Calls (part 1)

An Education That Transforms

We are called

• to participate in God's work of transformation of persons and societies; we renew our commitment to the service of education which is confided to us by the Church
• to live our service of education with a strong corporate sense

   

From Collaboration to Reciprocity

We are called

• to collaborate in reciprocity with all the people with whom we share life and mission.

From Meeting to Dialogue of Cultures

We are called

• to respond to God present in the heart of the world
• to expand our understanding of what it means to belong to a multicultural community
• to learn to live interculturality among ourselves, with others and in all that we do.

We contemplate the Heart of Jesus in the joys, hopes and sufferings of humanity. Looking at the world from the perspective of the reign of God leads us to recognize how Jesus reveals himself in the poor and marginalized. The experience of an incarnated spirituality impels us to live education as a process of transformation.

In response to new needs of the world and with a new understanding of apostolic religious life, our service of education has opened out into diverse fields of ministry, which embrace persons of all ages in contrasting social situations. We feel particularly challenged by the plight of children, young people and women, especially those who are excluded. We are convinced that education is a lifelong process.

We live in a globalized and complex world that presents great challenges to our task of transformative education:

• the longing of millions of people to have access to the benefits of education,
• the desire of peoples and cultures that their identity and their right to belong to the global community be recognized,
• the astounding speed of technological change, which impacts on educational change in an uneven way,
• the relativizing of human and spiritual values and of what is of permanent,
• the overwhelming amount of propaganda we receive through the mass media, which influences all of us, especially the young,
• the constant dialogue between the local and the global,
• the urgency for life, justice, peace and integrity of creation,
• the struggle of women for equality in relationships in society and in the Church,
• the role of organized civil society and NGOs

We see hope in our apostolic mission that is energized by the commitment of religious, the collaboration of thousands of lay people and the contribution of civil society and of the church. We recognize the possibility and responsibility we have, by reason of our presence in five continents, in different social realities, to join forces and to act together in order to contribute to a reconciled world, one where justice, peace, love and solidarity are made a reality. Thus our presence will be visible and significant.

We have heard in our provinces and in the Chapter a profound desire to live our service of education with a strong sense of corporateness, in fidelity to the intuitions of Madeleine Sophie. To live this sense of corporateness, we need:

• to be sent by our provinces or the international Society
• to commit ourselves to building community, sharing faith and life
• to integrate our diverse commitments in community and provincial plans and orientations for mission (projet)
• to make links and networks among people working in similar ministries.

We are committed in diverse fields of ministry: in faith accompaniment, in educational institutions, in educational and health projects in marginalized areas and in collaboration with church organizations and those of civil society.

We have a common vision, which has its source in our spirituality, orients our commitment to education from the perspective of those who suffer inequality and injustice, and is lived always in the light of the Gospel.

We value our educational philosophy, and we feel the need to re-articulate it, integrating elements of popular education methodology and of current trends in education. Our practice continues to be enriched by the contribution of many collaborators and our participation in civil society and in the Church.

In order that education be transformative, it is necessary:

• to assure that the person, in his or her individual, social and spiritual dimension is at the center of the educational process
• to form to critical thinking
• to accompany persons and groups in the process of faith, which commits them to work for justice, peace and the integrity of creation
• to create educational processes that enable persons and groups to become aware of their reality, recognize their dignity, discover their potential, take decisions and be guided by the values of the reign of God.
• to learn to read the Word of God from the perspective of those who are excluded
• to analyze social reality, to draw up objectives and plan actions that respond to the needs of the social context.
• to work for a change of ideas and attitudes with respect to unequal relationships between men and women, among ethnic groups, religions, cultures, social classes, generations and with the environment.
• to form leaders, persons and groups to ethical criteria, with the capacity for independence, solidarity and responsibility.

Strategies

1. To be close to situations where people suffer injustice, so as to become more aware of and sensitive to the suffering of others and to commit ourselves to the work of transformation.
2. To maximize the potential that working in different social realities offers us, we will unite our efforts and plan action in favor of justice and peace, using our JPIC networks, and networking with NGOs in civil society at local, national and global levels.
3. To keep up to date with trends in education, social sciences, technology and human development studies.
4. To develop educational projects with the following elements:
   1. coordination of inter-disciplinary teams with grass roots involvement
   2. analysis of the situation to which the project is a response
   3. methodology that involves setting objectives and strategies that can be evaluated
   4. collaboration with others
   5. participation in networks
5. To re-articulate the philosophy of our education integrating the new elements of Chapter 2000.