Cardinal Rouco Varela denounces 'deficient' regulation of religion classes

Madrid, Spain, Nov 24, 2009 / 18:24 pm

The Archbishop of Madrid and president of the Bishops’ Conference of Spain, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, criticized the Spanish government this week for the deterioration of moral formation in the country's education system.

During his remarks opening the bishops’ 94th Plenary Assembly, Cardinal Rouco noted that the “deterioration” of religious and moral formation in schools “is not good for anyone and much less so for the young people who in practice are derived of it or forced to receive it under difficult and discriminatory circumstances.”

He also noted that the bishops continue to be concerned about the obligatory nature of the course “Education for the Citizenry.”

“It ought to have been designed as strictly civic and juridical teaching material instead of as teaching material that is moral in nature or based on a particular vision of man, as is typical of ideological or indoctrinating teaching.”

Cardinal Rouco remarked that the Spanish school system is suffering from “serious problems,” including high drop-out rates, the loss of authority of teachers and sexual education imparted without discretion. He said these problems must be addressed from an educational perspective but also keeping in mind “the human person.”