Letter from the Publisher
Fr. John Fullerton
District Superior, USA
Dear Reader,
Nearly a century ago, in his encyclical Divini Illius Magistri, Pope Pius XI wrote: “In fact it must never be forgotten that the subject of Christian education is man whole and entire, soul united to body in unity of nature, with all his faculties natural and supernatural, such as right reason and revelation show him to be[.]” How far we have moved from this ideal in the contemporary world.
Education, which involves nothing less than the development of the intellect, the acquisition of knowledge, and the formation of character, has been reduced to a mundane means to an emaciated end. Cast in utilitarian terms, education today often means collecting the requisite pieces of paper from a secondary school, college and/or trade school, and perhaps a postgraduate program to secure a particular line of employment. Outside of historically religious educational institutions, little emphasis is placed on forging a three-dimensional person: mind, body, and spirit. All that matters is to check off a list of courses intended to make an individual a good cog in the machine, stripped of any higher purpose or the authentic freedom that only comes through adherence to God’s law.
In this issue of The Angelus we present a number of articles that explore how education has been corrupted in our day. And so as to not present a purely gloomy picture of the state of education, you will also find in these pages examples of healthy Catholic education, the sort which the Society of Saint Pius X seeks to uphold in the face of tremendous pressure to do otherwise. The work of restoring authentic education, like the work of restoring Catholic Tradition, is a formidable task, but one which can be fulfilled through diligent effort and reliance on God’s grace.
We must not despair. We must not retreat from the field. Understanding the corruption of modern education is the first step toward addressing these problems. It is my hope that the articles in this issue will assist readers in this noble undertaking.
Fr. John Fullerton
Publisher