Catholic Education Research Articles

Brain Death, Organ Donation, and the Need for Moral Certainty

The question of determining brain death is a topic of much debate, especially in the Catholic community. Some have come out strongly against proposed changes to the generally accepted neurological criteria for determining death while others find that the changes are still in line with Catholic teaching. At stake for many is the much-needed organ transplant opportunities that would be disrupted if Catholics were called to reject these criteria versus the possibility that the current standards allow a doctor to kill their patient in procuring organs. This article acknowledges these concerns and strives to help Catholics seek a state of moral certitude in the case of organ donation after declaration of brain death.

Family Policy for a Post-Roe Society

This essay expresses support for expanding family benefits such as paid parental leave and other economic assistance for families. It highlights social science research suggesting such proposals could reduce abortions and improve family well-being, while also arguing that they are consistent with Catholic teaching and critical for a “post-Roe” society.

The Proposed Federal Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act

This is an assessment of proposed legislation that has been put forth for consideration by the U.S. Congress to protect parental rights—a significant concern in Catholic teaching—across the country.

The Catholic Mission and Early Educational Activities in Gusii: A Historical Metabletical Overview

This study discusses the role played by the Catholics in the development of Western education in Gusii. This is a historical study that has utilized both primary and secondary sources of data. To put the topic into focus, the study starts by tracing the origins of the Catholic Church to Gusii. The study shows that just like other missionaries who evangelized the area, the Catholics also took education as an important instrument for evangelization. It emphasized catechism and memorization of the scriptures. In Gusii, the first education centre for the Catholics began in Nyabururu in 1912. Catholic education in Gusii was quite slow; the first secondary school St. James Nyabururu was established in 1961 by the Catholic Diocese of Kisii upon its formation. Later, it was transferred to Mosocho and it was named after Bishop Otunga of Kisii Diocese in 1962. The school was run by Tilburg Brothers from Holland; however, the school project was funded by the government. The study also shows the contribution of the Catholic Church to the Social-economic development of the people of Gusii.

Natural Law for the Laity: A Case Study in Catholic Education on the Airwaves

Natural Law for the Laity: A Case Study in Catholic Education on the Airwaves

VISUAL DIAGRAMS SPECULUM THEOLOGIAE AND MEDIEVAL ART OF MEMORY

The article focuses on the Speculum theologiae miniatures, a distinctive collection of instructional illustrations that played a significant role in Catholic education from the 13th to 15th centuries. These illustrations feature a blend of abstract designs, such as tables and circular diagrams, alongside specific imagery including celestial beings like cherubs and seraphs, as well as trees and towers. Notably, many of these illustrations were created by Franciscan monks, suggesting their dual purpose: as tools for organizing and systematizing the creed and as mnemonic aids for sermons. The report aims to illustrate how these visual tables can serve as effective mnemonic guides for sermons, drawing on the recommendations for preachers found in Artes Praedicandi and analyzing specific miniatures from the Speculum theologiae. Additionally, the research will examine the influences of figures such as Hugo of Saint Victor, whose speculative reasoning, and Ramon Llull, known for his diagrams in The Great Art, have shaped the iconography and logic of certain illustrations in the Speculum theologiae. The research presented in the article involves reading and translating for the first time into Russian the tables from this manuscript, accompanied by an analysis of how the forms, images, and texts within the illustrations interact with one another. The study of visual diagrams opens a broad range of scholarly inquiries. However, there is a notable lack of comprehensive works that explore and analyze the diagrams of the Mirror of Theology, both in Russian and in the wider field of international historiography. This gap highlights the relevance and importance of the chosen topic for further academic exploration.

Религиозные мыслители русского зарубежья в межвоенный период: в поисках «третьего пути»

Introduction. The article describes the intellectual search by Russian religious philosophers, who in the conditions of emigration followed the so-called “vekhovstvo” ideology, a model of society based on Christian ethics, avoiding the disadvantages of both socialism and capitalism: the so-called "third way". Content. The search by Russian emigrant thinkers for an optimal social structure was conducted in the context of solving the problem of settling Russia after the fall of the Bolshevik regime. First of all, these are representatives of Russian religious philosophy during the period of emigration: P. B. Struve, S. L. Frank, S. N. Bulgakov, N. A. Berdyaev and P. I. Novgorodtsev, who united around the journal “Put'”. Their closest followers and successors of the younger generation: G. P. Fedotov, F. A. Stepun, I. I. Fondaminskij and Maria (Skobtsova) gathered around the “Novy Grad” journal. In their religious philosophy, they addressed the topics of politics and social issues. The path of restoration, a return to the pre-revolutionary situation, was rejected by them as unpromising. They criticized socialism for the introduction of forced brotherhood between people and radical denial of personality, and capitalism was unacceptable to them for the suppression and exploitation of the weak by the strong. The right way for Russia is what N. A. Berdyaev called “social personalism” and S. L. Frank called “social Christianity”. Their ideas coincided in the main thing: in affirming the absolute value of the human personality and mutual assistance (solidarity) between people regardless of class. The “social Christianity” concept was known in Europe and had a long tradition of theoretical development and practical implementation (especially in the Catholic Church social teaching and practice). The most adequate embodiment of the “social Christianity” idea was seen in the corporate structure of society. In the 1930s, there were relatively successful attempts to implement this system in practice (Austria, Italy, Portugal). This aroused the most serious interest among Russian emigrant thinkers. They spoke approvingly of the corporate system, which they saw as a real prospect for post-Bolshevik Russia. At the same time, they did not idealize corporatism and were critical of the fascist regimes that practiced it. Conclusions. In the conditions of the Second World War, the magazines “Put'” and “Novy Grad” cease to exist. The topic of the corporate system is being withdrawn from the wide discussion by Russian emigration thinkers. At the same time, the ideas of “social Christianity” and corporatism were used by Christian Democrats in post-war Germany and Italy and during the creation of the EU. In Russia, the ideas of Russian religious philosophers were taken into account when developing the “Foundations of the Russian Orthodox Church social concept”. However, it is not yet necessary to talk about the full reception of their ideas by the Orthodox community. At the same time, the very experience of understanding and searching for the optimal structure of society on Christian principles, assuming the absolute value of the human personality and overcoming social antagonisms, seems extremely relevant and valuable. Especially when this happens in conditions of free competition between different religious and ideological systems. At the same time, both positive and negative experiences along the way are relevant and valuable.

Religious Education and Prevention of Violent Radicalization: Analysis of Catholic and Islamic Education Curricula in Spain

Religious Education and Prevention of Violent Radicalization: Analysis of Catholic and Islamic Education Curricula in Spain

Contribution of Confessional Religious Education to Intercultural Education in the Republic of Croatia

For a long time, the religious dimension was neglected within the framework of intercultural education, but during the last two decades, it has become its indispensable part. The inclusion of the religious dimension in intercultural education was triggered by the growing awareness of the importance of the religious dimension for the political, social, cultural and educational future of Europe and the development of the culture of coexistance. The need to further deepen knowledge of the religious phenomenon and to implement interreligious education and dialogue is becoming increasingly obvious. The fundamental school subject that systematically mediates religious knowledge in the Croatian education system is confessional Religious Education. The goal of this research is to analyse, present and evaluate the elements that indicate the openness of the confessional Religious Education curriculum to education for interculturality. The research results are based on a comparative analysis of Catholic, Orthodox and Islamic Religious Education curricula. The subject of the analysis were the following curriculum categories: domains, purpose, goals and outcomes. Although all three curricula show openness to the religious dimension of intercultural education, when it comes to the level of specific curriculum content, there is a noticeable difference in the percentage of outcomes and topics related to knowledge of other religions and the promotion of interreligious learning and dialogue.

Success Stories of Top Performers in Teacher Education and Liberal Arts

This study was conducted to describe the journey of topnotchers from a private Catholic higher education institution in Tuguegarao City. Employing a phenomenological study approach, this study explored the lived experiences of the four topnotchers from the School of Education, Criminology, Arts, and Psychology between 2013 and 2023. Using thematic analysis to analyze the answers of the top notchers to the validated semi-structured interview questionnaire, several key factors that contributed to their success in achieving top placements in the board examinations were revealed. These factors were strong institutional support, effective teacher mentorship, good personal characteristics, a supportive family, peer support, and strategic personal interventions. These emphasize how important it is to have a solid support system inside and outside the school setting. Based on these results, the study offers various recommendations for the institution to enhance further its support for those students who are determined to succeed. These include strengthening academic and emotional support strategies from the school, family members, and peers. Moreover, it is important to invest in faculty development, enrich library resources, and intensify board exam review courses to incorporate meaningful learning experiences and test the effectiveness of a certain practice. Additionally, assessing students’ study routines to improve effective study habits and leveraging more top-notch testimonies for promotional purposes to attract more enrollees. These could serve as a source of inspiration for students and a means of enhancing the school’s standing as a producer of high scorers on board exams. Therefore, this study encourages students to pass and ace the board examinations.

Demographic Differences in Satisfaction in Interpersonal Relationships Among Consecrated Religious in Catholic Higher Educational Institutions in Lang’ata Sub-County, Kenya

The study sought to examine the socio-demographic differencesin relation to satisfaction in interpersonal relationships among consecrated religious in Catholic higher education institutions in Lang’ata Sub-County, Kenya. The study employed a quantitative paradigm to collect data and analyze it. A correlational research design was utilized. Proportionate stratified random sampling method was used to select 329 participants that took part in the study. The study was based on the Big Five Model and the Fundamental Interpersonal Relationship Orientation theory. Data was collected using the Big Five Inventory and the Relationship Assessment Scale and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study revealed that levels of satisfaction in interpersonal relationship varied across different demographic variables in the following manner; gender (male, M=26.6889, SD=3.24302; female, M=26.3673, SD=3.29400), stage of religious life (perpetually professed, M=27.0000, SD=3.05273, temporary professed, M=26.3578, SD=3.3578). Age, Participants within age range of 40-46 years old had a high mean of 27.1818, SD=2.83912 than the rest. Respondents with PhD degrees had a high mean (M=27.0000, SD=.00000) as compared to the rest. Lastly, participants who been in religious life for 11-20years old reported a higher mean of 27.5455, SD=2.99052 as compared to the rest. The study concluded that demographic variables have an influence on satisfaction in interpersonal relationship among the consecrated religious. The study recommends that counsellors need to psycho-educate the clients especially those who scored low in satisfaction in interpersonal relationships on how to develop interpersonal skills.

Coerced Kenosis

A recent Massachusetts bill seeks to incentivize living organ donation among the state’s incarcerated population by offering volunteers reduced sentences. While the incentive has been removed from the bill, the bill remains controversial. This essay argues that insofar as carceral conditions unduly motivate incarcerated people to participate, living organ donation in prison remains a morally hazardous initiative. The essay suggests that the pervasiveness of medical neglect in Massachusetts prisons not only makes organ donation unsafe but it also implicitly renders the lives of those outside of prison more valuable than those inside. This falls short of Catholic teaching on human dignity. Drawing from the history of medical experimentation in US prisons, the essay posits how the state might unduly influence incarcerated people to become living donors by preying on their moral sentiments. In such instances, the self-gift of organ donation can be understood as a kind of exploited or coerced kenosis.

Catholic Preaching on Jews and Judaism: The Challenge from Surveyed Good Friday Homilies

Abstract: To assess the reception in the American Catholic Church of the significant shift in Catholic doctrine on Jews and Judaism since the promulgation of Nostra Aetate at Vatican II, a study was conducted of a dataset of thirty-two Catholic Good Friday homilies from a sermons database that the Pew Research Center collected from the Internet in 2019. Relying on conciliar and post-conciliar Catholic teaching documents and using deductive qualitative content analysis, the survey analyzed the texts based on their treatment of six issues: (1) the Jewish identity of Jesus and his disciples, (2) respect for the Jewish people and their religious heritage, (3) the role Jews had in Jesus’ passion and death, (4) the reading from the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament, (5) the Pharisees, and (6) the gospel reading. The survey found that none of the homilies directly addressed the ahistorical, negative treatment of “the Jews” in John’s Gospel. None of the homilies commented on the Jewish identity of Jesus and his disciples. Only two homilies mentioned the Pharisees, one in a positive way and another in a negative way. As to respect for the Jewish people and their religious heritage, most homilists were silent on this matter, although some still trafficked in Jewish stereotypes, claiming, for example, that Jewish pride was evident at the crucifixion. As to Jewish responsibility for Jesus’ death, most homilists said that the sins of humanity brought Jesus to the cross, but some homilists still claimed that Jews were responsible for the crucifixion in direct contradiction to modern Church teaching. Of the homilists who referred to the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament, most read them in a typological way, not showing any concern for the texts in their historical context. As to the treatment of the Gospel of John, most homilists who commented on it showed little awareness of contemporary biblical scholarship, reading the text in a literalist way.

The Three Pillars of Catholic Education

The Three Pillars of Catholic Education

The Late Nineteenth-Century North American Catholic Schools Question: Tangled Disputes over Catholic Public Education in Manitoba and Minnesota

Abstract: Debates over the role of the state in Catholic education rocked both the United States and Canada during the early-to-mid 1890s. Arguably the two most famous of these disputes—the “Manitoba Schools Question” (1890–1897) and the “Faribault Plan” (1890–1893) in Minnesota—unfolded alongside one another in neighboring polities. Both centered on whether Catholic schools could receive taxpayer funding and whether they should be recognized as public institutions. This article explores cross-border press coverage of them to demonstrate their deep top-down and bottom-up ties. It argues they represent two sides of a broader, intertwined late nineteenth-century North American Catholic Schools Question.

생태 위기의 시대적 요청에 응답하는 한국가톨릭교회의 현실 진단과 신자 재교육 방향성 모색: 세계 시민교육(Global Citizenship Education)과의 접목을 통해서

[Objective] This study explores the direction of re-education of the faithful in the Korean Catholic Church, integrating global citizenship education in response to the contemporary demands of the ecological crisis.
 [Contents] This study first diagnoses the reality of the re-education of the faithful in the Church through data such as the ‘Statistical Analysis Report of the Korean Catholic Church’ and ‘Religious Consciousness and Faith Life of Catholics’, analyzes the practice of Pope Francis’ ecological theology and the response to the ecological crisis of the Korean Catholic Church, and proposes the idea of transforming the existing re-education of the faithful into a model of Catholic global citizenship education that revives the call of the times.
 [Conclusions] The re-education in front-line parishes must be a lifelong education for cultivating global citizenship(“Catholic civic education”) at the social and ecological levels, where the common consensus(“Synodalitas”) is realized through mutual learning. To achieve this, Catholic civic education should be actively utilized through various organizations and committees that engage in ecological environmental movements inside and outside the Church.

Lisette and the disappearance of illustrés for girls

ABSTRACT Launched in France in 1921, Lisette was a successful example of the illustrated magazines offering young girls a mix of fiction (illustrated stories, short stories and comics), educational content and star culture. By the late 1950s, these illustrated magazines – for boys and girls – as well as the formula of traditional young girl magazines, often aligned with catholic teachings, were on the verge of obsolescence. New sentimental or star-oriented magazines for teenagers (20 ans, launched in 1961, Salut les copains, 1962), as well as existing magazines like Fillette jeune fille, moved away from fiction and illustration, and many titles simply disappeared in these years. This article examines Lisette’s shifting positioning within the space of youth publications and in particular its unwillingness to be identified as a comics magazine, after briefly trying on that identity between 1953 and 1957.

Knowledge of the Law and Professional Advancement of Catholic Religious Education Teachers in Poland

In the 2022/2023 school year, changes were made to the education law in Poland, which affected the rules for the professional advancement of teachers, including those teaching Catholic religion and other religious denominations. Therefore, the aim of the article is to examine (i) to what extent have Catholic religious education teachers familiarised themselves with the education law in previous professional advancement procedures, and (ii) what formal-legal obligations and pedagogical challenges may arise when planning their professional development in the new procedure. Recent research shows that Catholic religious education teachers in Poland have extensive knowledge of education and religious law. There is a clear link between teachers’ career paths and their knowledge of the law. Many good practices have been developed in cooperation between pedagogical supervision units and individual dioceses.

“Beauty Ideals” from a Christian, Educational and Media Perspective: Dangers, Challenges and Opportunities in the Croatian Educational System

Today’s children are growing up and spending most of their free time with media, especially social networks, on which various lifestyles are imposed every day, including ideals of beauty that are often based on physical appearance and far from authentic images of the observed object. In this paper, it is shown how the topic of beauty is presented throughout the history of art, with a special focus on the presentation of beauty in theology. Additionally, the paper investigates how much the topic of beauty is treated within the Croatian formal education system, with a particular emphasis on the representation of beauty and to what extent children are prepared to critically evaluate the representation of beauty in different types of media, but also to reflect on the potential impact of such content on themselves. Research has shown that most such content is present in the subjects of Visual Culture, Visual Arts, Croatian Language and Informatics. The paper also presents such contents in the Catholic religious education curricula. In addition to imposed media ideals of beauty affecting childrens’ self-confidence, they are often the subject of peer violence, especially in the virtual world. Specifically, humiliation based on physical appearance is a common form of cyberbullying. To determine how physical appearance is used in such unacceptable behavior among children, all the posts that have arrived on UHO, the first online platform for the prevention of cyberbullying in Croatia, were analyzed. Research has shown that girls report such forms of abuse more often than boys, that cyberbullying based on appearance most often occurs inside closed groups or private messages rather than publicly on social networks, and that children rarely report to adults that they are the victims of such forms of violence.

Religious and Moral Attitudes of Catholics from Generation Z

This paper discusses findings of studies concerning religious attitudes of Polish Catholics belonging to the so-called Generation Z, i.e., people born during the digital revolution. The authors present religious attitudes of Generation Z representatives against the background of other European states relating to religious practices and opinions concerning the acceptability of abortion, euthanasia, divorce, contraceptives and other conduct not consistent with the Catholic Church teachings. The findings prove that even though the Polish society, including those of Generation Z, is distinguishable from European countries with its high percentage of people engaging in religious practices, the observed trends and the dominance of attitudes contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church indicate the possibility of maintaining a downward trend in the number of Catholics in Poland.