Browsing by Author "Annicchiarico, Vincenzo"

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    The Cultural Dimension of Catholic Liturgical Rites in Catholic Religious Educationin the Context of the Objectives of the Education System in Italy
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022-12-21) Kiciński, Andrzej; Annicchiarico, Vincenzo
    This article aims to show the possibility of an academic approach to the teaching of Catholic religion at school to the liturgical rites of the Catholic Church from a cultural perspective. Liturgical rites consist of numerous signs and symbols that refer to the human dimension which seeks what is beautiful, true and good. One of the main objectives of Italian and European schools, at all levels, is to teach, educate and raise responsible and upright citizens. Therefore, while contributing to the general formation of the human being at school, the teaching of Catholic religion also draws students closer, in cultural terms, to the great code, that is the liturgy of the Catholic Church. It is certainly a form of public and social communication. It is education in action. This article is an attempt to show how, on the one hand, the cultural dimension of the Italian model of teaching Catholic religion corresponds to the objectives of the Italian educational system, and thus, given the fact that the Holy See has concluded concordats with many countries on teaching religion according to the denominational model, it could become a potential European norm in the future. In this sense, for example, it could be a serious and systematic cultural opportunity for Ukrainian students residing in Poland, a chance to learn the symbolic language of the Catholic liturgy in the perspective of reaching human maturity, without fear of proselytism from the Catholic Church. The proposal presented in the article can also be regarded as an attempt to respond scientifically to the postulates of the President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, who has recently stressed the need for a reformed educational and didactic project with regard to the teaching of Catholic religion in Polish schools, with greater consideration of the educational aspects of Christian culture. The article is in no way intended to diminish the intrinsic value of the liturgy in the life of the Church, understood as a celebration, proclamation, commemoration, promise and a moral call, whose purpose is to transform or transfigure the person so that he/she is oriented towards the highest good, which is God, and able to live a life of mutual love. The intention of the study was to highlight a cultural approach in which a school subject such as teaching Catholic religion ‘can’ and ‘must’ fit into the school’s objectives ‒ a school that includes believers and non-believers, Christians and non-Christians. As a result of the conducted analysis, it can be assumed that if the school is to be a place of humanisation of man, then the teaching of Catholic religion through a cultural approach to the great code of the liturgy, will help all students to critically confront themselves in order to grow in humanity through the construction of a personal life project. Moreover, this will give Catholic students another opportunity to deepen the human foundations following from their own religion.