On 15 July, the Chamber of Deputies approved, with 252 votes in favour, 115 against, and 13 abstentions, the law on teachers of Catholic religion in schools of every kind and grade. The appointment of such teachers to the permanent teaching staff, by public competition, is in conformity with the new discipline of the teaching of religion in state schools. The law concerns over 20,000 teachers and provides for their hiring for an indeterminate period. If the suitability of the candidates as recognised by the diocese should be withdrawn, recourse to mobility is provided. “It’s an important achievement commented Msgr. Cesare Nosiglia, chairman of the episcopal Commission for Catholic education of the Italian Bishops’ Conference (Cei) . We have been awaiting this result ever since 1985. It fills a gap in Italian legislation. It’s a goal to which the CEI has always devoted its attention because it is right that a teacher of religion has rights and duties just like all other teachers. It is a positive law, therefore, not only for teachers, but also to give full academic validity to the teaching of Catholic religion in schools. Our job now is to continue with the qualified training of these teachers at the level both of theological and cultural content, so that they may be able to contribute to the reform taking place in schools themselves”.
