austraLasia #2069

Chapter theme 'goes public' via RM's response to the 'educational emergency'

ROME: 23rd February 2008 --  As three quarters of the 233 Chapter members (the other quarter are already in Turin) headed out by bus and car this morning at 4.30, the Vatican's L'Osservatore Roman was just hitting the streets.  It features a front page article by the Rector Major entitled 'Pedagogy of the heart: a response to the educational emergency'.  It was the Holy Father who, several weeks ago, broached the question of Rome's 'educational emergency' with the city fathers, causing something of a stir on the local scene.  The Rector Major, of course, takes the theme beyond Rome's walls and into the world at large.
    As might be expected, the Rector Major wastes no time in arriving at points that are already familiar to Salesians - only by understanding young people in the situation we find them in, is it possible to offer credible responses; the common sensitivity anywhere in the world, that young people have for values of life, love and liberty, their search for transcendence and spirituality.  He contrasts this with the real situations of poverty, of a culture which fosters immediate satisfaction, or commercialises the body and exploits sexuality, the AIDS crisis, and so forth.  he concludes his comments with a direct reference to the Preventive System and Don Bosco's pedagogy, adding: "Prevention is more effective than cure. It costs less. The Pope's word today [reference to the 'educational emergency comment] urges us anew to share a pedagogy of the heart which teaches how to love and save young people by respecting both their dignity and their fragility".
    L'Osservatore Romano, which has had a significant 'makeover' in recent months, altering its editorial style and indeed its typographical and layout presentation, features rather more 'Salesian' stories in today's edition than at first meets the eye. Page 6 actually runs a version of the item published recently in austraLasia # 206
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Title: australasia 2069
Subject and key words: SDB General GC26 Turin
Date (year): 2008
ID: 2000-2099|2069