent and profitable. This is particularly true in the teaching of

Latin, which in our days is falling more and more into disuse,

because of the unreasonable rejection of methods so successfully

used by that sane humanism, whose highest development was

reached in the schools of the Church. These notable traditions

of the past require that the youth committed to Catholic schools

be fully instructed in the letters and sciences in accordance with

the exigencies of the times. They also demand that the doctrine

imparted be deep and solid, especially in sound philosophy,

avoiding the muddled superficiality of those “who perhaps would

have found the necessary, had they not gone in search of the

superfluous .”
54

In this connection Christian teachers should

keep in mind what Leo XIII says in a pithy sentence: “Greater

stress must be laid on the employment of apt and solid methods

of teaching, and, what is still more important, on bringing into

full conformity with the Catholic faith, what is taught in litera-

ture, in the sciences, and above all in philosophy, on which de-

pends in great part the right orientation of the other branches

of knowledge.”55

Good Teachers

Perfect schools are the result not so much of good methods as

of good teachers, teachers who are thoroughly prepared and

well-grounded in the matter they have to teach; who possess

the intellectual and moral qualifications required by their im-

portant office; who cherish a pure and holy love for the youths

confided to them, because they love Jesus Christ and His church,

of which these are the children of predilection; and who have

therefore sincerely at heart the true good of family and country.

Indeed it fills Our soul with consolation and gratitude towards

52Inst. Or., 1, 8. 53l. Thess. v. 21: omnia probate; quod bonum est tenete.

54Seneca, Epist. 45: invenissent forsitan necessaria nisi et superflua quaesiissent.

55Leo XIII, Ep. enc Inscrutabli 21 Apr. 1878: . . . alacrius adnitendum est, ut
non solum apta ac solida institutionis methodus, sed maxime institutio ipsa catholicae
fidei omnino conformis in litteris et disciplinis vigeat, praesertim autem in philosophia.
ex qua recta aliarum scientiarum ratio magna ex parte dependet.



34 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

the Divine Goodness to see, side by side with religious men and

women engaged in teaching, such a large number of excellent

lay teachers, who, for their greater spiritual advancement, are

often grouped in special sodalities and associations, which are

worthy of praise and encouragement as most excellent and pow-

erful auxiliaries of “Catholic Action.” All these labor unselfish-

ly with zeal and perseverance in what St. Gregory Nazianzen

calls “the art of arts and the science of sciences,”56 the direction

and formation of youth. Of them also it may be said in the

words of the Divine Master: “The harvest indeed is great, but

the laborers few.”
57

Let us then pray the Lord of the harvest

to send more such workers into the field of Christian educa-

tion; and let their formation be one of the principal concerns of

the pastors of souls and of the superiors of religious orders.

It is no less necessary to direct and watch the education of

the adolescent, “soft as wax to be molded into vice,”
58

in what-

ever other environment he may happen to be, removing occa-

sions of evil and providing occasions for good in his recreations

and social intercourse; for “evil communications corrupt good

manners.”59

The World and Its Dangers

More than ever nowadays an extended and careful vigilance

is necessary, inasmuch as the dangers of moral and religious

shipwreck are greater for inexperienced youth. Especially is this

true of impious and immoral books, often diabolically circulated

at low prices
;
of the cinema, which multiplies every kind of exhi-

bition; and now also of the radio, which facilitates every kind

of reading. These most powerful means of publicity, which can

be of great utility for instruction and education when directed

by sound principles, are only too often used as an incentive to

evil passion and greed for gain. St. Augustine deplored the pas-

sions for the shows of the circus which possessed even some

Christians of his time, and he dramatically narrates the infatua-

tion for them, fortunately only temporary, of his disciple and

friend Alipius .
60 How often today must parents and educators

560ratio II, P. G., t. 35, 426: ars artium et scientia scientiarum.

57Matt. ix. 37: Messis quidem multa, operarii autem pauci.

58Horat., Art. poet., v. 163: cereus in vitium flecti.

691. Cor. xv. 33c: corrumpunt mores bonos colloquia mala.

«oConf., VII, 8.



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 35

bewail the corruption of youth brought about by the modern

theater and the vile book!

Worthy of all praise and encouragement therefore are those

educational associations which have for their object to point out

to parents and educators, by means of suitable books and peri-

odicals, the dangers to morals and religion that are often cun-

ningly disguised in books and theatrical representations. In their

spirit of zeal for the souls of the young, they endeavor at the

same time to circulate good literature and to promote plays that

are really instructive, going so far as to put up at the cost of

great sacrifices, theaters and cinemas, in which virtue will have

nothing to suffer and much to gain.

This necessary vigilance does not demand that young people

be removed from the society in which they must live and save

their souls; but that today more than ever they should be fore-

warned and forearmed as Christians against the seductions and

the errors of the world, which, as Holy Writ admonishes us, is all

“concupiscence of the flesh, concupiscence of the eyes and pride

of life.”
61

Let them be what Tertullian wrote of the first Chris-

tians, and what Christians of all times ought to be, “sharers in

the possession of the world, not of its error.”
62

This saying of Tertullian brings us to the topic which we pro-

pose to treat in the last place, and which is of the greatest im-

portance, that is, the true nature of Christian education, as de-

duced from its proper end. Its consideration reveals with

noon-day clearness the preeminent educational mission of the

Church.

The proper and immediate end of Christian education is to

cooperate with divine grace in forming the true and perfect

Christian, that is, to form Christ Himself in those regenerated

by baptism, according to the emphatic expression of the Apostle:

“My little children, of whom I am in labor again, until Christ
be formed in you .”63 For the true Christian must live a super-

natural life in Christ: “Christ Who is your life,”64 and display
it in all his actions: “That the life also of Jesus may be made

manifest in our mortal flesh .”
65

6ll. Io., II, 16: concupiscentia carnis, concupiscentia oculorum et superbia vitae.

* 2De ldololatria, 14: compossessores mundi, non erroris.

63Gal. iv. 19: Filioli mei, auos iterum parturio. donee formetur Christus in vobis.

64Col. iii. 4: Christus, vita vestra.

6511. Cor. iv. 11: ut et vita Iesu manifestetur in carne nostra mortali.



36 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

For precisely this reason, Christian education takes in the

whole aggregate of human life, physical and spiritual, intellec-

tual and moral, individual, domestic and social, not with a view

of reducing it in any way, but in order to elevate, regulate

and perfect it, in accordance with the example and teaching of

Christ.

The True Christian

Hence the true Christian, product of Christian education, is

the supernatural man who thinks, judges and acts constantly

and consistently in accordance with right reason illumined by

the supernatural light of the example and teaching of Christ; in

other words, to use the current term, the true and finished man

of character. For, it is not every kind of consistency and firm-

ness of conduct based on subjective principles that makes true

character, but only constancy in following the eternal principles

of justice, as is admitted even by the pagan poet when he praises

as one and the same “the man who is just and firm of pur-

pose .”
66 And on the other hand, there cannot be full justice ex-

cept in giving to God what is due to God, as the true Christian

does.

The scope and aim of Christian education as here described,

appears to the worldly as an abstraction, or rather as something

that cannot be attained without the suppression or dwarfing of

the natural faculties, and without a renunciation of the activities

of the present life, and hence inimical to social life and temporal

prosperity, and contrary to all progress in letters, arts and

sciences, and all the other elements of civilization. To a like

objection raised by the ignorance and the prejudice of even cul-

tured pagans of a former day, and repeated with greater fre-

quency and insistence in modern times, Tertullian has replied

as follows: “We are not strangers to life. We are fully aware
of the gratitude we owe to God, Our Lord and Creator. We re-
ject none of the fruits of His handiwork; we only abstain from

their immoderate or unlawful use. We are living in the world

with you
; we do not shun your forum, your markets, your baths,

your shops, your factories, your stables, your places of business

and traffic. We take ship with you and we serve in your armies,

we are farmers and merchants with you; we interchange skilled

labor and display our works in public for your service. How we

66Horat., Od. 1. III. od. 3, v. 1: Iustum et tenacem propositi virum.



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 37

can seem unprofitable to you with whom we live and of whom

we are, I know not.”67

The true Christian does not renounce the activities of this

life, he does not stunt his natural faculties; but he develops and

perfects them, by coordinating them with the supernatural. He

thus ennobles what is merely natural in life and secures for it

new strength in the material and temporal order, no less than

in the spiritual and eternal.

Evidence of History

This fact is proved by the whole history of Christianity and

its institutions, which is nothing else but the history of true civ-

ilization and progress up to the present day. It stands out con-

spicuously in the lives of the numerous saints, whom the Church,

and she alone, produces, in whom is perfectly realized the pur-

pose of Christian education, and who have in every way en-

nobled and benefited human society. Indeed, the saints have

ever been, are, and ever will be the greatest benefactors of so-

ciety, and perfect models for every class and profession, for every

state and condition of life, from the simple and uncultured peas-

ant to the master of sciences and letters, from the humble artisan

to the commander of armies, from the father of a family to the

ruler of peoples and nations, from simple maidens and matrons

of the domestic hearth to queens and empresses. What shall we

say of the immense work which has been accomplished even for

the temporal well-being of men by missionaries of the Gospel,

who have brought and still bring to barbarous tribes the bene-

fits of civilization together with the light of the faith? What

of the founders of so many social and charitable institutions, of

the vast numbers of saintly educators, men and women, who

have perpetuated and multiplied their life-work, by leaving after

them prolific institutions of Christian education, in aid of fam-

ilies and for the inestimable advantage of nations?

Such are the fruits of Christian education. Their price and

value is derived from the supernatural virtue and life in Christ

which Christian education forms and develops in man. Of this

siApol., 42: Non sumus exules vitae. Meminimus gratiam nos debere Deo Domino
Creatori; nullum fructum operum eius repudiamus; plane temperamus.. ne ultra modum
aut perperam utamur. Itaque non sine foro, non sine macello, non sine balneis, taber-

nis, officinis. stabulis. nundinis vestris, caeterisque commerciis cohabitamus in hoc

saeculo. Navigamus et nos vobiscum et militamus et rusticamur, et mercamur, proinde

miscemus artes, operas nostras publicamus usui vestro. Quemodo infructuosi videamur

negotiis vestris, cum quibus et de quibus vivimus, no scio.



38 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

life and virtue Christ Our Lord and Master is the source and

dispenser. By His example He is at the same time the universal

model accessible to all, especially to the young in the period

of His hidden life, a life of labor and obedience, adorned with all

virtues, personal, domestic and social, before God and men.

Conclusion

Now all this array of priceless educational treasures which
We have barely touched upon, is so truly a property of the
Church as to form her very substance, since she is the mystical

body of Christ, the immaculate spouse of Christ, and conse-

quently a most admirable mother and an incomparable and per-

fect teacher. This thought inspired St. Augustine, the great

genius of whose blessed death we are about to celebrate the

fifteenth centenary, with accents of tenderest love for so glorious

a mother: “O Catholic Church, true Mother of Christians! Not

only dost thou preach to us, as is meet, how purely and chastely

we are to worship God Himself, Whom to possess is life most
blessed; thou dost moreover so cherish neighborly love and

charity, that all the infirmities to which sinful souls are subject,

find their most potent remedy in thee. Childlike thou art in

molding the child, strong with the young man, gentle with the

aged, dealing with each according to his needs of mind and of

body. Thou dost subject child to parent in a sort of free servi-

tude, and settest parent over child in a jurisdiction of love.

Thou bindest brethren to brethren by the bond of religion,

stronger and closer than the bond of blood. . . . Thou unitest

citizen to citizen, nation to nation, yea, all men, in a union not

of companionship only, but of brotherhood, reminding them

of their common origin. Thou teachest kings to care for their

people, and biddest people to be subject to their kings. Thou

teachest assiduously to whom honor is due, to whom love, to

whom reverence, to whom fear, to whom comfort, to whom re-

buke, to whom punishment; showing us that whilst not all

things nor the same things are due to all, charity is due to all

and offense to none.”
68

68De moribus Ecclesiae catholicae, lib. I, c. 30: Merito Ecclesia catholica Mater
christianorum verissima, non solum ipsum Deum, cuius adeptio vita est beatissima,

purissime atque castissime colendum praedicas; sed etiam proximi dilectionem atque

charitatem ita complecteris, ut variorum morborum, quibus pro peccatis suis animae

aegrotant, omnis apud te medicina praepolleat. Tu pueriliter, pueros, fortiter iuvenes.

quiete senes prout cuiusque non corporis tantum, sed et ajiimi aetas est, exerces ac doces.



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 39

Let us then, Venerable Brethren, raise our hands and our

hearts in supplication to heaven, “to the Shepherd and Bishop

of our souls,”
69

to the divine King “Who gives laws to rulers,”

that in His almighty power He may cause these splendid fruits

of Christian education to be gathered in ever greater abundance

“in the whole world,” for the lasting benefit of individuals and

of nations.

As a pledge of these heavenly favors, with paternal affection

We impart to you, Venerable Brethren, to your clergy and your

people, the Apostolic benediction.

Given at Rome, at St. Peter’s, the thirty-first day of Decem-

ber, in the year 1929, the eighth of Our Pontificate.

Pius PP. XI.

DISCUSSION CLUB OUTLINE

Prepared by Rev. Gerald C. Treacy, S.J.

(Numerals Indicate Pages )

I

We as representing Christ who loved the young especially, have

been constantly assiduous in instructing all on the Christian education

of youth. Today education is widely discussed and methods and

means of pedagogy are argued for and against. Men today realize

that they need more than material things for their happiness and

feeling within themselves an impulse toward higher things they turn

to education for an answer to this impulse. Their mistake is in look-

ing only to themselves and forgetting to look up to God. It is im-

portant then to make no mistake about education as it is to make no

mistake about the purpose of life. Indeed the aim of education is

to prepare man to fulfill that very purpose. So there can be no

ideally perfect education which is not Christian. It aims at securing

the Supreme Good, God, for the souls being educated and the maxi-

Tu parentibus filios libera quadam servitute subiungis, parentes filiis pia dominatione
praeponis. Tu fratribus fratres religionis vinculo firmiore atque arctiore quam san-
guinis nectis . . . Tu cives civibus, gentes gentibus, et prorsus homines primorum
parentum recordatione, non societate tantum, sed quadam etiam fratemitate
coniungis. Doces Reges prospicere populis; mones populos se subdere Regibus. Quibus

honor debeatur, quibus affectus, quibus reverentia, quibus timor, quibus consolatio,

quibus admonitio, quibus cohortatio, quibus disciplina, quibus obiurgatio, quibus suppli-

cium, sedulo, doces; ostendens quemadmodum et non omnibus omnia, et omnibus char-
itas, et nulli debeatur iniuria.

69Cfr. I. Petr. ii. 2S: ad Pastorem et Episcopum animarum vestrarum.



40 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

mum of well-being possible here below for human society. In a matter

of such importance it is necessary to have a clear idea of Christian

education in its essential aspects, namely, who has the mission to edu-

cate, who are the subjects to be educated, what are the necessary

accompanying circumstances and what is the end and object proper

to Christian education. Education is a social and not a mere indi-

vidual activity. Now there are three societies into which man is born,

the family, civil society and the Church. In the first place comes

the family instituted by God for the generation and formation of

children. It has priority of nature and rights over civil society.

Nevertheless it is an imperfect society for it has not within itself all

the means for its complete development. Civil society is a perfect

society for it has within itself all the means necessary for its peculiar

end, namely, the common good. So in this respect it has preeminence

over the family. The third society into which man is bom by bap-

tism is the Church, a supernatural society and perfect because it has

within itself all the means required for its own end, the eternal salva-

tion of mankind. Consequently education belongs to all these three

societies (3-7).

Questions

Why does the Pope treat the subject of education?

What explains the general interest today in education?

What is the aim of true education?

Why must it of necessity be Christian?

What is the objective of Christian education 5

Who has the mission to educate, who are the subjects to be edu-

cated?

Is education an individual activity?

What three societies are concerned with education?

Of these three which one holds the priority of nature and right?

Are all three perfect societies?

II

Education belongs preeminently to the Church. Christ gave the

Church the educational commission: “Going therefore teach all na-

tions.” Besides this she has the title of supernatural motherhood in

virtue of which she generates, fosters and educates souls in the divine

life of grace. Hence in Faith and Morals the Church is appointed

by God to be the infallible teacher of mankind. So the Church in the



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 41

exercise of this right is independent of any earthly power not
only

in regard to her proper end but also in regard to the means necessary

to the end. Hence with regard to every kind of human learning the

Church has the independent right to make use of it, and to decide

moreover what may help or what may harm Christian education.

This is her right because she is a perfect society and every form of

instruction no less than every human action has a necessary connection

with man’s destiny. Pius X has expressed that clearly. Be it noted

that in the realm of morality she is the only teacher possessing “all

truth.” Morality does not belong exclusively to her but it does belong

wholly to her. Therefore the Church with full right promotes, letters,

science, art, and even physical training in addition to her work for

the salvation of souls.

This work of the Church in every branch of culture is of immense

benefit to families and nations for without Christ they are lost. Nor

does it interfere with the State’s part in education as the Church is

anxious in her schools to conform to the legitimate educational re-

quirements of the State. Again it is both the right and duty of the

Church to watch over the entire education of her children in all

schools, public and private, in everything that concerns religion and

morality and not merely in religious instruction. The exercise of this

right far from being an interference is in reality an aid to the State

as it is for the interest of order in family and civil life. The mission

of the Church in the field of education is world-wide, and there is no

power on earth that can rightfully stand in her way. For her right

is grounded on Christ’s divine command: “Go teach all nations.” In

the first place this right extends over all her own children and then to

all others, as all are called to enter the Kingdom of God. Just as to-

day in her foreign missions the Church covers the world with her edu-

cational apostolate so in the past, especially in the Middle Ages, she

has been the mother of learning and the promoter of civilization. It

is clear then that by right and by fact the mission to educate belongs

preeminently to the Church and no one free from prejudice can have

a reasonable motive for opposing the Church in this her work from

which the world of civilization benefits. This is all the more true

since the rights of the individual, the family, and the State regard-

ing true liberty in the pursuit of knowledge are not opposed to this

preeminence but are in complete harmony with it. The basic reason

for this harmony is that the supernatural order to which the Church

owes her right, does not destroy but it perfects the natural order For

both orders come from God who cannot contradict Himself (7-12).



42 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

Questions

Why does the right to educate belong preeminently to the Church?

What is the twofold title to this right?

In the exercise of this right what field of knowledge is closed to

the Church?

Does this right extend only to matters that are strictly of Faith

and Morals?

How does the exercise of this right benefit families and nations?

Does not its exercise interfere with the right of the State?

Does this right extend to all schools both public and private?

Does it extend to all individuals?

Why does not this right which is supernatural clash with the

natural right of the family and State?

Ill

The Church’s mission of education is in agreement with that of

the family for both family and Church proceed from God in a strik-

ingly similar manner. God directly gives the family fecundity which

is the principle of life hence also the principle of education to life,

with authority the principle of order. This in the natural order. So

the family holds directly from the Creator the mission and so the

right to educate. This right is inalienable. It is joined to a strict

obligation and is before any right whatever of civil society. Saint

Thomas makes this clear in stating: “Nature intends not merely the

generation but the development of offspring.” Canon Law declares:

“Parents are under a serious obligation to see to the religious, moral,

civic and physical education of their children and to provide for their

temporal well-being.” The common sense of mankind holds the sane

view that children do not belong to the State but to the family. Man

is bom man before he becomes a citizen. So the family has the prior

educational right. This by no means implies a despotic right. Like

every true right it must be used in conformity to the Law of Nature

and the Law of God. The Supreme Court of the United States in

1925, handing down a decision in the Oregon School Case, vindicated

the parents’ right to educate and so clinched it as a fundamental in

American law. History in modem times has proved the tendency of

the State to infringe upon family rights while the Church has ever been

:he defender of these rights. The Church places at the disposal of
r
amilies her office as educator and families welcome her aid. These

ights of family and Church do not interfere with the right of the



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 43

State in education. That right is to protect and foster the efforts of

the family and the individual and not to substitute itself for them.

Otherwise the common good which is the sole purpose of the State’s

existence cannot be procured. The State is for man, not man for the

State. And so individual, family, Church should be protected in their

rights by State legislation. If the family fails in its duty to safe-

guard the rights of the child then the State should step in. In general

it is the right and duty of the State to protect the moral and religious

education of youth by not allowing anything to stand in its way

( 12
- 17 ).

Questions

How do the educational rights of the family and of the Church

proceed from God?

Why is the family’s right in this matter inalienable?

As man is a citizen why does he not belong first to the State?

What is the force of the Supreme Court decision on the Oregon

Law?

Why does not the Church’s right infringe on that of the family

and the State?

When should the State step in and take over the family right of

education?

IV

It is the State’s duty for the common good to assist both family

and Church in their educational missions and supplement this work by

means of its own schools. The State has the right to demand that

its citizens have the necessary knowledge of their civil and political

duties and a certain degree of physical, intellectual, and moral cul-

ture. It has no right to a monopoly of schools. It has a right to

establish schools especially dedicated to diplomatic and military train-

ing. The danger here is in overstressing nationalism and athleticism

in the training of boys and even of girls. And not only should the

State see to the civic education of its youth, but this civic education

should reach all ages and classes in the State. All of this doctrine

on the State rests on Catholic teaching so well brought out by Leo

XIII in his encyclical on “The Christian Constitution of States.”

Both Church and State are supreme, each in its own sphere. As men

are under both authorities it may happen that a subject of importance

to men belongs to both Church and State. Education is such a sub-

ject. So there must be a well-ordered harmony between them. Other-



44 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

wise the good of the citizen and the State itself will suffer. As a

matter of fact the more closely the State cooperates with the Church

the better for the State. Only the good Christian makes the good

citizen. What is true of the State is true of science and scientific

research. They have nothing to fear from the full and perfect man-

date which the Church holds in the field of education. Faith and

Reason as the Vatican Council declared are not at variance with each

other but on the contrary are of mutual help. Faith acknowledges

the freedom of Science to penetrate deeply into the unknown. But

Faith claims the right of holding Science to its proper limits. There

should be liberty of teaching, too, besides liberty of Science. And

this again means ordered liberty and not the liberty to destroy or at-

tempt to destroy the Faith of the immature and inexperienced. For

it must not be forgotten that the subject of education is man whole

and entire, fallen but redeemed. So there remain in human nature

the effects of original sin, mainly weakness of will and disorderly ten-

dencies. Will and intellect then must be strengthened and nurtured

by supernatural Truth and the means of Grace without which it is

impossible to attain to the complete perfection of education. To rely

on any form of Naturalism as an educational means is an error. Any

method that relies on the unaided powers of nature is false. The

modem systems under various names that appeal to the initiative of

the child and minimize the authority of the teacher mean educational

chaos. It is true that education must not be despotic but must be co-

operative on the part of the learner. Surely there is nothing new in

this as it is the Divine Teacher’s age-old method. Some moderns are

striving to emancipate the child by leaving out of the curriculum

God’s law. Such a so-called emancipation results in perversion. An-

other too common error is the reliance on natural knowledge alone in

sex education. It must ever be kept in mind that sex sins are much

less the result of ignorance than of weakness of will unsupported by

Divine Grace. If sex education is to be given it should be done

with every possible precaution and by those truly qualified. Education

to purity is the most necessary means and traditional in the Church

and the Catholic school (17-26).

Questions

What is the State’s duty in regard to schools?

What educational standards has the State the right to demand?5

May the State hold a monopoly of education?



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 45

Who has the right to establish schools for military and diplomatic

training?

What is the danger in the teaching of patriotism? In athleticism?

What should be the relation between Church and State?

Does education belong entirely to the Church or to the State?

What is the attitude of the Church toward Science?

How does the Church contribute to the building of good citizen-

ship?

What is the relation between Faith and Reason?

What is true liberty of teaching?

Who is the subject of education?

Why cannot Naturalism form the basis of education?

What is the weakness of most modern pedagogical systems?

What is the Catholic attitude on sex education?

V

Co-education as commonly advocated rests on the false basis of

Naturalism. It mixes up the idea of association of the sexes with a

promiscuity and equality. The sexes are not equal. They are destined

to complement each other. They cannot be leveled down to a uniform

system of education. It must be remembered that environment plays

a most important part in the education of the child. And the strong-

est element in this environment is the well-ordered and well-disci-

plined Christian family. The family today is the weak spot in edu-

cation. Many parents are not equipped, many are negligent in the

most important task that is theirs, the training of children. There

is a tendency to send children away from home even in their tenderest

years. Without the strength of the home every other agency in edu-

cation will be weak. Parents take the place of God and have their

authority from God together with the responsibility of rearing their

children in the fear of God which is Wisdom’s beginning. The edu-

cational environment of the Church is the one most intimately asso-

ciated with the family. This educational environment of the Church

consists of the Sacraments, the ritual, liturgy, ecclesiastical art and

the Catholic School System. So much in harmony is all this with the

family that it may be said that Church and family make the same

temple of Christian education. Since the family cannot carry on

education to the full it is necessary to have schools. The school

then is complementary to the family and the Church, it forms with

them one sanctuary of education or else it fails of its purpose. It



46 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

follows from this that the “neutral” school from which religion is

excluded is based on false educational principles. In practice it is

bound to be irreligious. Attendance at such schools by Catholic chil-

dren is forbidden. Only may they be tolerated for special reasons

determined by the Bishop. Nor should Catholics attend “mixed”

schools where non-Catholic teachers are in charge even though separate

religious instruction is provided. For the mere fact that a school

gives some religious instruction does not make it a Catholic school,

nor does it bring it into accord with the rights of the Church and

the Christian family. For a Catholic school is one under the super-

vision of the Church, where every branch of learning is regulated by

the Christian spirit, where religion is in truth the foundation and the

crown of all education from the grades to the University. Even in a

nation where there are different religious beliefs there is no need for

the neutral or mixed school. Each religious group can have its own

schools aided by the State as is done in Canada and in England.

Distributive justice calls for the State to do this. In countries where

it is not done the Catholic and other religious groups desiring their

own schools labor under the injustice of double taxation. Be it said

to the credit of our Catholic people that they bear the unjust burden

cheerfully whatever its cost, alive to their responsibility to see “Catho-

lic education in Catholic schools for all Catholic youth” (26-32).

Questions

Why is the theory of co-education false?

What is the true differences in the sexes?

What does this difference call for in real education?

What is the strongest environment in education?

Does the school take over all educational responsibility from the

family?

In what does the educational environment of the Church consist?

Why are neutral and mixed schools unsound educationally?

May Catholics attend them?

Is it enough for the school to provide religious instruction to make

it Catholic?

What is the accurate definition of a Catholic school?

Is not the mixed or neutral school necessary in countries like our

own?

Why should the State support religious schools?

What is the Catholic answer when the State refuses such support?



CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH 47

VI

Catholics in promoting the Catholic school are engaged in a truly

religious work, a part of “Catholic Action.” In urging the Catholic

school for their children they are not mixing in politics but in a

religious enterprise demanded by conscience. They do not intend

to separate their children from the body or spirit of the nation, but

to educate them thoroughly and make them worthy citizens. The

better the Catholic the better the citizen. In such a school all

branches of knowledge will be coordinated, and will not conflict with

religion. Everything worth while that is new will be used and noth-

ing of value that is old in systems and methods will be discarded.

For the Catholic school means the best of the past, the best of the

present in subjects and methods, with the unity of the Faith dominat-

ing all. What is more, good schools mean above all thoroughly com-

petent teachers with every moral and intellectual qualification for the

all-important task of forming citizens for the nation and citizens for

Heaven. Both religious and lay Catholics work together in this splen-

did educational field of “Catholic Action,” in what Saint Gregory calls

“the art of arts and the science of sciences,” the formation of youth.

Both pastors and religious superiors should see to it that these teachers

get the very best formation themselves. Never more than today was

there need for vigilance in safeguarding youth. For today the bad

book, the movie, the radio facilitate every kind of information. Here

are ideal means of education often perverted into channels of soul-

corruption. Greater then is the need of promoting the good movie,

radio and book. The youth of today must be trained for the world

and protected against the world in being forearmed against its errors.

“Sharers in the possession of the world, not of its error,” as Ter-

tullian said centuries ago. While life changes, the world that is the

“lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” never

changes. The proper purpose of Christian education is to form Christ

in every student. “My little children for whom I am in labor again
until Christ be formed in you,” are Saint Paul’s words expressing the

idea of Christian education. For this reason Christian education takes

in all life, with a view of elevating it to the supernatural sphere. Its

resultant is the Christian and not merely the gentleman. The man

who acts on reason and on Faith, “who has put on the Mind of Christ,”

the true and finished man of character. What the pagan poet Horace

called the “man who is just and firm of purpose” means to the Chris-

tian, the man just with the justice of God and firm in carrying out



48 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF YOUTH

the purpose of God. The educated Christian is not at odds with life

about him but with its wrongs. He does not stunt his natural abili-

ties but develops and perfects them by coordinating them with the

supernatural. This is proved by the whole history of Christianity

which is nothing else than the history of civilization and progress up

to the present day. It is evidenced in the lives of the saints who are

the truly educated and who have in every way benefited human so-

ciety. It is plain from the missionary activities of the Church, for

from the beginning to the present time the torch of Faith in the hand

of the missionary has also been the torch of civilization. Such are the

results of Christian education. Their value is derived from the virtue

and life in Christ which Christian education forms and develops in

man. All these treasures of Christian education flow from the Church,

the Spouse and Body of Christ, the Mother of mankind and so the in-

comparable and perfect Teacher (32-38).

Questions

How do Catholics in promoting the Catholic school share in

“Catholic Action”?

Is not the religious school in opposition to the State school?

How does the Catholic school contribute to good citizenship?

Does the Catholic school ignore all modem contributions to educa-

tion?

What is the most important factor in the school?

Are the radio and the movie contributing to modem education?

Does not the Catholic school by stressing the spiritual hamper

success in material things?

How does the Catholic school piepare its students for the world?

What is the ideal of Catholic education?

Why is not intellectual training sufficient to produce the educated

man?

Explain what is meant by the resultant of education as “the man

who is just and firm of purpose.”

Does not the development of the supernatural life stunt the growth

of the natural?

What does history show regarding the educational power of the

Church?

How do the saints prove the value of Christian education?

Has the missionary activity of the Church vindicated its edu-

cational ability?

Whence are the value and results of Christian education derived?





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