The Dicastery for Culture and Education has been formally presented with the new Religious Education Directory for Catholic schools in England and Wales.
Monsignor Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi, Secretary of the Dicastery, welcomed the new directory at his office on 29 March, along with the Rt Rev Philip Egan, Bishop of Portsmouth; CES Director Paul Barber; Religious Education Adviser Philip Robinson; and Senior Policy and Education Adviser Dr Nancy Walbank.
Titled To Know You More Clearly, the directory covers Foundation Stage to Year 9 with a programme of study and model curriculum, replacing previous editions published in 1996 and 2012. It was drafted to reflect the 2022 Instruction by the Dicastery titled The Identity Of The Catholic School for a Culture of Dialogue.
Topics covered in To Know You More Clearly include the relationship between faith and science; the problem of evil; nature of human freedom; rights of the unborn; plight of refugees and asylum seekers; war and peace.
There is also a focus on the beauty of Catholicism and its influence on culture through art, music, literature, science, and architecture, equipping young people to engage with the Church beyond intellectual remits, and approach the transcendent.