EUROPE - Seminar launches research on the teaching of the Catholic religion in schools in the countries of Europe

Friday, 14 July 2006

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - The “task” awaiting the 34 delegates of the bishops’ Conferences of Europe is the development of a paper on the situation of the teaching of Catholic religion in the schools of their countries. They met in Rome 10-11 July for their opening seminar about research on the teaching of religion in schools. The meeting was called for by CCEE, and set up in cooperation with the National Service for the Teaching of the Catholic Religion of the Italian Bishops’ Conference.
The main objective of the encounter in Rome was the involvement of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe in the promotion of the debate on a theme of extreme importance for the life of the Christian Churches in Europe. Another aim was the sharing of experiences among the diverse ecclesial communities, and the awareness of the shared responsibility in the fields of education and schooling. During the meeting the delegates of the bishops' Conferences underscored the growing role played by religion/s and by ecclesial communities in shaping the men and women of the new Europe, and they shared reflections and experiences on the themes of Europe and the teaching of religion.
The delegates of the Bishops' Conferences meeting in Rome were a real think-tank working together on a data gathering grid that will be used for collecting information in the 34 countries represented by the bishops' Conferences. Over the next few months the delegates of the bishops’ Conferences will collect data on the teaching of religion in their own country. Each delegate will send a national report to the working group (by November 2006). Following this, a comparative reading will highlight themes and models which may be implemented in various ways. The research will end in 2007 with a symposium where the results will be presented and offered to the Churches and European communities. (Fides Service 14/7/2006)


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