Dr Marie Griffin, chairperson of CEP, said, “Catholic educators remember Pope Francis with gratitude and fondness for his leadership and inspiration. In the Global Compact on Education he gave us a pathway to compassionate care and respect for all, especially the marginalised. In it, he drew our attention to the twin ecological challenges of our age: the ecological crisis of our common home and that of the ecology of the human person. In it, he placed families and the human person at the centre of concern for educators, emphasising the need to listen to the voices of the young and to find new ways of understanding economics, politics, growth and progress. In time, I am confident that this will be seen as a key aspect of the rich legacy of his pontificate.”
The Chief Executive of CEP, Alan Hynes, noted, “that the last message on social media posted by Pope Francis reminded us that the resurrection of Christ captures ‘the entire meaning of our existence, for we were not made for death, but for life’. This is the Golden Thread running through Catholic education – that human life has a meaning, purpose, and destiny, far beyond the limitations of this mortal life.
“Time and time again, Pope Francis drew attention to the significance of human dignity, made as we are in the image of God. In Fratelli Tutti he reminds us that ‘as a community, we have an obligation to ensure that every person lives with dignity and has sufficient opportunities for his or her integral development.’ These words serve as a mission statement for Catholic education, words that we will seek to honour as we continue on with our work in the light of Pope Francis’ profound legacy to the Church and to the world.”
The Catholic Education Partnership was established in 2020 and replaced the Catholic Schools Partnership. The purpose of the CEP is to provide an authoritative and unified voice for the Catholic education sector at primary, post-primary and tertiary levels on the island of Ireland.
The Bishops’ Communications Office in Maynooth has made available digital Books of Condolence for people to record their sympathy and these are available on the homepage of catholicbishops.ie, on the bishops’ social media platforms of Facebook, Instragram, X, Linkedin and on BlueSky.
ENDS
