Pope calls for renewal of Catholic education amid challenges of modern society, technology Amid contemporary challenges to schools and universities \u2014 hyper-digitalization, social insecurity, and the crisis of relationships \u2014 a Catholic education should courageously teach the whole human person, Pope Leo XIV writes in a new apostolic letter. In \u201cDrawing New Maps of Hope,\u201d Leo reflects on the role of a Catholic education 60 years after the Oct. 28, 1965, proclamation of Gravissimum Educationis, the Second Vatican Council\u2019s declaration on Christian education. \u201cThe Church celebrates a fruitful educational history but also faces the imperative to update its proposals in light of the signs of the times,\u201d the pope writes in the letter, published in Italian on Oct. 28. \u201cWe are aware of the difficulties: hyper-digitalization can fragment attention; the crisis of relationships can wound the psyche; social insecurity and inequalities can extinguish desire,\u201d he says. \u201cYet, it is precisely here that Catholic education can be a beacon: not a nostalgic refuge but a laboratory of discernment, pedagogical innovation, and prophetic witness.\u201d In the eight-page document, the pontiff identifies three priorities for the educational community: cultivation of an interior life through space for silence, discernment, and dialogue with one\u2019s conscience and with God; formation in a wise use of technology and artificial intelligence that puts the human person first; and education in language that is peace-building, nonviolent, and open to others. He also notes the importance of making Catholic education financially accessible. \u201cWhere access to education remains a privilege, the Church must push open doors and invent new paths, because \u2018losing the poor\u2019 is equivalent to losing the school itself,\u201d he writes. Pope Leo in his letter draws attention to the digital environment and its impact on education, underlining that \u201ctechnologies must serve the person, not replace them. They must enrich the learning process, not impoverish relationships and communities.\u201d \u201cA Catholic university and school without vision risks soulless efficiency, the standardization of knowledge, which then becomes spiritual impoverishment,\u201d he says. He urges schools to avoid \u201ctechnophobia\u201d while strengthening teachers\u2019 training in the digital sphere and promoting service-learning and responsible citizenship. \u201cNo algorithm can replace what makes education human: poetry, irony, love, art, imagination, the joy of discovery, and even education in error as an opportunity for growth. The decisive point is not technology but the use we make of it,\u201d the pope writes. What is Christian education? The pontiff\u2019s document also provides a vision of Christian education that \u201cembraces the whole person: spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, and physical. \u2026 [Education] measures [its value] on the basis of dignity, justice, and the ability to serve the common good.\u201d He opposes this Catholic vision to a \u201cpurely mercantilistic approach\u201d that measures education in terms of functionality and practical utility, he writes. Leo said forming the whole person means avoiding compartmentalization, because \u201cwhen faith is true, it is not an added \u2018subject\u2019 but a breath that oxygenates every other subject. Thus, Catholic education becomes leaven in the human community.\u201d Influence of St. John Henry Newman The pope cites St. John Henry Newman, whom he will declare a new co-patron saint of the Church\u2019s educational mission, throughout his letter. Quoting the saint and soon-to-be doctor of the Church, the pontiff writes that \u201creligious truth is not only a part but a condition of general knowledge.\u201d These words, he explains, \u201care an invitation to renew our commitment to knowledge that is as intellectually responsible and rigorous as it is deeply human. We must also be careful not to fall into the enlightenment of a \u2018fides\u2019 [faith] that is exclusively paired with \u2018ratio\u2019 [reason].\u201d He says this means Catholic universities and schools should be places where questions and doubt are accompanied, not silenced. \u201cThere, the heart dialogues with the heart, and the method is that of listening, which recognizes the other as a good, not as a threat,\u201d he says, pointing out that \u201ccor ad cor loquitur\u201d (\u201cheart speaks to heart\u201d) was St. John Henry Newman\u2019s motto as a cardinal, taken from a letter of St. Francis de Sales: \u201cSincerity of heart, not abundance of words, touches the hearts of men.\u201d Leo points out that schools are communities of families, teachers, students, administrative and service staff, pastors, and civil society, founded on God. The family remains the primary place of education, and \u201cCatholic schools collaborate with parents, they do not replace them,\u201d he affirms. Ecological responsibility The pontiff also touches briefly on Catholic schools\u2019 responsibility in the social and ecological spheres. \u201cForgetting our common humanity has led to divisions and violence; and when the earth suffers, the poor suffer most,\u201d he writes. \u201cCatholic education cannot remain silent: It must combine social justice and environmental justice, promote sobriety and sustainable lifestyles, and form consciences capable of choosing not only what is convenient but what is right.\u201d This article was originally published by CNA. Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. 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