VI Franciscan Days promoted by the DESPERTA group - Portugal

The catholic school: what challenges for the future?

It was a moment of sharing and of joint mobilization of the various educational institutions linked to the sisters for another year of intense educational activity, and a way to give witness to the local communities and to the country a message of confidence in the educational works of the congregation, in its social role, in its pedagogical quality and in a solid framework of values inscribed in the Franciscan matrix.

Throughout the afternoon there were several moments of sharing: the performance of the ESSSM Male Musical Band, as well as the sharing of Brother Hermano Filipe, Capuchin brother, and Professor Joaquim Azevedo.

The first speaker of the afternoon was Teacher Joaquim Azevedo, and he began his talk with the following statement: The Catholic school is the face of Christ among children. This presupposition demands an ethical implication, it demands to be declared in our concrete life and in our educational community. The Catholic school is part of a Church that goes forth, to which Pope Francis often refers. A church that does not limit itself to repeating patterns inherited from the past, but that knows how to adapt to the present time in a dynamic and creative way. As a Catholic school we have the challenge to create children who are protagonists of their lives, who are able to confront themselves, to discern and to position themselves before reality as true agents of its transformation.

Brother Hermano Filipe followed with the theme: Educating with ethical options in the digital world. This Capuchin brother of ours presented us some Franciscan values that help us make ethical choices in the world in which we live and not allow ourselves to be deceived by the seductive way that technocracy imposes itself in today's world. The choices we make in the use of the digital tools at our disposal are not innocuous. The Franciscan values are tools that help us position ourselves without naivety in the face of this ever-evolving technological world. As a Catholic school, we cannot stop this pace of evolution of the digital world, but we can offer alternatives.