Catholic Diocese Of Joliet

Bishop Conlon continues to talk about St. Augustine and passages from the saint’s book, "Confessions," some of which involves the subject of time. The bishop said time was created by God, even though God is eternal, but this concept is also true: eternity is not time. He wonders, "What is time?" If we want to live for the present, we have to live for eternity because that is where God exists.

Description: Bishop Conlon continues to talk about St. Augustine and passages from the saint's book, "Confessions," some of which involves the subjects of time and eternity.

Bishop Conlon talks about St. Augustine's wrestling with his theological development, as detailed in the saint's book, "Confessions." St. Augustine was trying to understand the issue of creation of the world and time and eternity, trying to understand why God made the earth.

Bishop Conlon talks about St. Augustine's theological struggles, as detailed in his book, "Confessions." St. Augustine's search for truth is something many people can identify with. The book was written 10 years after his conversion and six years after he was ordained a priest and two years after he was named a bishop. St. Augustine addresses the topic of time and eternity.

The sacred sciences are studied in a very academic way. People who take these studies turn out to be priests, or teachers, or work in apostolates. There are canon lawyers who are lay people who study the sacred sciences, along with professional lay theologians.

The Church respects the different areas of education that contribute to the well being of society. There’s a convergence of faith and reason in higher education. Higher education has to have high standards, while the bishops also feel that Catholic schools should not only be for the rich.

Catholic school teachers need to help teach students in a community of education about God and religion. Catholic parents are reminded to send their kids to Catholic schools, if possible. For Catholic education to work, it has to be a community effort. The formation of children in Catholic schools is very important, which involves cooperation between parents, teachers, priests and volunteers, and is a benefit to the Catholic Church.

The Church needs to help those who are has a grave obligation to the moral education of all children - even those who go to non-Catholic schools. There are teachers in public school who are Catholic and need to be encouraged to give a good example in the work place as Christians and they need to be leaven in the public schools. Children need to understand the importance of Christ. Catholic schools are preparing disciples of Jesus but also citizens of the world.

The Church has a grave obligation to the moral education of all children - even those who go to non-Catholic schools, of which there are more of these kid than go to Catholic schools. This can be done by living examples of those who teach and don’t teach and by their fellow students, especially those who teach Christian doctrine, such as those in religious education programs. The bishops dance around the separation of Church and state, and the Church encourages education officials to allow religious instruction in schools.

Schools are really important for young people. Parents should have educational choice of schools and a fair distribution of resources - distributive justice.

The church has a role in education because Catholics are supposed to teach all nations and to reveal Christ to others. Catechetical instruction is important because it illumines and strengthens the faith. There’s a need for a prayer life and liturgical action.

Civil society has the proper role in the education of its citizens, as does the Church. The Church has a significant role in education of children because the Church can offer catechesis to parents and children. The Church also offers a service to all of human society through its message of hope and reconciliation (in the name of Christ).

Parents have an important role in the education of their children. The parent is the primary school, the first and best educators of the children as families are the best place to receive human formation. The church needs to help parents become the educators of their children. So the state comes in third - after the family and the church - in terms of educating a child, and with the concept of subsidiarity, shouldn’t see itself as the primary vehicle of education, but more as a supporting role.

Children and young people need to develop their physical, moral and intellectual qualities. They need to develop a responsibility of developing their own lives. Young people need to be helped with self-determination and make responsible decisions through helping to form their consciences. As they grow older, the young children should receive prudent education in matters relating to sex. The whole human person needs to be developed and stand within society and interact within society, and they have the right to make sound judgments and have a well-formed conscience and to know and love God more perfectly. Young children need to be formed as disciples of Christ, to learn how to pray and to learn how to serve and active in society, as evangelizers.

Education is of paramount importance. The greater need and availability of education is necessary to understand the complexities of the world. Education is seen in terms of the dignity of man. Every person has an inalienable right to have an education. True education forms the human person and helps the benefit of society and to help the person get to heaven.

The Church is saying that Christ has come for the renewal of the human race and its eternal salvation so the Church has positioned itself to look at the whole human person and the end of the human person and so it makes sense that the bishops are concerned with education of all people and in all circumstances. Education is for youth, but also adults. It is far more than formal education than going to a school but the broadening of one’s mind and outlook on the world.

Bishop Conlon talks about Pope Francis’ call for prayer and fasting on Sept. 7, the vigil of the feast of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Pope’s call for prayer and fasting is in response to the possibility of violence and war in Syria. Bishop Conlon talks about the background of the issue in Syria and the importance of prayer and fasting to implore God to help everyone find a solution in favor of peace. The Bishop also quotes Pope Francis, who is in favor of dialogue, rather than violence.

The Bishop continues his overview of the Declaration on Religious Freedom ("Dignitatis Humane") from Vatican II. In this podcast, he talks about the declaration being based on the dignity of the human of person - which means everyone is created in the image of God and God is calling everyone into a relationship with Him. Christian faith is a free act of the will. If you believe in Jesus, then that means you have free will, which is the essence of religious freedom. The call to faith is an internal one; there is an obligation, but it shouldn't be imposed on the outside. Jesus expected His listeners to accept His teachings as truth, since it came from God and directed by the Holy Spirit, but Jesus would not coerce people on the outside, like the Jewish or Roman authorities, to force others to believe.

The Bishop continues his overview of the Declaration on Religious Freedom ("Dignitatis Humane") from Vatican II. In this podcast, he talks about the importance of religious liberty and the family. Every family is a "society" with its own basic rights, and parents have the right to choose the schools and means of education they want their children to have. It's important for parents to take seriously their roles as leaders of their children's religious formation, and parents need to safeguard that freedom as a family in the civil arena. The protection of religious freedom or other human rights is not left to individuals, but is the responsibility of everyone, even those who are not believers. The government needs to make sure that there is equality in terms of everyone exercising true religious freedom, with all rights being tempered for the common good. It's important for the civil authorities to maintain objectivity so that all religious groups and systems of belief are given equal treatment.

Religious liberty derives from us being children of God, who are invited to an encounter with God, a search for God. We must be free to engage in that search, both individually and socially. Religious communities are requirements for man, even though we are invited by God, individually. It’s still one God. If we are all moving toward the same person, we are going to have a common experience, and we are going to want to express that and come together. Public order comes into play when that occurs. Any religious group has to abide by basic laws of society. We should be able to worship, to educate and to establish institutions to organize our lives according to our religious principles. We have an obligation to express our faith to engage people in their quest for the truth. This innate freedom is a gift from God.