DECLARATION ON CHRISTIAN EDUCATION  

                     Gravissimum Educationis
 
Proclaimed by His Holiness, Pope Paul VI On October 28, 1965
 
 
 
Introduction
 
The Sacred Ecumenical Council has considered with care how extremely
important education is in the life of man and how its influence ever
grows in the social progress of this age.[1]
 
Indeed, the circumstances of our time have made it easier and at once
more urgent to educate young people and, what is more, to continue the
education of adults. Men are more aware of their own dignity and
position; more and more they want to take an active part in social and
especially in economic and political life.[2] Enjoying more leisure, as
they sometimes do, men find that the remarkable development of technology
and scientific investigation and the new means of communication offer
them an opportunity of attaining more easily their cultural and spiritual
inheritance and of fulfilling one another in the closer ties between
groups and even between peoples.
 
Consequently, attempts are being made everywhere to promote more
education. The rights of men to an education, particularly the primary
rights of children and parents, are being proclaimed and recognized in
public documents.[3] As the number of pupils rapidly increases, schools
are multiplied and expanded far and wide and other educational
institutions are established. New experiments are conducted in methods of
education and teaching. Mighty attempts are being made to obtain
education for all, even though vast numbers of children and young people
are still deprived of even rudimentary training and so many others lack a
suitable education in which truth and love are developed together.
 
To fulfill the mandate she has received from her divine founder of
proclaiming the mystery of salvation to all men and of restoring all
things in Christ, Holy Mother the Church must be concerned with the whole
of man's life, even the secular part of it insofar as it has a bearing on
his heavenly calling.[4] Therefore she has a role in the progress and
development of education. Hence this sacred synod declares certain
fundamental principles of Christian education especially in schools.
These principles will have to be developed at greater length by a special
post-conciliar commission and applied by episcopal conferences to varying
local situations.
 
 
 
1. The Meaning of the Universal Right to an Education
 
All men of every race, condition and age, since they enjoy the dignity of
a human being, have an inalienable right to an education[5] that is in
keeping with their ultimate goal,[6] their ability, their sex, and the
culture and tradition of their country, and also in harmony with their
fraternal association with other peoples in the fostering of true unity
and peace on earth. For a true education aims at the formation of the
human person in the pursuit of his ultimate end and of the good of the
societies of which, as man, he is a member, and in whose obligations, as
an adult, he will share.
 
Therefore children and young people must be helped, with the aid of the
latest advances in psychology and the arts and science of teaching, to
develop harmoniously their physical, moral and intellectual endowments so
that they may gradually acquire a mature sense of responsibility in
striving endlessly to form their own lives properly and in pursuing true
freedom as they surmount the vicissitudes of life with courage and
constancy. Let them be given also, as they advance in years, a positive
and prudent sexual education. Moreover they should be so trained to take
their part in social life that properly instructed in the necessary and
opportune skills they can become actively involved in various community
organizations, open to discourse with others and willing to do their best
to promote the common good.
 
This sacred synod likewise declares that children and young people have a
right to be motivated to appraise moral values with a right conscience,
to embrace them with a personal adherence, together with a deeper
knowledge and love of God. Consequently it earnestly entreats all those
who hold a position of public authority or who are in charge of education
to see to it that youth is never deprived of this sacred right. It
further exhorts the sons of the Church to give their attention with
generosity to the entire field of education, having especially in mind
the need of extending very soon the benefits of a suitable education and
training to everyone in all parts of the world.[7]
 
 
 
2. Christian Education
 
Since all Christians have become by rebirth of water and the Holy Spirit
a new creature[8] so that they should be called and should be children of
God, they have a right to a Christian education. A Christian education
does not merely strive for the maturing of a human person as just now
described, but has as its principal purpose this goal: that the baptized,
while they are gradually introduced to the knowledge of the mystery of
salvation, become ever more aware of the gift of Faith they have
received, and that they learn in addition how to worship God the Father
in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23) especially in liturgical action, and
be conformed in their personal lives according to the new man created in
justice and holiness of truth (Eph. 4:22-24); also that they develop into
perfect manhood, to the mature measure of the fullness of Christ (cf.
Eph. 4:13) and strive for the growth of the Mystical Body; moreover, that
aware of their calling, they learn not only how to bear witness to the
hope that is in them (cf. Peter 3 :15) but also how to help in the
Christian formation of the world that takes place when natural powers
viewed in the full consideration of man redeemed by Christ contribute to
the good of the whole society.[9] Wherefore this sacred synod recalls to
pastors of souls their most serious obligation to see to it that all the
faithful, but especially the youth who are the hope of the Church, enjoy
this Christian education.[10]
 
 
 
3. The Authors of Education
 
Since parents have given children their life, they are bound by the most
serious obligation to educate their offspring and therefore must be
recognized as the primary and principal educators.[11] This role in
education is so important that only with difficulty can it be supplied
where it is lacking. Parents are the ones who must create a family
atmosphere animated by love and respect for God and man, in which the
well-rounded personal and social education of children is fostered. Hence
the family is the first school of the social virtues that every society
needs. It is particularly in the Christian family, enriched e and office
of the sacrament of matrimony, that children should be taught from their
early years to have a knowledge of God according to the faith received in
Baptism, to worship Him, and to love their neighbor. Here, too, they find
their first experience of a wholesome human society and of the Church.
Finally, it is through the family that they are gradually led to a
companionship with their fellowmen and with the people of God. Let
parents, then, recognize the inestimable importance a truly Christian
family has for the life and progress of God's own people.[12]
 
The family which has the primary duty of imparting education needs help
of the whole community. In addition therefore, to the rights of parents
and others to whom the parents entrust a share in the work of education,
certain rights and duties belong indeed to civil society, whose role is
to direct what is required for the common temporal good. Its function is
to promote the education of youth in many ways, namely: to protect the
duties and rights of parents and others who share in education and to
give them aid; according to the principle of subsidiarity, when the
endeavors of parents and other societies are lacking, to carry out the
work of education in accordance with the wishes of the parents; and,
moreover, as the common good demands, to build schools and
institutions.[13]
 
Finally, in a special way, the duty of educating belongs to the Church,
not merely because she must be recognized as a human society capable of
educating, but especially because she has the responsibility of
announcing the way of salvation to all men, of communicating the life of
Christ to those who believe, and, in her unfailing solicitude, of
assisting men to be able to come to the fullness of this life.[14] The
Church is bound as a mother to give to these children of hers an
education by which their whole life can be imbued with the spirit of
Christ and at the same time do all she can to promote for all peoples the
complete perfection of the human person, the good of earthly society and
the building of a world that is more human.[15]
 
 
 
4. Various Aids to Christian Education
 
In fulfilling its educational role, the Church, eager to employ all
suitable aids, is concerned especially about those which are her very
own. Foremost among these is catechetical instruction,[16] which
enlightens and strengthens the faith, nourishes life according to the
spirit of Christ, leads to intelligent and active participation in the
liturgical mystery[17] and gives motivation for apostolic activity. The
Church esteems highly and seeks to penetrate and ennoble with her own
spirit also other aids which belong to the general heritage of man and
which are of great influence in forming souls and molding men, such as
the media of communication,[18] various groups for mental and physical
development, youth associations, and, in particular, schools.
 
 
 
5. The Importance of Schools
 
Among all educational instruments the school has a special
importance.[19] It is designed not only to develop with special care the
intellectual faculties but also to form the ability to judge rightly, to
hand on the cultural legacy of previous generations, to foster a sense of
values, to prepare for professional life. Between pupils of different
talents and backgrounds it promotes friendly relations and fosters a
spirit of mutual understanding; and it establishes as it were a center
whose work and progress must be shared together by families, teachers,
associations of various types that foster cultural, civic, and religious
life, as well as by civil society and the entire human community.
 
Beautiful indeed and of great importance is the vocation of all those who
aid parents in fulfilling their duties and who, as representatives of the
human community, undertake the task of education in schools. This
vocation demands special qualities of mind and heart, very careful
preparation, and continuing readiness to renew and to adapt.
 
 
 
6. The Duties and Rights of Parents
 
Parents who have the primary and inalienable right and duty to educate
their children must enjoy true liberty in their choice of schools.
Consequently, the public power, which has the obligation to protect and
defend the rights of citizens, must see to it, in its concern for
distributive justice, that public subsidies are paid out in such a way
that parents are truly free to choose according to their conscience the
schools they want for their children.[20]
 
In addition it is the task of the state to see to it that all citizens
are able to come to a suitable share in culture and are properly prepared
to exercise their civic duties and rights. Therefore the state must
protect the right of children to an adequate school education, check on
the ability of teachers and the excellence of their training, look after
the health of the pupils and in general, promote the whole school
project. But it must always keep in mind the principle of subsidiarity so
that there is no kind of school monopoly, for this is opposed to the
native rights of the human person, to the development and spread of
culture, to the peaceful association of citizens and to the pluralism
that exists today in ever so many societies.[21]
 
Therefore this sacred synod exhorts the faithful to assist to their
utmost in finding suitable methods of education and programs of study and
in forming teachers who can give youth a true education. Through the
associations of parents in particular they should further with their
assistance all the work of the school but especially the moral education
it must impart.[22]
 
 
 
7. Moral and Religious Education in all Schools
 
Feeling very keenly the weighty responsibility of diligently caring for
the moral and religious education of all her children, the Church must be
present with her own special affection and help for the great number who
are being trained in schools that are not Catholic. This is possible by
the witness of the lives of those who teach and direct them, by the
apostolic action of their fellow-students,[23] but especially by the
ministry of priests and laymen who give them the doctrine of salvation in
a way suited to their age and circumstances and provide spiritual aid in
every way the times and conditions allow.
 
The Church reminds parents of the duty that is theirs to arrange and even
demand that their children be able to enjoy these aids and advance in
their Christian formation to a degree that is abreast of their
development in secular subjects. Therefore the Church esteems highly
those civil authorities and societies which, bearing in mind the
pluralism of contemporary society and respecting religious freedom,
assist families so that the education of their children can be imparted
in all schools according to the individual moral and religious principles
of the families.[24]
 
 
 
8. Catholic Schools
 
The influence of the Church in the field of education is shown in a
special manner by the Catholic school. No less than other schools does
the Catholic school pursue cultural goals and the human formation of
youth. But its proper function is to create for the school community a
special atmosphere animated by the Gospel spirit of freedom and charity,
to help youth grow according to the new creatures they were made through
baptism as they develop their own personalities, and finally to order the
whole of human culture to the news of salvation so that the knowledge the
students gradually acquire of the world, life and man is illumined by
faith.[25] So indeed the Catholic school, while it is open, as it must
be, to the situation of the contemporary world, leads its students to
promote efficaciously the good of the earthly city and also prepares them
for service in the spread of the Kingdom of God, so that by leading an
exemplary apostolic life they become, as it were, a saving leaven in the
human community.
 
Since, therefore, the Catholic school can be such an aid to the
fulfillment of the mission of the People of God and to the fostering of
the dialogue between the Church and mankind, to the benefit of both, it
retains even in our present circumstances the utmost importance.
Consequently this sacred synod proclaims anew what has already been
taught in several documents of the magisterium,[26] namely: the right of
the Church freely to establish and to conduct schools of every type and
level. And the council calls to mind that the exercise of a right of this
kind contributes in the highest degree to the protection of freedom of
conscience, the rights of parents, as well as to the betterment of
culture itself.
 
But let teachers recognize that the Catholic school depends upon them
almost entirely for the accomplishment of its goals and programs.[27]
 They should therefore be very carefully prepared so that both in secular
and religious knowledge they are equipped with suitable qualifications
and also with a pedagogical skill that is in keeping with the findings of
the contemporary world. Intimately linked in charity to one another and
to their students and endowed with an apostolic spirit, may teachers by
their life as much as by their instruction bear witness to Christ, the
unique Teacher. Let them work as partners with parents and together with
them in every phase of education give due consideration to the difference
of sex and the proper ends Divine Providence assigns to each sex in the
family and in society. Let them do all they can to stimulate their
students to act for themselves and even after graduation to continue to
assist them with advice, friendship and by establishing special
associations imbued with the true spirit of the Church. The work of these
teachers, this sacred synod declares, is in the real sense of the word an
apostolate most suited to and necessary for our times and at once a true
service offered to society. The Council also reminds Catholic parents of
the duty of entrusting their children to Catholic schools wherever and
whenever it is possible and of supporting these schools to the best of
their ability and of cooperating with them for the education of their
children.[28]
 
 
 
9. Different Types of Catholic Schools
 
To this concept of a Catholic school all schools that are in any way
dependent on the Church must conform as far as possible, though the
Catholic school is to take on different forms in keeping with local
circumstances.[29] Thus the Church considers very dear to her heart those
Catholic schools, found especially in the areas of the new churches,
which are attended also by students who are not Catholics.
 
Attention should be paid to the needs of today in establishing and
directing Catholic schools. Therefore, though primary and secondary
schools, the foundation of education, must still be fostered, great
importance is to be attached to those which are required in a particular
way by contemporary conditions, such as: professional[30] and technical
schools, centers for educating adults and promoting social welfare, or
for the retarded in need of special care, and also schools for preparing
teachers for religious instruction and other types of education.
 
This Sacred Council of the Church earnestly entreats pastors and all the
faithful to spare no sacrifice in helping Catholic schools fulfill their
function in a continually more perfect way, and especially in caring for
the needs of those who are poor in the goods of this world or who are
deprived of the assistance and affection of a family or who are strangers
to the gift of Faith.
 
 
 
10. Catholic Colleges and Universities
 
The Church is concerned also with schools of a higher level, especially
colleges and universities. In those schools dependent on her she intends
that by their very constitution individual subjects be pursued according
to their own principles, method, and liberty of scientific inquiry, in
such a way that an ever deeper understanding in these fields may be
obtained and that, as questions that are new and current are raised and
investigations carefully made according to the example of the doctors of
the Church and especially of St. Thomas Aquinas,[31] there may be a
deeper realization of the harmony of faith and science. Thus there is
accomplished a public, enduring and pervasive influence of the Christian
mind in the furtherance of culture and the students of these institutions
are molded into men truly outstanding in their training, ready to
undertake weighty responsibilities in society and witness to the faith in
the world.[32]
 
In Catholic universities where there is no faculty of sacred theology
there should be established an institute or chair of sacred theology in
which there should be lectures suited to lay students. Since science
advances by means of the investigations peculiar to higher scientific
studies, special attention should be given in Catholic universities and
colleges to institutes that serve primarily the development of scientific
research.
 
The sacred synod heartily recommends that Catholic colleges and
universities be conveniently located in different parts of the world, but
in such a way that they are outstanding not for their numbers but for
their pursuit of knowledge. Matriculation should be readily available to
students of real promise, even though they be of slender means,
especially to students from the newly emerging nations.
 
Since the destiny of society and of the Church itself is intimately
linked with the progress of young people pursuing higher studies,[33] the
pastors of the Church are to expend their energies not only on the
spiritual life of students who attend Catholic universities, but,
solicitous for the spiritual formation of all their children, they must
see to it, after consultations between bishops, that even at universities
that are not Catholic there should be associations and university centers
under Catholic auspices in which priests, religious and laity, carefully
selected and prepared, should give abiding spiritual and intellectual
assistance to the youth of the university. Whether in Catholic
universities or others, young people of greater ability who seem suited
for teaching or research should be specially helped and encouraged to
undertake a teaching career.
 
 
 
11. Faculties of Sacred Sciences
 
The Church expects much from the zealous endeavors of the faculties of
the sacred sciences.[34] For to them she entrusts the very serious
responsibility of preparing her own students not only for the priestly
ministry, but especially for teaching in the seats of higher
ecclesiastical studies or for promoting learning on their own or for
undertaking the work of a more rigorous intellectual apostolate. Likewise
it is the role of these very faculties to make more penetrating inquiry
into the various aspects of the sacred sciences so that an ever deepening
understanding of sacred Revelation is obtained, the legacy of Christian
wisdom handed down by our forefathers is more fully developed, the
dialogue with our separated brethren and with non-Christians is fostered,
and answers are given to questions arising from the development of
doctrine.[35]
 
Therefore ecclesiastical faculties should reappraise their own laws so
that they can better promote the sacred sciences and those linked with
them and, by employing up-to-date methods and aids, lead their students
to more penetrating inquiry.
 
 
 
12. Coordination to be Fostered in Scholastic Matters
 
Cooperation is the order of the day. It increases more and more to supply
the demand on a diocesan, national and international level. Since it is
altogether necessary in scholastic matters, every means should be
employed to foster suitable cooperation between Catholic schools, and
between these and other schools that collaboration should be developed
which the good of all mankind requires.[36] From greater coordination and
cooperative endeavor greater fruits will be derived particularly in the
area of academic institutions. Therefore in every university let the
various faculties work mutually to this end, insofar as their goal will
permit. In addition, let the universities also endeavor to work together
by promoting international gatherings, by sharing scientific inquiries
with one another, by communicating their discoveries to one another, by
having exchange of professors for a time and by promoting all else that
is conducive to greater assistance.
 
 
 
Conclusion
 
The sacred synod earnestly entreats young people themselves to become
aware of the importance of the work of education and to prepare
themselves to take it up, especially where because of a shortage of
teachers the education of youth is in jeopardy. This same sacred synod,
while professing its gratitude to priests, Religious men and women, and
the laity who by their evangelical self-dedication are devoted to the
noble work of education and of schools of every type and level, exhorts
them to persevere generously in the work they have undertaken and,
imbuing their students with the spirit of Christ, to strive to excel in
pedagogy and the pursuit of knowledge in such a way that they not merely
advance the internal renewal of the Church but preserve and enhance its
beneficent influence upon today's world, especially the intellectual
world.
 
 
ENDNOTES
 
1. Among many documents illustrating the importance of education confer
above all apostolic letter of Benedict XV, Communes Litteras, April 10,
1919: A.A.S. 11 (1919) p. 172. Pius XI's apostolic encyclical, Divini
Illius Magistri, Dec. 31, 1929: A.A.S. 22 (1930) pp. 49-86. Pius XII's
allocution to the youths of Italian Catholic Action, April 20, 1946:
Discourses and Radio Messages, vol. 8, pp. 53-57. Allocution to fathers
of French families, Sept. 18 1951: Discourses and Radio Messages, vol.
13, pp. 241-245. John XXIII's 30th anniversary message on the publication
of the encyclical letter, Divini Illius Magistri, Dec. 30, 1959: A.A.S.
52 (1960) pp. 57-59. Paul VI's allocution to members of Federated
Institutes Dependent on Ecclesiastic Authority, Dec. 30, 1963:
Encyclicals and Discourses of His Holiness Paul VI, Rome, 1964, pp.
601-603. Above all are to be consulted the Acts and Documents of the
Second Vatican Council appearing in the first series of the
antepreparatory phase, vol. 3, pp. 363-364; 370-371; 373-374.
 
2. Cf. John XXIII's encyclical letter, Mater et Magistra, May 15 1961:
A.A.S. 53 (1961) pp. 413-415; 417-424; Encyclical letter, Pacem in
Terris, April 11, 1963: A.A.S. 55 (1963) p. 278 ff.
 
3. Declaration on the Rights of Man of Dec. 10, 1948, adopted by the
General Assembly of the United Nations, and also cf. the Declaration of
the Rights of Children of Nov. 20, 1959; additional protocol to the
Convention Safeguarding the Rights of Men and Fundamental Liberties,
Paris, March 20, 1952; regarding that universal profession of the
character of human laws cf. apostolic letter, Pacem in Terris, of John
XXIII of April 11, 1963: A.A.S. 55 (1963) p. 295 ff.
 
4. Cf. John XXIII's encyclical letter, Mater et Magistra, May 15, 1961:
A.A.S. 53 (1961) p. 402. Cf. Second Vatican Councils Dogmatic
Constitution on the Church, no. 17: A.A.S. 57 (1965) p. 21, and schema on
the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 1965.
 
5. Pius XII's radio message of Dec. 24, 1942: A.A.S. 35 (1943) pp. 12-19-
and John XXIII's encyclical letter, Pacem in Terris April 11, 1963:
A.A.S. 55 (1963) p. 259 ff. Also cf. declaration cited on the rights of
man in footnote 3.
 
6. Cf. Pius XI's encyclical letter, Divini Illius 1929: A.A.S. 22 (1930)
p. 50 ff.
 
7. Cf. John XXIII's encyclical letter, Mater et Magistra, May 15 1961:
A.A.S. 53 (1961) n. 441 ff. Magistri, Dec. 31,
 
8. Cf. Pius XI's encyclical letter, Divini Illius Magistri, l, p. 83.
 
9. Cf. Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, no.
36: A.A.S. 57 (1965) p. 41 ff.
 
10. Cf. Second Vatican Council's schema on the Decree on the Lay
Apostolate (1965), no. 12.
 
11. Cf. Pius XI's encyclical letter Divini Illius Magistri, 1, p. 59 ff.-
encyclical letter Mit Brennender Sorge, March 14, 1937: A.A.S. 29- Pius
XII's allocution to the first national congress of the Italian Catholic
Teachers' Association, Sept. 8, 1946: Discourses and Radio Messages, vol.
8, p. 218.
 
12. Cf. Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,
nos. 11 and 35: A.A.S. 57 (1965) pp. 16, 40 ff.
 
13. Cf. Pius XI's encyclical letter Divini Illius Magistri, 1, p. 63 ff.
Pius XII's radio message of June 1, 1941: A.A.S. 33 (1941) p. 200;
allocution to the first national congress of the Association of Italian
Catholic Teachers, Sept. 8, 1946: Discourses and Radio Messages, vol. 8,
1946: Discourses and Radio Messages, vol. 8, p. 218. Regarding the
principle of subsidiarity, cf. John XXIII's encyclical letter, Pacem in
Terris, April 11, 1963: A.A.S. 55 (1963) p. 294.
 
14. Cf. Pius XI's encyclical letter, Divini Illius Magistri, 1 pp. 53 ff.
and 56 ff.; Encyclical letter, Non Abbiamo Bisogno, June 29, 1931: A.A.S.
23 (1931) p. 311 ff. Pius XII's letter from Secretariat of State to 28th
Italian Social Week, Sept. 20, 1955i L'Osservatore Romano, Sept. 29, 1955.
 
15. The Church praises those local, national and international civil
authorities who conscious of the urgent necessity in these times, expend
all their energy so that all peoples may benefit from more education and
human culture. Cf. Paul VI's allocution to the United Nations General
Assembly, Oct. 4, 1965: L'Osservatore Romano, Oct. 6, 1965.
 
16. Cf. Pius XI's motu proprio, Orbem Catholicum, June 29, 1923: A.A.S.
15 (1923) pp. 327-329, decree, Provide Sane, Jan. 12 1935: A.A.S. 27
(1935) pp. 145-152. Second Vatican Council's Decree on Bishops and
Pastoral Duties, nos. 13 and 14.
 
17. Cf. Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, no.
14: A.A.S. 56 (1964) p. 104.
 
18. Cf. Second Vatican Council's Decree on Communications Media, nos. 13
and 14: A.A.S. 56 (1964) p. 149 ff.
 
19. Cf. Pius XI's encyclical letter, Divini Illius Magistri, 1, p. 76;
Pius XII's allocution to Bavarian Association of Catholic Teachers, Dec.
31, 1956: Discourses and Radio Messages, vol. 18, p. 746.
 
20. Cf. Provincial Council of Cincinnati III, a. 1861: Collatio Lacensis,
III, col. 124D, c/d; Pius XI's encyclical letter, Divini Illius Magistri,
1, pp. 60, 63 ff.
 
21. Cf. Pius XI's encyclical letter, Divini Illius Magistri, 1, p. 63
encyclical letter, Non Abbiamo Misogno, June 29, 1931: A.A.S. 23 (1931)
p. 305; Pius XII's letter from the Secretary of State to the 28th Italian
Social Week, Sept. 20, 1955: L'Osservatore Romano, Sept. 29, 1955. Paul
VI's allocution to the Association of Italian Christian Workers, Oct. 6,
1963: Encyclicals and Discourses of Paul VI, vol. 1, Rome, 1964, p. 230.
 
22. Cf. John XXIII's message on the 30th anniversary of the encyclical
letter, Divini Illius Magistri, Dec. 30, 1959: A.A.S. 52 (1960) p. 57.
 
23. The Church considers it as apostolic action of great worth also when
Catholic teachers and associates work in these schools. Cf. Second
Vatican Council's schema of the Decree on the Lay Apostolate (1965), nos.
12 and 16.
 
24. Cf. Second Vatican Council's schema on the Declaration on Religious
Liberty (1965), no. 5.
 
25. Cf. Provincial Council of Westminster I, a. 1852: Collatio Lacensis
III, col. 1334, a/b, Pius XI's encyclical letter, Divini Illius Magistri,
1, p. 77 ff.; Pius XII's allocution to the Bavarian Association of
Catholic Teachers, Dec. 31, 1956: Discourses and Radio Messages, vol. 18,
p. 746; Paul VI's allocution to the members of Federated Institutes
Dependent on Ecclesiastic Authority, Dec. 30, 1963: Encyclicals and
Discourses of Paul VI, 1, Rome, 1964, 602 ff.
 
26. Cf. especially the document mentioned in the first note; moreover
this law of the Church is proclaimed by many provincial councils and in
the most recent declarations of very many of the episcopal conferences.
 
27. Cf. Pius XI's encyclical letter, Divini Illius Magistri, 1, p. 80
ff.; Pius XII's allocution to the Catholic Association of Italian
Teachers in Secondary Schools, Jan. 5, 1954: Discourses and Radio
Messages, 15, pp. 551-556, John XXIII's allocution to the 6th Congress of
the Associations of Catholic Italian Teachers, Sept. 5 1959: Discourses,
Messages, Conversations, 1, Rome, 1960, pp. 427-431.
 
28. Cf. Pius XII's allocution to the Catholic Association of Italian
Teachers in Secondary Schools, Jan. 5, 1954, 1, p. 555.
 
29. Cf. Paul VI's allocution to the International Office of Catholic
Education, Feb. 25, 1964: Encyclicals and Discourses of Paul VI, 2, Rome,
1964, p. 232.
 
30. Cf. Paul VI's allocution to the Christian Association of Italian
Workers, Oct. 6, 1963: Encyclicals and Discourses of Paul VI, 1, Rome,
1964, n. 229.
 
31. Cf. Paul VI's allocution to the International Thomistic Congress,
Sept. 10, 1965: L'Osservatore Romano, Sept. 13-14, 1965.
 
32. Cf. Pius XII's allocution to teachers and students of French
Institutes of Higher Catholic Education, Sept. 21, 1950: Discourses and
Radio Messages, 12, pp. 219-221; letters to the 22nd congress of Pax
Romana, Aug. 12, 1952: Discourses and Radio Messages, 14, pp. 567-569;
John XXIII's allocution to the Federation of Catholic Universities, April
1,1959: Discourses, Messages and Conversations, 1, Rome, 1960, pp.
226-229; Paul VI's allocution to the Academic Senate of the Catholic
University of Milan, April 5, 1964: Encyclicals and Discourses of Paul
VI, 2, Rome, 1964, pp. 438-443.
 
33. Cf. Pius XII's allocution to the academic senate and students of the
University of Rome, June 15, 1952: Discourses and Radio Messages, 14, p.
208: "The direction of today's society principally is placed in the
mentality and hearts of the universities of today."
 
34. Cf. Pius XI's apostolic constitution, Deus Scientiarum Dominus, May
24, 1931: A.A.S. 23 (1931) pp. 245-247.
 
35. Cf. Pius XII's encyclical letter, Humani Generis Aug. 12 1950: A.A.S.
42 (1950) pp. 568 ff. and 578; Paul VI's encyclical letter, Ecclesiam
Suam, part III, Aug. 6, 1964: A.A.S. 56 (1964 pp. 637-659, Second Vatican
Council's Decree on Ecumenism: A.A.S. 57 (1965) pp. 90-107.
 
36. Cf. John XXIII's encyclical letter Pacem in Terris, April 11 1963:
A.A.S. 55 (1963) p. 284 and elsewhere.