"In this respect commented Benedict XVI , it has been highlighted that the attendance of Catholic schools in some Italian regions is increasing from the last decade, even if some difficult, sometimes even critical, situations persist". According to the Pope, "just in the context of the renewal that is the ambition of those who have at heart the good of the young and the country, that effective equality between the state schools and the recognised schools that gives parents the right freedom to choose a school for their children must be promoted". Hence his encouragement to those present to "focus your efforts, as you mean to do anyway", on five areas: "spread a culture that aims at qualifying the pedagogy of the Catholic schools in connection with the purposes of Christian education; monitor the quality standards and collect information on the state of the Catholic school; start new surveys to learn more about the educational, cultural and organisational emergencies that are relevant today; extend the culture of equality, which is not always highly regarded if not actually misinterpreted", and finally "increase the fruitful cooperation with the federations/associations of Catholic schools within each one’s jurisdiction and purposes".
