Folia Theologica et Canonica 5. 27/19 (2016)
IUS CANONICUM - Szabolcs Anzelm Szuromi, O.Praem., The religious dimension of education as one the primary principles of religious freedom based on human dignity
142 SZABOLCS ANZELM SZUROMI, O.PRAEM. right for religious freedom.25 In order to applicate the directives of the Second Vatican Council, the Congregation for Catholic Education composed a guideline about the religious dimension of education on April 7th 1988. The congregational document testifies well the realism of the Holy See regarding the status of the religious schools within the contemporary society. Already in the introduction is noticed: “(•••) Not all students in Catholic schools are members of the Catholic Church; not all are Christians. There are, in fact, countries in which the vast majority of the students are not Catholics — a reality which the Council called attention to. The religious freedom and the personal conscience of individual students and their families must be respected, and this freedom is explicitly recognized by the Church. On the other hand, a Catholic school cannot relinquish its own freedom to proclaim the Gospel and to offer a formation based on the values to be found in a Christian education; this is its right and its duty. To proclaim or to offer is not to impose, however; the latter suggests a moral violence which is strictly forbidden, both by the Gospel and by Church law (...).”26 The Holy See was prepared therefore to give proper answer based on the contemporary circumstances to the current problems, conflicts and questions in the field of education. It is quite clear from that precise overview which dealt with the coming century, and was edited on December 28lh 1997, under the title: The Catholic school on the threshold of the third millennium. The instruction emphasized that “(•••) The phenomena of multiculturalism and an increasingly multi-ethnic and multi-religious society is at the same time an enrichment and a source of further problems. To this we must add. in countries of long-standing evangelization, a growing marginalization of the Christian faith as a reference point and a source of light for an effective and convincing interpretation of existence (.. .).”27 Also in the same introduction, the legislator calls attention for that misleading idea, which comes from the domination of the state education. As compared with that, the religious education is in minor position, even those which have wide and large organization. Therefore, those initiatives and theories - ignoring the principle of religious freedom and the free choice of the citizens to educate their children on the basis of their own traditional belief — can destroy many values. The document describes: “(...) in recent years there has been an increased interest and a greater sensitivity on the part of public opinion, international organizations and governments with regard to schooling 25 Cf. Erdő, P., A vallási közösségek és jogi kezelésük [Religious Communities and their Legal Status], in Erdő, P., Egyház., kultúra, társadalom [Church, Culture, Society], Budapest 2011. 253—261, especially 261. 26 Congregatio pro Institutione Catholica, Lineamenta, Dimensione religiosa dell’educazione nella scuola cattolica (7 apr. 1988), Introduzione, art. 6. 27 Congregatio pro Institutione Catholica, The Catholic school on the threshold of the third millennium (28 dec. 1997), Introduction, an. I.
