“The covenant that I invite you to cultivate should produce fruits of peace, justice and mutual acceptance among all peoples and expand its positive effects in ever closer forms of cooperation”, Pope Francis told those of us who participated in the V Global Symposium Uniservitate in the private audience he lavished on us, with tenderness and generosity, on 9th November. And he continued: “We all know that the task is not easy, but it is definitely exciting! Educating is an adventure, a great adventure.”
The Holy Father valued the contribution of service-learning to the fulfillment of the mission of Catholic education. He said that by promoting students’ community responsibility through service-learning, Catholic educational institutions “live up to their name”, because “For any school or university, being “Catholic” is more than having a distinguished adjective in its name; it signifies a commitment to cultivating a distinctive pedagogical style and teaching consistent with the teachings of the Gospel. It is not evangelical ideology. No, it is humanism according to the Gospel.”
The day before, the Prefect of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonca, had also expressed to the authorities of Catholic universities from 25 countries present at the Symposium, that universities are great laboratories for the construction of peace and that the social friendship of which Pope Francis always speaks must begin in the educational communities by putting the heart at the center (cardinal’s full speech in English and Italian).
Cardinal Tolentino also appreciated service-learning and the work in Uniservitate. He pointed out that the service-learning methodology is not only concerned with the didactic aspect of learning, but above all puts the human person at the center; he stressed the importance of networking and made some proposals aimed at strengthening the identity and mission of the Catholic universities that participate in Uniservitate, which he considered “special” because they combine “knowledge acquisition with service to others.”.
And he added: “Your universities are among those that, over the last five years, have contributed to building the Uniservitate Network as a global and multifaceted community, with each region bringing the richness of its cultures and openness to learn, from one another, fraternally. And it is very important that cultures also be a school of dialogue, curiosity for others and openness to the world.”
In this year that is coming to an end we have shared many meetings, virtual and face-to-face, with the brothers with whom we started this journey in 2020 and with new friends who joined us. Each of these moments strengthened the global network in permanent construction, which is the family of Uniservitate, and enriched the hearts of those who are part of it.
Filled with hope and grateful for the commitment of each and every one of the builders of the peace that humanity needs so much, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and may the child of Bethlehem accompany us in this great adventure every day of the new year.
Uniservitate-CLAYSS Team