Reclaiming the Piazza II: The Catholic School and the New Evangelisation - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0852448996 ISBN 13: 9780852448991

Publisher: Gracewing, 2017

Synopsis

What is ‘new’ and continues to develop is the form by which that same Gospel is proclaimed with fresh enthusiasm, in a contemporary and comprehensible language, with methodologies capable of transmitting the deepest sense of God’s unchanging Word. In the last decades, as the cacophonies of secularism, relativism, individualism, materialism, and indifference have continued to blare, many have become deaf to the Word of God and live without ever noticing the absence of God as a real absence in their lives. Yet, it is within this cultural context that Catholic schools and universities have the extraordinary opportunity to ‘make the deaf hear’... We must understand better how these privileged places for the development of human thought and personal formation will become communities where critical thinking is encouraged, to allow each student to contribute meaningfully to the common good through the witness of his or her personal faith. The theoretical and practical contributions made by the authors of this book will serve as a helpful roadmap for this critical reflection.

About this title

About the Author:

Leonardo Franchi is lecturer in Religious Education in the School of Education at the University of Glasgow. He is a graduate of the University (MA Hons and PhD) and the Maryvale Institute (MEd). He has an ongoing interest in a range of cultural and religious issues, especially the link between education and culture and the role of the liberal arts in education. Leonardo has worked on many successful publications in the field of religion and education. His recent monograph, Shared Mission: Religious Education in the Catholic Tradition, is an innovative reflection on how the Church should develop its approach to Religious Education in schools. As well as jointly authoring Reclaiming the Piazza: Catholic Education as a Cultural Project (Gracewing), he has also edited A Companion to Catholic Education (Gracewing) and An Anthology of Catholic Teaching on Education (Scepter UK). His journal articles have considered the intercultural aspect of Catholic education today as well as the nature of a 'Catholic curriculum'. He has recently agreed to be co-writer of a new monograph on the history of Catholic teacher education, due for publication in 2019. Leonardo sits on the Executive of the Association of Catholic Institutes of Education (ACISE) and on the Executive of the Scottish Catholic Education Service (SCES). He retains a strong interest in teaching and teaches on both undergraduate and Masters courses in Religious Education and wider theological themes.

Review:

Recognising the importance of Catholic education for the mission of the New Evangelisation requires that as a Church we earnestly and purposefully reflect upon the identity of Catholic educational institutions and their fundamental role in the New Evangelisation. We must understand better how these privileged places for the development of human thought and personal formation will become communities where critical thinking is encouraged, to allow each student to contribute meaningfully to the common good through the witness of his or her personal faith. The theoretical and practical contributions made by the authors of this book will serve as a helpful roadmap for this critical reflection.
The following pages provide those involved in the mission of Catholic schools and universities with the profound insights and concrete applications necessary for establishing academic institutions as dynamic centres of proclamation. The urgency of such centres was underscored by Pope Francis in his message to the Members of the Congregation for Catholic Education: ‘Catholic schools and universities are equally called to offer to all the Christian message—respecting fully the freedom of all and the proper methods of each specific scholastic environment—namely that Jesus Christ is the meaning of life, of the cosmos and of history.’
As we survey the many challenges faced along the path of the New Evangelisation, we must remember that we do not travel this route alone. In our Catholic schools and universities, there are administrators, teachers, support-staff, parents, and students who walk this path with us, offering the company of faith, and inspiring each other with reasons to believe. The time is at hand to regain the credibility of our Catholic educational institutions, and to demonstrate that they are indeed capable of responding to the difficulties of today by sending forth into the world graduates who are, as we read in Matthew 5:13–14, salt of the earth, lights of the world, and cities set on a hill.

✠ Rino Fisichella
Titular Archbishop of Vicohabentia
President
Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation

 

About this edition

• Publisher: Gracewing
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0852448996
• ISBN 13: 9780852448991
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192
• Editor: Franchi Leonardo, Convery Ronnie, McCluskey Raymond