STRENNA 2009

by Pascual Chávez Villanueva

A VAST MOVEMENT

FOR THE YOUNG

RESPONSE TO NEEDS

Education… nowadays is becoming ever more difficult. All those who have direct educational responsibility know this well. There is talk, therefore of ..”an educational emergency,” which is confirmed by the lack of success which all too often meets our efforts to form people who are well-grounded, capable of collaborating with others and of giving meaning to their own lives. (Benedict XVI).

_I quote the Pope’s words to introduce a topic which is the chosen field of operations for the Salesian Family (SF). The great interest shown nowadays in education is not without its ambiguity. To educate is to help the young to become fully a person, forming his conscience, developing his intelligence, understanding his own destiny. It is natural that around this central core, problems arise and different ideas about education come into conflict. One can observe a kind of imbalance between freedom and a moral sense, between power and conscience, between technological progress and social progress, emphasis on having with little regard for being. It is a matter of contrasting alternatives - great sources of strength if harmonised; destructive if they change one’s value systems. Here are some of these alternatives.

Complexity and freedom. Many people nowadays have the impression of being confused when it comes to what is good and what is evil. There are too many messages, and the languages in which they are communicated, and the notions on which they are based. Different and self-contained agencies are promoting them, and behind them are many interests. It is as though there were no authoritative body capable of proposing effectively and having accepted a common view of the world, a system of moral norms, a "list" of common values. In this situation the process of education becomes difficult. The weakness on the part of the family, the school, society, the Church in being able to communicate makes it difficult to plan an ordered life. It is not only freedom which is lacking but also self-awareness and responsibility, support and guidance. This gives rise to a sense of insecurity which makes the young vulnerable to exploitation.

Subjectivism and truth. Subjectivism, as the key to interpret the outside world, is linked to the myth of the individual as the only absolute value, but without any reference to the truth, to collective wisdom, to history it cannot find fulfilment. This can best be seen in matters of morality and the formation of conscience. The most obvious example is that of sexuality, where family and social restraints have collapsed. The press, books, show business play up transgressions and present what is deviant behaviour as the norm. The only concern seems to be to have a satisfying sex life without any risks, and detached from those elements which give it meaning and dignity. The lack of any reference to the truth is also seen in the rules which govern economic and social activity. Often these are based on personally chosen criteria and on agreements between the most powerful parties involved. The quality of education will depend on bridging the gap between freedom of choice and the formation of conscience, between objective truth and the individual.

Individual profit and solidarity. There was a time when it was thought possible to organise a society that was free and just which would provide for the well-being of everyone. Many young people took up the cause with great enthusiasm. Then came the winter of utopias, the collapse of ideologies, the setting of institutions one against the other, political differences led to confrontation, politics became a spectacle and not always very edifying one. This was followed by people being disaffected as was evident in their lack of participation. Nowadays an individualistic view is gaining ground in which each seeks his own personal advantage, the satisfaction of his own needs. In this tendency towards the satisfaction of artificial needs one becomes deaf to the real ones. The ideals of justice and solidarity finish by becoming empty formulae.

Maturing in the faith. Complexity, subjectivism and individualism have an influence on young peoples’ faith. One is struck by three phenomena: a religious sense which takes the most varied forms in responding to the search for meaning; the lack of motivation, the gap between religious experience, the understanding of life and moral choices. Religious truths are reduced to opinions. The nature of the Church’s role becomes problematic. There is a minority which enjoy and express a Christian life in faith and in social commitment. However, there is a large number of young people drifting away from the faith without any regrets. This gives it a very subjective flavour. Disconnected from the solid foundation of the history of salvation, it becomes fragile, a kind of consumer commodity that each one can use as he pleases.

Response of the SF. What forces should we deploy? Nowadays at the centre of the educational process, and passing judgement on it, is the individual who chooses and processes as he wishes what is presented to him or what he discovers for himself. We are identified as educators by the young when they allow us into their minds and into their hearts, when they hear a word or see something they consider makes sense for their own lives. Any influence depends on the credibility of what is offered, on the recognised authority of the witness, on the capacity to communicate. The challenge is to make a proposal without hiding from the complexity and without allowing oneself to offer vague generalisations. This means always being open to the positive, firmly grounded on what in what gives human life its real significance, and having a capacity for discernment. A few but important things to which the SF needs to give special attention. ◄