Pope Leo's Call for Education

Dr. Tim Uhl discussed Pope Leo XIV's October Apostolic Letter "Drawing New Maps of Hope" with Faustin Weber on his podcast, Catholic School Matters. The document was issued on the "60th anniversary of the Conciliar Declaration Gravissimum educationis" and owes much of its structure to a close reading of that document. However, Pope Leo highlights the big change in the last 60 years: "a complex, fragmented, digitized educational environment" (1.2) and one which requires proper reflection on what education is in the Church and world.

Sections 2 and 3 trace the history of education and its response to the "needs of each era" (2.1). These are rooted in the educational community which unites "desire and the heart...[with] knowledge" (3.1). The community is united in a seeking for truth bringing together the "'we' where teachers, students, families, administrative and service staff, pastors and civil society converge to generate life" (3.1-3.2). This leads to a deeper discussion of the document itself and placement in the education of today.

The purpose is centered on (4.2):

Christian formation embraces the entire person: spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, physical. It does not pit manual and theoretical skills, science and humanism, technology and conscience against each other; rather, it demands that professionalism be imbued with ethics, and that ethics be not an abstract concept but a daily practice. Education does not measure its value only on the axis of efficiency: it measures it according to dignity, justice, the capacity to serve the common good. This integral anthropological vision must remain the cornerstone of Catholic pedagogy.

Our mission is not just education but the inculturation of virtue where "faith, culture and life intertwine" (5.2). A product of Catholic education himself, Pope Leo XIV affirms the outward orientation of this virtue where "Catholic education cannot be silent: it must combine social justice and environmental justice, promote sobriety and sustainable lifestyles, and form consciences capable of choosing not merely what is convenient, but what is just" (7.2).

Growth is most possible when the different institutions of education collaborate with the "mutual recognition of good practices" (8.2). This is especially true when focused on the "new spaces" which require "discernment in didactic planning, evaluation, platforms, data protection, and equitable access" (9.2). Pope Leo calls for not just the common-sense calls of an AI approach with human-oriented dignity and participation but one "accompanied by adequate theological and philosophical reflection" (9.3) [for more see my piece on Meaghan Crowley Sullivan's framework].

The final two sections focus on Pope Leo's building upon the work of Gravissimum educationis and Pope Francis. He adds thre3e priorities for educators in this day and age (10.3):

1. inner life

2. the judicious use of technology and AI

3. Unarmed and disarming peace

We are aware of the difficulties: hyper-digitalization can fragment attention; the crisis of relationships can wound the psyche; social insecurity and inequalities can extinguish desire. Yet, precisely here, Catholic education can be a beacon: not a nostalgic refuge, but a laboratory of discernment, pedagogical innovation and prophetic witness. Drawing new maps of hope: this is the urgency of the mandate.

May we see more from Pope Leo on the substance of these priorities for the betterment of our students, staff, Church, and world.