A Letter to the Catholic High School Students of Ontario

From the Bishops of Ontario

Greetings!

Dear Catholic Secondary School Students:

We write to you to share our joy in your commitment to the gospel of justice and peace; to thank you for your generosity of spirit; and to affirm you in the struggle you are engaged in, locally and globally, to build a more just and peaceful world.

We write, too, to share with every Catholic high school student in Ontario - from Kenora to Cornwall and from Timmins to Windsor - the good news that is found in so many of our Catholic high school communities.

Finally, we write to encourage you in your commitment to the poor and to challenge you to continue to serve as disciples of Jesus, who today can be found in a special way with those who are hurting and find themselves on the margins of our social and economic life.

Part One - A Rich Mosaic of Reflection and Action on behalf of Justice

There is much to share about Catholic high school students right across Ontario who are today serving Jesus whom they find in the poor, through their efforts for justice and peace. From the many reports we have received, it is clear that there is a rich variety of activity taking place from one school to the next. We feel that it is important to acknowledge these admirable initiatives and to communicate this story to every student in the Ontario Catholic high school community.

It is precisely this solidarity and interdependence that are at the core of Catholic social teaching and that are so necessary if we are to begin to change those unjust global attitudes and structures that keep the South poor, and the North rich.

We are aware of groups of Catholic high school students who have traveled to the Third World to work and to learn. Recent projects in Haiti, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Mexico have been beneficial for various local communities in these poor countries. More importantly, these Third World experiences have opened up new horizons of understanding and awareness for Catholic high school students in such different Ontario communities as Midland, Peterborough, Trenton, Hamilton, Sarnia and many more. And it is not just a small group of students who profit from such experiences. A certain solidarity develops and links of interdependence are established between the Catholic high school itself and a particular Third World community. It is precisely this solidarity and interdependence that are at the core of Catholic social teaching and that are so necessary if we are to begin to change those unjust global attitudes and structures that keep the South poor, and the North rich.

We know, as well, that some of you have participated in "Third World" experiences right here in Ontario: students living and working among the poor and the powerless in our society; groups of students assisting at shelters, food banks, soup kitchens, day care centres for the poor and dispossessed and on local St. Vincent de Paul projects.

We are aware that some schools offer, and many of you are choosing to be involved in, courses on the social teaching of the Church, courses which sharpen your critical awareness and provide you with opportunities to explore the meaning of non-violence and to develop insight into the ways in which our society tends to feed and promote what the Pope has aptly called the culture of death.

.. there is a lively participation in the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, an official organization established by the Catholic Church in Canada to reach out constantly to countries in need.

In every region of the province, there are Think-Fasts and pilgrimages for the poor; there are hunger meals and starvathons; there are concrete links of financial solidarity established between some of our schools and communities in the rich North and some local communities in the poor South; there is a lively participation in the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, an official organization established by the Catholic Church in Canada to reach out constantly to countries in need.

There are, as well, those most necessary demonstrations and political initiatives taken to defend the right of the unborn, the most powerless of all in our society.

All of this is very heartening for us and an inspiration to the whole Catholic community and so we celebrate your generosity of spirit and your active involvement!

Part Two - The Heart of Catholic Education

... you actually walk the path of the gospel and bring the good news to the poor.

For all of us, your participation in the gospel of justice is immensely encouraging. You live the ideals you have learned; you actually walk the path of the gospel and bring the good news to the poor. We are sure that, in doing so, you receive the good news in return.

Your participation in this good news which brings justice and peace is a powerful affirmation that our Catholic high schools are more necessary now than ever before. For us and for our vision of Catholic education, this striving to do justice and bring peace into our world is at the very heart of the matter. You are demonstrating that Catholic high schools contribute to the improvement of both Ontario and world society. With good will and efforts like yours, we can develop a society which does provide employment, security and dignity for all its citizens and which reaches out to help those in need.

You are showing in action the wholesome and positive bias which is the mark of a Catholic education.

Using bias to describe a Catholic education might seem a bit strange to you or even a little un- Christian. After all, you are taught over and over not to have any biases or prejudices. But we do have a bias. It is a bias for the poor; a bias for those who suffer because of injustice; a bias for gospel values - the bias of the Beatitudes. Such a bias is absolutely essential to a Catholic education.

Consequently, we are opposed to:

• intolerance towards refugees and immigrants;

• a feeling of me first that would have us neglect the poor by slashing and cutting assistance to them and chopping development assistance to poor countries;

• the culture of consumption which so emphasizes things over people and "having" over "being".

You have reinforced our belief that a commitment to justice and peace is an inevitable outcome of the education you receive in our Catholic high schools.

Such an education underscores that:

• the goods of the earth are meant for all and that we are called to be wise caretakers of God's creation;

• God has a special preference for the poor and the little ones in our world today;

• the words and ideas we learn in the classroom must be translated into action and concrete activity on behalf of the poor and those suffering from injustice.

To do justice and to work for peace are at the very heart of Catholic education.

Part Three - The Challenges are Pressing

An education for justice and peace is an education about just relations and structures here in Canada - in Ontario - as well as in the Third World.

There is an African proverb that, in a way, describes the current mood and some of the attitudes in our society. It says: As the water hole shrinks, the animals get meaner! We are living in a society with shrinking wealth for the majority of people and a world in which the gap between the rich and poor increases each day. With shrinking wealth and decreasing job opportunities, a new meanness sets in. Those who have become more possessive and protective of what they have.

The social teaching of the Church has as its bottom line the dignity of the person who is God's image rather than dollars and goods.

Signs of this new meanness are all around us. Look for a minute at everyday life in your own high school and community and consider these questions:

• What generally are the attitudes towards the poor? Do we blame them - the unemployed and those on social assistance - for our problems, for the fact that our debt and deficit are so high and that, as a society, we have failed to live within our means?

• What are the attitudes towards those who are different in race, religion, physical or intellectual ability? How much acceptance is there in your school for new Canadians? What specific measures are under way to bring different national and ethnic groups together - to share - to learn about each other - to have differences become a means and a challenge for growth?

• The social teaching of the Church has as its bottom line the dignity of the person who is God's image rather than dollars and goods. How present or how absent is this teaching in your studies of business, the economy and technology?

We want to make this an occasion to invite each of you to take up the challenge to continue to work at becoming instruments of justice and peace in your own daily life situation. We see three aspects to this challenge.

The first is to overcome fear - the fear that paralyzes and leads to indifference. Too often, in our time, fear is an obstacle. This is the fear that declares: "It's too much, too complicated!" or "One person can't possibly make a difference!" But our Christian experience tells us otherwise. It tells us that, by working together in hope, we can bring about significant change.

The second is to become aware. Much of the poverty and injustice in our society and in our world today does not just happen, as by chance. Structures of injustice have been created over the years by human decisions; they are maintained by human attitudes, actions and economic and political policies which benefit some and oppress others. Poverty too is systemic.

Today our economy is being restructured. How much are we aware of this? How is this restructuring taking place? Who is making the decisions and for whose benefit? What will the results be? Will we have a society which provides employment for all who are capable and protects all those who are not?

To make a difference today and to become an effective instrument of justice means embracing the challenge of acquiring a deeper, more critical understanding of how our social, economic, and political systems work. During your years in a Catholic high school, this is a singularly appropriate challenge for each of you.

The third is to face the challenge of the future - your future! What will you do with the rest of your life? This is such an important question. It cannot be asked often enough. How sensitive are you to the wonderful gifts and talents that God has given you? And how might you use those same gifts and talents to help others, especially those who are hurting and finding themselves on the sidelines of our social and economic life?

Gratitude is the fundamental attitude necessary to work for justice and peace in our time. It is this personal awareness of God's loving and gracious presence in their lives that has led many young adults to participate freely in different communities, movements and organizations dedicated to building up Jesus' reign of justice and peace.