Education of children and young people in Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia and Laudato Si’

Abstract

of treatment of educational and material investments that result in treating education as a part of economy (ed. Delors 1998:230). Education is perceived as the total of the processes and impacts that aim at changing a person’s behaviour into the standard educational norms of a certain society. Pope Francis (Zani 2018:25–44), while discussing the issues of education, refers to the 17 aims presented in the document called, ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – 2030’ signed by the leaders of member countries of the United Nations. The document was adopted at the UN summit in New York City in 2015. The assumptions of the document concern, among others, the transformation of the world with respect to the environment for the future generations and The issues concerning education of children and young people are deeply inscribed into Pope Francis’ profound experience, as he gained knowledge and practised educating in Buenos Aires. He worked there in support of the universal education of children and young people who lived in the so-called barrios and villas miseria , which were the districts of poverty in the suburbs of this metropolis. This and other experiences of Jorge Mario Bergoglio contributed to his decisions to discuss the issues of education in the documents written during his pontificate in the Vatican. The author of the article would like to present the issues connected with education of children and young people in the teaching of Pope Francis. This issue is more relevant than in contemporary times, the emphasis was on upbringing rather than on education. Francis emphasises the importance of education as a method of influencing the development of man. It allows for the conscious and planned influencing of children and young people, while the aim of education is to form certain changes of personality. Pope Francis presents the issue of education in his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia in a particular way, as he introduces ethical, moral and sexual education to the reader. In his encyclical Laudato Si’ , the Pope refers to ecological education. Contribution: This research relates to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) sustainable goals with regard to quality education. The article is an attempt to find the answers to the questions concerning the way Pope Francis perceives education and its influence on the development of children and young people, as well as to present its most important aspects.