Pastoral Letter
“The Religious Formation
and Education in the Catholic Faith”
Circular No. 38; Series of 1984
October 16, 1984
To our Parish Priests and Parochial Vicars, Superiors and Heads
of Universities, Colleges, Schools both Public and Private,
Chaplains of Educational Institutions, Religion Teachers, Catechists,
People of God in the Archdiocese of Manila:
The new Code of Canon Law provides
for the religious formation of the lay people. “Lay people have the duty and
the right to acquire the knowledge of Christian teaching which is appropriate
to each one’s capacity and condition, so that they may be able to live according
to the teaching, to proclaim it and if necessary to defend it, and may be
capable of playing their part in the exercise of the apostolate” (Can. 229,
no. 1).
The Church assigns the task
of formation and education in the Catholic Faith both to the clerics and the
lay people. Speaking of the latter, the Code states, “Lay people, like all
Christ’s faithful are, deputed to the apostolate by baptism and confirmation,
they are bound by the general obligation and they have the right, whether
as individuals or in associations, to strive so that the divine message of
salvation may be known and accepted by all people throughout the world” (Can.
225, no. 1).
The vital role of the lay people
in the Christian education of our youth is very evident today. And happily,
our lay men and women have heeded God’s call and are playing their role in
the formal and non-formal streams of education.
It is important to note in
this regard that the formation and education in the Catholic religion provided
in all schools, whether Catholic or not, private or public, must be based
on the principles of Catholic doctrine (Can. 803, no. 2) and subject to the
authority of the Church (Can. 804). And the teachers as the moulders of the
youth must be outstanding in the true doctrine and uprightness of life (Can.
803, no. 2).
To ensure the purity and effectiveness
of this formation in the Catholic religion, the diocesan bishop is given the
serious obligation to regulate and watch over it (Can. 804, no.1). “In his
own diocese, the local Ordinary has the right to appoint or to approve teachers
of religion and, if religious or moral considerations require it, the right
to remove them or to demand that they be removed” (Can. 805). For it is the
Ordinary who actualizes the right of the lay person to preach the Word of
God, and commissions him or her to do so.
In the Archdiocese of Manila,
we have authorized the Ministry of Catechetics headed by Bishop Manuel C.
Sobreviñas and the Campus Ministry headed by Father Ramon Salinas, O.P., to
be the sole and competent authorities to appoint religion teachers, catechists,
and other formators and facilitators, including those dedicated to the pastoral,
liturgical, devotional, and other religious activities in public and non-sectarian
secondary and elementary schools. Both ministries (Catechesis and Campus)
will work in close coordination among themselves and the parish priest concerned.
They should undertake the appropriate formation of their respective staff
and membership so that the objectives of Catholic education may be attended
to the fullest.
May I take this opportunity
to thank all those persons: priests, religious brothers and sisters, and lay
men and women who are working for the extension of the divine message of
salvation among the people of God of our beloved Archdiocese. May the Lord
of the harvest bless them a hundredfold.
Devotedly yours in Christ,
(Sgd.) + JAIME L. CARDINAL SIN, D.D.
Archbishop of Manila
Manila, October 16, 1984
