Polish Bishops for the 13th Education Week: Let us learn to build an active community and evangelise.

The motto of this year’s Education Week: "A Listening and Evangelising Community” – is a direct reference to the ongoing Synod on Synodality in the Church, whose underlying motto is: "For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission”.

In their pastoral letter, the bishops stressed the need to continually discern the will of God in people's lives, at the particular moment in history in which they live. In this context, they recalled the Synod, which aims to discern what God is saying to us and to the Church. The Shepherds of the Church encouraged us to live the Week of Upbringing in a similar spirit. “This is a time of ‘rejuvenating our minds’ through reflection on the work of upbringing” reads the document.

The Letter highlights the three fundamental aspects of the synodal Church. The first one is the capacity for building a community fit for our time. "There are so many opportunities for us to practise forging mature relationships with our neighbours in the family home, school, and parish. Opening the hearts of our wardens to others in the spirit of love of the neighbour gains particular significance in the context of the drama of the trampling of human dignity and injustice in various parts of the world, the ongoing armed conflicts in the world, especially in view of the war in Ukraine" – reads the document. In the same place the authors of the Letter highlight the "capacity for a wise and mature acceptance of differences, combining openness to others with the preservation of one’s own identity", a result of following the commandment of the love of the neighbour. The bishops pointed to the Ulma family, who can serve as a model of such an attitude; their beatification will coincide with the onset of the Education Week. The Samaritans from Markowa died martyrs’ death on 24 March 1944, having offered shelter to eight Jews in their home.

The second aspect indicated by the bishops is the formation of an attitude of active involvement in the life of the community. "It is imperative to cherish the capacity to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and to one another. What with the growing problems of many people retreating from real life and shifting into the virtual world of electronic media, we must cherish all initiatives which foster genuine encounter and dialogue, where ‘everyone has the right to be heard, just as everyone has the right to speak" (Vademecum for the Synod on Synodality, 2.3). The bishops stressed moreover that Religious Education lessons in schools provide one of the opportunities to foster such dialogue. In the Letter, the bishops thanked the parents who send their children to catechesis and the catechists who carry out this mission.

Building community and commitment to it generate the need to share these experiences with others. Therefore, as a third dimension of the synodal Church, the bishops pointed to the formation of missionary attitudes. "Passive resistance in the face of evil is not enough. Jesus calls us to be actively involved in the transformation of the world in the spirit of the Gospel" – reads the Letter.

"We invite Parents, Teachers, Catechists, Tutors, Pastors, and all those involved in the work of developing the hearts of children and young people to ensure that this year's September reflection, prayer and all activities centred around the issue of upbringing are a response to the distinctive sign of the times, which is the ongoing Synod on Synodality in the Church" – added the bishops in the conclusion of the Letter.

The Letter is intended for pastoral use on Sunday, 3 September 2023.

Press Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference

The full text of the letter follows:

A LISTENING AND EVANGELISING COMMUNITY
Pastoral Letter of the Polish Bishops’ Conference for the 13th Education Week

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In today’s verses of the Gospel, Jesus indicates to Peter that he is thinking “not as God does, but as human beings do” (Mt 16:23), while St. Paul in the today’s excerpt from the Epistle to the Romans urges us as follows: “be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Rom 12:2). Both texts urge us to discern through our thinking and decision-making the will of God towards us, living at a particular moment of the history of the world and the Church. This is the lens we want to adopt to read the 13th Education Week, starting in a week from now, on 10 September 2023. This is a time of “rejuvenating our minds” through reflection on the task of upbringing.

The motto of this year’s Education Week – “A Listening and Evangelising Community” – is a direct reference to the ongoing Synod on Synodality in the Church, whose underlying motto is: “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission.” The Synod aims to discern what God, who is present and acts in the world, says to us and to the Church (Vademecum for the Synod on Synodality, 2.3). Some of you will no doubt have participated in the synodal meetings organised in your dioceses. In just one month's time, between 4 and 29 October 2023, the Vatican will host the debates of the Synod, which is entering its general phase. All those who, through their prayer, listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit and personal contributions, have been involved in synodal meetings in earlier stages, have a role to play.

1. Let us learn to build a community

The divisions and lack of unity present in the world are not a malady characteristic only of the present day. They were already evident in the Church during the time of the Apostles. St. Paul admonishes the Corinthians: “While there is jealousy and rivalry among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving in an ordinary human way?” (1 Cor 3:3). Today, the call to concord and community remains as topical as ever. There are so many opportunities for us to practise forging mature relationships with our neighbours in the family home, school, and parish. Opening the hearts of our wardens to others in the spirit of love of the neighbour gains particular significance in the context of the drama of the trampling of human dignity and injustice in various parts of the world, the ongoing armed conflicts in the world, especially in view of the war in Ukraine. Let the words of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta be the motivation for this task: “Peace and war begin at home. If we truly desire peace in the world, let us begin with mutual love in our own families.” In the run-up to the Synod, it was recalled that “journeying together” takes place in two ways: “First, we journey together with one another as the People of God. Next, we journey together as the People of God with the entire human family” (Vademecum for the Synod on Synodality, 5.3). The capacity to wisely and maturely live out differences, combining openness to others with the preservation of one's own identity, is essential in establishing mature relationships with one's neighbours, beginning with life in the family, in the homeland and finally among brothers and sisters from other parts of the world. It stems from the Gospel commandment of love of neighbour. This commandment was heroically fulfilled by the Ulma family from Markowa in the Podkarpacie region. In a week's time, on 10 September 2023, Markowa will host the beatification of Józef and Wiktoria Ulma and their seven children: Staś, Basia, Władzio, Franio, Antoś, Marysia, and the child who, at the moment of death, was still in their mother’s womb. For the first time in the history of the Church, an entire family together with an unborn child will be elevated to the glory of the altars. They all died martyrs’ death on 24 March 1944, having offered shelter to eight Jews in their home; the Jews themselves were murdered at the hands of the Nazis. A copy of a book with biblical stories is still to be found in the home of the Ulma family. It bears clear signs of use. It is significant that someone in the family underlined in red one of the titles: “The Commandment of Love - The Merciful Samaritan” and added the word “YES” next to it. One can see here the extraordinary power present in the Gospel to empower a person to realise love of neighbour up to the sacrifice of one's own life.

2. Let us educate for active participation in a community

The second task following the building of a community is that of developing an attitude of active involvement in its life. It is imperative to cherish the capacity to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and to one another. What with the growing problems of many people retreating from real life and shifting into the virtual world of electronic media, we must cherish all initiatives which foster genuine encounter and dialogue, where “everyone has the right to be heard, just as everyone has the right to speak” (Vademecum for the Synod on Synodality, 2.3).

Religious Education lessons in schools provide one of the opportunities to learn such dialogue. The RE curriculum and the ways of its implementation foster the capacity for listening and speaking with genuine courage and honesty encouraged by the Synod. As pastors and catechists, we should take to heart the urge to listen to those who think differently from us and to remember that “God often speaks through the voices of those that we can easily exclude, cast aside, or discount”. We must learn to “listen to those we may be tempted to see as unimportant and those who force us to consider new points of view that may change our way of thinking” (Vademecum for the Synod on Synodality, 2.2).

We would like to thank all the Parents who express the will that their child should attend Religious Education classes and take advantage of the support that school catechesis provides in fulfilling the all-important task of educating their children in the faith. Our thanks also go to the Catechists. We are aware that they not only support parents, but increasingly see the need to fill the gaps in the religious education of children.

We would like to extend a heartfelt encouragement to young people studying in secondary schools to see the value of school catechesis for their entire adult life. Dear Students, take to your hearts the words of Pope Francis: “No matter how much you live the experience of these years of your youth, you will never know their deepest and fullest meaning unless you encounter each day your best friend, the friend who is Jesus” (Pope Francis, Exhortation Christus vivit, 150). In the company of your classmates, with the help of your catechist, deepen your friendship with Jesus, continuing the journey begun at Baptism, one on which you have already received the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of Confirmation.

We address a fervent request to the Directors of Educational Institutions and those responsible for preparing school timetables to treat all subjects fairly to avoid situations when the majority of Religious Education lessons are planned at the end of the school day, when pupils are already tired and tempted to give up their participation in catechesis.

3. Let us bear witness to the Gospel

Community building and committed participation generate the need to share these experiences with others. The third dimension of the synodal Church is therefore the formation of missionary attitudes. The Synod on Synodality is intended to help the Church to better fulfil her global mission of evangelisation. Pope Francis presents in a graphic manner two possible attitudes towards the challenges of the world today. One is that of Ulysses: “in order not to give in to the siren song that bewitched his sailors and made them crash against the rocks, [he] tied himself to the mast of the ship and had his companions plug their ears”. The other one is that of Orpheus, who reacts to a danger in a completely different way: “to counter the siren song, he intoned an even more beautiful melody, which enchanted the sirens” (Pope Francis, Exhortation Christus vivit, 223). Passive resistance in the face of evil is not enough. Jesus calls us to be actively involved in the transformation of the world in the spirit of the Gospel. One of the fruits of evangelisation is the emergence of new missionary evangelisers. In parishes where an evangelising system of preparation for Confirmation has been chosen, every year some young people, after receiving this sacrament, become involved in evangelising communities and movements and become evangelisers. We encourage all Pastors to open themselves up to this style of preparation for the Holy Sacraments as it is becoming more and more evident that the future of the Church, also in our Homeland, depends on this, too.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Education Week initiative has been present in the pastoral life of the Church in Poland for thirteen years. We invite Parents, Teachers, Catechists, Tutors, Pastors, and all those involved in the work of developing the hearts of children and young people to ensure that this year's September reflection, prayer and all activities centred around the issue of upbringing are a response to the distinctive sign of the times, which is the ongoing Synod on Synodality in the Church.

For a time of shared discernment about how we as the Church can become more and more a community, what to do so that we can participate in it with greater commitment, and what steps to take so that this community is alive and generates new evangelisers, we grant you our pastoral blessing.

Signed by Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops present at the 395th Plenary Session of the Polish Bishops’ Conference Lidzbark Warmiński, 13 June 2023

The Letter is intended for pastoral use on Sunday, 3 September 2023. Translation: M. Turski / Office for Foreign Communication of the Polish Bishops’ Conference