Catholic Education Week 2017

During the week of April 30 to May 5, 2017 Ontario Catholic schools will celebrate the significant contribution that Catholic Education has made to the community, the province and to Canada. Our Catholic Graduate Expectations challenge students to articulate in society those fundamental values that underpin Catholic education.

The theme for this year’s Catholic Education Week is: Catholic Education: Walking Forward Together

The 2017 CEW theme and its five sub-themes are drawn from three contemporary Catholic documents that address the need for reconciliation and renewal – in our lives, with our families, in our relationships with others and in our relationship with our environment and our common global future.

The first is the 2016 response of the Canadian Catholic Bishops to the Truth & Reconciliation Commission that we need to heal past injustices by “Walking Forward Together.” The second is the 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home by Pope Francis, that emphasizes the cultural roots of our ecological problems and advocates an urgent world collaboration for the care of our common global home. The third document, Amoris Laetitia: The Joy of Love is a 2016 Apostolic Exhortation by Pope Francis, which applauds our dedication and concern shown to children, families, migrants, the poor, the elderly, and to persons with special needs, as a sign of the Spirit. These supportive relationships are a test of our commitment to show mercy in welcoming others and to help the vulnerable, to be fully a part of our communities.

Our CEW biblical quote, “Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8), acknowledges the important role of justice and solidarity with our Indigenous peoples, our environment, the poor and marginalized, and all those who work to protect our common global future.

There are five sub-themes, one for each day of Catholic Education Week and they are aimed at helping staff and students to reflect more fully on what Walking Forward Together asks of them.

The five sub-themes are: