Poland: Eighth Education Week. Mgr. Skworc, “the school cannot be a political and ideological battlefield”

“The school cannot be a political and ideological battlefield”, Mgr. Wiktor Skworc, Ordinary of Katowice (southern Poland), said to mark the beginning of the new catechetical year in schools. “The task of the school is to pass on knowledge and values, that is, to educate pupils according to the will of their parents and society”, the prelate added, noting that young people “are easily subject to manipulation by aggressive and ill-intentioned media”. The Polish Church has launched the eighth Week for Education yesterday (9-15 September), inviting young people to “discern the right way”. In their pastoral letter, the Bishops encouraged young people to prepare for the 15^th Synodal Assembly dedicated to them and to the issue of vocational discernment. “The discernment of one’s vocation is often associated with youth, yet that skill is required throughout our lives”, the prelates wrote, stressing that we need it “especially today, as we are exposed to many external factors linked, among others, to electronic media”. Indeed, “a vocation – the Polish Bishops continued – is always linked to a mission that is fulfilled in love”.