Scholas Occurrentes: Pope's Video Message for a "Culture of Encounter" Without Christ

(Rome) In Jerusalem, a multi-day congress was held at the Hebrew University of the Pontifical Schola Occurrentes Foundation. Pope Francis transmitted a video message to yesterday's meeting. The Pope turned to the international audience in Spanish. As in the past, the Embassy lacked any relation to religion. The words "God", "Jesus", "Christ" or "Lord" did not pass the lips of the Pope. He called for a global world of unity in diversity and a "culture of encounter".

Scholas Occurrentes is a project in cooperation with state and private schools founded by Jorge Mario Bergoglio when he was still Archbishop of Buenos Aires. After his election to the Pope he gave the project the legal form of a papal foundation and settled it in the Vatican. In the meantime, more than 400,000 schools in over 80 countries are involved worldwide, according to the Foundation.

The project wants to educate "peace", "dialogue" and "encounter".

Scholas Occurrentes is regarded as a favorite project by Pope Francis, which has been criticized several times in the past. It was known that the pope's name was used for gambling, and that the foundation, on papal instructions, refused a substantial donation by the incumbent Argentine president, apparently because he belonged to the "false party", and finally that the foundation supports gender ideology with its publications in Spanish speaking areas. All in all, doubts about the "pedagogical revolution" that Francis was pursuing with the Foundation were voiced.

"Civil Society" instead of Christianity?

The project is therefore very popular with ministries of education, school authorities and administrators because the religious aspect is completely thrown out. Neither God nor Christianity play a role. They are not even mentioned. The project focuses on "civil society" education on "peace, peaceful coexistence , dialogue and encounter."

In his numerous speeches and messages, which Pope Francis addressed to Schola's Occurentes in the past four years, Christ and the Christian faith never appeared. In his videotape, Francis spoke of "variety" and "diversity" that "breathe all the same air" and "inhabit the same earth", which is "the common house." Everyone has "their history", but "all live together". This is also the model given by Jerusalem. It is about "openness", as the Church chief emphasized several times, and is therefore "without prejudice."

According to the Pope, the goal of Scholas Occurrentes is to create a "culture of encounter". The Pope said "no to unity," but yes to "commonality in cultural diversity".




Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Photo: CTV/Youtube (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG