Church Documents on Catholic Education

The documents listed below are in chronological order. Note that I am making a distinction between "education" and "catechesis" or "evangelization." Although they are all related terms, I am only interested in Catholic education here. Please leave a comment and let me know if there is a document I forgot to add to the list.

• Pope Leo XIII, Spectata Fides (On Christian Education), Nov. 27, 1885
• Pope Pius X, Acerbo Nimis (On Teaching Christian Doctrine), Apr. 15, 1905
• Pope Pius XI, Divini Illius Magistri (On Christian Education), Dec. 31, 1929
• Pope Pius XI, Provido Sane Consilio (On Better Care for Catechetical Teaching), Jan. 12, 1935
• Pope Pius XII, Counsel to Teaching Sisters, Sept. 15, 1951
• Vatican II, Gravissimum Educationis (Declaration on Education), Oct. 28, 1965
• USCCB, To Teach as Jesus Did, Nov., 1972
• Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School, Mar. 19, 1977
• Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: Witness to Faith, Oct. 15, 1982
• Congregation for Catholic Education, Educational Guidance in Human Love: Outlines for Sex Education, Nov. 1, 1983
• Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, Apr. 7, 1988
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, Sept. 8, 1997
• Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, Dec. 28, 1997
• USCCB, Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, June 19, 1998
• Congregation for Catholic Education, Consecrated Persons and Their Mission in Schools, Nov. 20, 2002
• USCCB, Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium, June, 2005
• Congregation for Catholic Education, Educating Together in Catholic Schools: A Shared Mission Between Consecrated Persons and the Lay Faithful, Sept. 8, 2007
• Congregation for Catholic Education, Circular Letter to the Presidents of Bishops’ Conferences on Religious Education in Schools, May 5, 2009
• Congregation for Catholic Education, Educating to Intercultural Dialogue in Catholic Schools: Living in Harmony for a Civilization of Love, Oct. 28, 2013
• Congregation for Catholic Education, Educating Today and Tomorrow: A Renewing Passion, Apr. 7, 2014
• Congregation for Catholic Education, Educating to Fraternal Humanism: Building a "Civilization of Love," Apr. 16, 2017
• Congregation for Catholic Education, "Male and Female He Created Them": Towards a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education, Feb. 2, 2019
• Congregation for Catholic Education, The Identity of the Catholic School for a Culture of Dialogue, Jan. 25, 2022.

Pax Christi,
phatcatholic

Catholic Resources on Halloween and All Saints/Souls Day

There is much confusion about the origins of Halloween, and about what the Church celebrates on and around this day. Sometimes it can be a little difficult to make sense of it all. As a result, I offer the following links to articles and other resources that will help you to learn more about these holidays, and to defend them against the oh-so-typical charge that Catholics are pagans. I say Protestants just don't know how to throw a party like we do! (evidence here)

I repost this every year around this time with additional links, so if you are a regular here see the bottom of the list for some material that you might not have read yet.

• Liturgical Calendar: All Hallows' Eve | All Saints' Day | All Souls' Day
• My High Holy Day
• All Hallow's Eve
• All Saints Day
• All Souls Day
• To Trace All Souls' Day
• Halloween: Its Origins and Celebration
• Ghosts, Hauntings, and Things that Go "Bump" in the Night
• Catholic Education: All Hallow's Eve
• Ideas for Sanctifying Halloween
• Halloween: Reclaim the Celebration of All Saints
• Halloween, All Saints, and All Souls Day
• Taking Back Our "Holy" Halloween
• Halloween, High Street, and Holy Witnesses
• Halloween's Origins
• Halloween Word Origins
• Holiday Hysteria
• Pulling the Plug on the Halloween Habit
• Reinventing the Hallowheel!
• What the Halloween Hullabaloo Says about Our Culture
• How Halloween Can Be Redeemed
• Halloween Is Not a Pagan Holiday
• Seasonal Feature: Halloween
• Surprise! Halloween Is Not a Pagan Festival After All
• Should We Fear Halloween?
• A Catholic Field Guide to the Undead
• Halloween on Hiatus
• Be Not Afraid: The Surprisingly Holy Origins of Halloween
• Are Scary Halloween Costumes Okay?
• Twelve Movies to Terrify Your Kids
• A Guide to Reading Ghost Stories
• Popular Christian Myths About Halloween
• Back to Black and Mind Your Beeswax: An Annual Call
• Do You Know the Meaning of the Words "Halloween" and "Hallowmas"?
• Top 10 Christian Halloween Ideas
• Do We Pray for "the Dead" or for "the Faithfully Departed"?
• 15 Favorite Films for All Hallow's Eve and All Saints' Day
• Getting All Hallow's Eve Right!
• Halloween & Smut
• The Catholic Origins of Halloween
• Culture: Halloween and Catholicism
• Do Catholics Believe in Ghosts?
• It's Time for Catholics to Embrace Halloween
• What the Hell Is Halloween and How It Can Point You to Heaven

Have fun everyone! Be holy!

Pax Christi,
phatcatholic