Pope Francis received the promoters of the Africa Education Compact on the morning of June 1, and praised the initiative for educating young people by drawing on Christian values and traditional African culture.
(Vatican News Network)“We have full confidence in Africa”: This is what Pope Francis praised the Africa Education Compact when he received the delegation of the organizers of the Africa Education Compact of the International Foundation for Religion and Society in the Vatican on Thursday morning, June 1.
The Pope first stated that the African Education Pact was inspired by the Global Education Pact launched by the Pope himself in September 2019 and is the result of an international seminar to be held in Kinshasa in November 2022. Organized by the International Foundation for Religion and Society and the Catholic University of Congo under the auspices of the Congolese Bishops’ Conference, the seminar was attended by many bishops, priests, scientists and scholars from various African countries and beyond. “I congratulate you, because you are the first to realize the One Continental Pact for Education. You have shown that you understand well the purpose of my initiative, that the Global Pact for Education should become a local reality,” the Pope said.
african wisdom
From the beginning, the Pope explained, he conceived the project inspired by African proverbs. “Emphasis on the group level of education has always been part of your millennial educational tradition, namely: ‘It takes a whole village to educate a child.'” For the villagers, “the task of accompanying each child is not only the responsibility of the parents, but also the responsibility of the community group responsibility of all members”. “So everyone has a responsibility to support education and it’s always a concerted effort.”
Duty to Support Education
“In education, we must take more risks and act in concert,” the Pope said. He emphasized that the African educational compact should not only help to restore and strengthen the “community and horizontal dimension of relationships”, but also highlight the “vertical dimension”, that is, the “relationship with God”. The pope said that Africa is open to the proclamation of the Christian faith with great enthusiasm and is currently the continent with the largest increase in the number of Christians and Catholics. “So the Africa Education Compact is built on the motto: ‘I am, because we are.’ Therein lies the faith,” he lauded.
Invest in young people and teachers
The pope then urged those present to continue investing in the education of young people. He said: “After the mass education policies of the first decades of post-colonialism, it is time to work with local governments to continuously improve the quality of education, especially by training teachers, valuing them and creating the conditions necessary for the dignity of their profession. “We have confidence in Africa because it has everything a continent needs to chart its course for the future.” “Christianity” matches the best parts of every culture and helps purify those that are not truly human and divine. sexual things”.
An example for other continents
In closing, the Pope said: “Dear brothers and sisters, with the Africa Education Compact, you have once again confirmed what Pliny the Elder once said: ‘There is always something new in Africa.'” Finally, the Pope said: “I hope that the African Education Pact will be followed by other continents.”
Link URL:www.vaticannews.cn
#Pope #Pact #Education #Africa #confidence #Africa #Vatican #News
2023-06-02 10:53:31
