Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Buenos Aires (Agenzia Fides) - The Church in Argentina is considering the government proposal to reform the education law, hoping that the new law will maintain the spirit of the old law, respect freedom of education, the subsidiary role of the state and include in its contents transcendent values.
In a report on “Problems in Education today” presented to the Professional Council of Economic Science of the City of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, said changes in education were made not on paper but in the heart, "a heart which sees" and he warned that “when a revolution starts from a heart which is blind, a heart which ignores, things change but for the worse” and he stressed the urgent need to “rebuild the educational pact”.
For his part Archbishop José María Arancedo of Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz, said "the new law must foster and guarantee the full development of the person, human dignity and value in all its dimensions, physical spiritual, cultural and religious". "Education must be a the service of integral development of the person ...it must create the conditions which guarantee the development of a society of more justice and solidarity based on the values of peace, freedom, equal opportunities and prepares citizens for service of the common good". "The family - he said - must be recognised as the natural and primary agent of education, before any legislation. This explains the right of parents to decide and rely on the possibility to educate their children according to their own ethic and religious convictions". The Archbishop said legislators must keep in mind "the principle of freedom of conscience as a right of young people, families and educators". "The new law must protect the future of our young people with respect for the freedom and development of their responsibility, the proposal and education to values which enriches the new generation in the framework of an authentic national identity" Archbishop Arancedo concluded. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 7/7/2006; righe 25, parole 365)
