The Umbrella

Catholic education rests on a vision of the human person drawn from Scripture and the living tradition of the Church. At its heart is the conviction that every child is made in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:27). This is not a slogan; it is the foundation that shapes every aspect of a school's life — from curriculum to classroom climate, from assessment to relationships.

The key values flowing from this biblical root include:

• The dignity of the human person — every student is unique, unrepeatable, and worthy of profound respect, regardless of ability, background, or circumstance.
• The common good — education is ordered not only to personal success but to the flourishing of the whole community, teaching young people to contribute to a more just and loving society.
• Solidarity and subsidiarity — students learn to stand with the vulnerable and to respect the proper role of families, local communities, and higher authorities, solving problems at the most immediate level possible (Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§1883, 1939).
• Faith and reason in harmony — the Catholic intellectual tradition insists that science, literature, art, and all human knowledge can be integrated with faith, because all truth comes from God (John Paul II, Fides et Ratio, 1998, §1).
• Service and the preferential option for the poor — authentic learning leads outward, to serve others, especially those on the margins (Catechism, §2448).
• The sacramental worldview — the ordinary stuff of life — relationships, nature, work, study — can be vehicles of God's grace. The world is not a closed system but a gift to be received with wonder.

These values are not private Catholic property. Pope John Paul II, in Ex corde Ecclesiae (1990), described the Catholic school as a place where "students experience learning and living in an atmosphere of freedom and charity" (§12). Pope Francis continually calls educators to foster a "culture of encounter" rather than a "throwaway culture."

Catholic schools have held this umbrella for centuries: From the cathedral schools of the early Middle Ages to the missionary schools of the New World, the Church has educated not only its own children but also the poor, the immigrant, and the marginalized. The first universities — Bologna, Paris, Oxford — were born from the heart of the Church, founded on the conviction that faith and reason are allies, not enemies.

Today, with over 200,000 Catholic schools worldwide serving more than 62 million children (Congregation for Catholic Education, 2022), Catholic education remains one of the largest non-governmental providers of education on the planet. The roles of these schools, especially at the K-12 level, are deeply interconnected: a partnership with parents (parents are the first and primary educators — Gravissimum Educationis, §3); evangelization and faith formation; academic excellence rooted in Christian anthropology; formation of the whole person; service and social justice; community and belonging. Perhaps their most expansive role is the quiet contribution they make to the moral fabric of every society: graduates are more likely to vote, volunteer, and participate in civic life (Campbell, 2006; Dee, 2005).

In November 2015, the Congregation for Catholic Education convened a landmark world congress under the title "Educating Today and Tomorrow: A Renewing Passion." The gathering marked the fiftieth anniversary of Gravissimum Educationis (1965) and the twenty-fifth anniversary of Ex corde Ecclesiae (1990). The final communiqué called Catholic schools to adopt a proactive attitude rather than a defensive one, championing the primacy of the human person, the value of community, the search for the common good, care for the weak, and solidarity — rising above standards that exalt profit, usefulness, efficiency, and individualistic competition.

Pope Francis, in his address on November 21, 2015, offered three urgent pathways: informal education — breaking with purely intellectualistic schemes, harmonizing head, heart, and hands; inclusive education — a school where all have their place; risk-taking education — a pedagogy of reasonable risk. He lamented the broken educational alliance between family, school, and state. The congress's work was anchored in four biblical icons: Jesus the Teacher, the Parable of the Sower, Jesus as Way, Truth, and Life, and the great commission. A decade later, the 2015 congress reads as a charter for the present, its call to open the umbrella wide more urgent than ever.

If the umbrella is to shelter students fully, it cannot be folded away into a single Religion class. Catholic values must permeate every subject, every course outline, and every unit plan. This is not a matter of preference but of identity, mandate, pedagogy, and law. Because:

• We are a Catholic school: Our identity is not a coat one puts on for Religion class and removes for Social Studies. Catholic education is a unified vision of the human person, not a subject‑specific add‑on. Gravissimum Educationis teaches that Catholic education aims at “the formation of the human person in the pursuit of his ultimate end and of the good of the societies” (§1). This formation touches every discipline—history, science, mathematics, literature—because each subject reveals something about truth, goodness, and the created order.
• The Church — and the Bishop — require it: The USCCB’s Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools (2005; reaffirmed 2025) states that “all subjects, not just religion, should reflect the Catholic vision of reality.” The Congregation for Catholic Education likewise insists that Catholic identity must be “clearly evident” in curriculum, pedagogy, and school culture. A Catholic school that limits faith to one class is not fulfilling its ecclesial mission.
• The Bishops of North America call for faith integration across the curriculum: In BC, the Bishops emphasize a shift “from maintenance to mission,” calling Catholic schools to make their identity visible in all aspects of learning. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, in That We May Walk Together (2018), calls for the integration of Indigenous wisdom, Catholic social teaching, and Gospel values across the entire curriculum—not isolated in a single course.
• Values give meaning to skills and content: Skills and content alone do not form a person. Pope John Paul II warns in Fides et Ratio (§3) that education becomes reductive when it focuses only on technical or utilitarian outcomes. Catholic values provide the interpretive lens that gives purpose to competencies, critical thinking, and inquiry.
• Students need a consistent moral framework: When Catholic values appear only in Religion class, students receive a fragmented message: faith is a compartment, not the integrating centre of life. A consistent moral framework across subjects helps students understand that ethical reasoning, human dignity, and justice are not “add‑ons” but foundational to every discipline.
• BC law protects this integration: The Independent School Act explicitly permits independent schools to “integrate their religious, philosophical, or cultural perspectives throughout the curriculum,” provided provincial learning standards are met. This is not a loophole—it is a legal affirmation of the right and duty of Catholic schools to express their identity in written curriculum documents.
• The Ministry evaluates standards, not secularism: External evaluation teams assess whether the school meets the BC Curriculum’s learning standards, competencies, and Big Ideas. They do not require a secular or value‑neutral curriculum. Schools are cited for missing learning standards—not for expressing their faith identity. In fact, inspectors expect written documentation of curricular intentions, not unwritten or purely oral approaches.
• Catholic values deepen competencies, not replace them: Research on character education (Berkowitz & Bier, 2005) shows that embedding ethical frameworks across the curriculum strengthens higher‑order thinking, metacognition, and social‑emotional learning. Catholic values enrich the Core Competencies—especially Personal & Social Responsibility, Critical Thinking, and Communication—by grounding them in a coherent moral vision.
• Catholic values form an umbrella for other foundational values: They do not compete with Indigenous perspectives, the First Peoples Principles of Learning (FPPL), or universal human rights. Rather, they form a welcoming canopy under which these values can be integrated harmoniously. Catholic social teaching’s emphasis on human dignity, community, stewardship, and reconciliation aligns naturally with FPPL and supports a holistic, relational approach to learning.
• Integration prepares students for real life: Life does not divide itself into “religious” and “non‑religious” compartments. Students need to learn how faith informs decision‑making in science, ethics in technology, justice in history, stewardship in environmental studies, and dignity in social issues. A permeated curriculum prepares them for adulthood in a complex world.
• Integration strengthens school identity and mission clarity: When Catholic values appear consistently in course outlines and unit plans and clear assessment tasks, the school’s mission becomes visible, coherent, and credible. Families—Catholic and non‑Catholic alike—choose Catholic schools precisely because they offer a values‑based education. Written integration signals integrity, transparency, and confidence.

A frequent concern is that a thoroughly Catholic curriculum might marginalize other value systems honoured in Canadian education. The reality is the opposite: Catholic social teaching provides a capacious moral umbrella that shelters and unites these foundational perspectives without losing its own centre. The umbrella’s central pole is the conviction that every person is made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27), and its spokes are the principles of Catholic social teaching. Under this canopy, Indigenous perspectives, the First Peoples Principles of Learning, and universal human rights are not competitors but honoured guests.

• Indigenous worldviews and Catholic resonances: The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pastoral letter That We May Walk Together (2018) commits the Church to journeying with Indigenous Peoples in humility and solidarity. Catholic teaching on the sacredness of creation (Laudato Si’, §146) echoes Indigenous understandings of the land as a living gift entrusted to us. The FPPL affirm that “learning supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors” and that learning is “holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational.” These principles align with the Catholic vision of integral human development (Caritas in Veritate, §11), which insists that authentic education forms the whole person—intellectually, spiritually, morally, relationally, and ecologically.
• Commitment to reconciliation: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (2015) urge all educational institutions to integrate Indigenous knowledge respectfully and meaningfully. Catholic schools, under the guidance of the CCCB, are called to reconciliation grounded in truth, justice, and healing. The Catholic umbrella does not overshadow Indigenous perspectives; it provides a framework of dignity, stewardship, and relationality that supports their flourishing.
• Universal human rights: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) articulate principles deeply rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition. Pope John XXIII’s Pacem in Terris (1963) was a landmark in the Church’s embrace of human rights language, grounding rights in the inherent dignity of the human person created by God. Catholic social teaching insists that rights and responsibilities are inseparable—an idea echoed in Canadian civic education and the BC Human Rights Code.
• Alignment with UNDRIP and Canadian commitments: The Church’s emphasis on human dignity, community, and the protection of the vulnerable aligns naturally with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and Canada’s commitment to its implementation. Catholic education, when faithful to its mission, strengthens Canada’s human rights culture rather than competing with it.
• A unifying moral canopy: The Catholic umbrella does not flatten differences or create a melting pot. Instead, it offers a coherent moral foundation that honours Indigenous wisdom, upholds universal human rights, and forms students capable of contributing to a just, reconciled, and compassionate Canada. Catholic identity becomes the integrating centre that allows diverse value systems to coexist in mutual enrichment and respect.

A Catholic high school in British Columbia can fully integrate the Canadian Values umbrella into its curriculum, particularly in Social Studies. The official BC Social Studies curriculum explicitly invites students to "recognize and consider multiple perspectives" and "make reasoned ethical judgments about controversial actions in the past and present." 

The following table from Grade 8 (covering world civilizations from the 7th century to 1750) shows how Catholic values can be woven directly into unit plans, meeting learning standards while holding Indigenous perspectives, FPPL, and human rights under the same canopy.

All these examples are fully compliant with provincial learning standards, legally protected under the Independent School Act, and profoundly Catholic. The umbrella works!

A recurring objection within some Catholic educational circles in BC runs like this:

These arguments are legally unnecessary, pedagogically self‑defeating, theologically inconsistent, and pastorally risky:

• Legally — The Independent School Act (ISA) explicitly protects the right of independent schools to operate from a “specific religious, philosophical, or cultural perspective” (ISA, s.1 & s.2). The Ministry’s Manual for School Inspection confirms that schools may "integrate their educational philosophy throughout the curriculum," with no distinction between written and oral forms. Nothing in Ministry policy, the BC Curriculum, or the K–12 Funding Agreement requires faith-based schools to restrict their identity to oral remarks. In fact, inspection criteria evaluate whether a school’s stated philosophy is “reflected in its educational program,” which necessarily includes written curriculum documents.
• In terms of Ministry inspection and compliance — BC Ministry of Education inspections do not reprimand Catholic schools for including religious content in curriculum documents; they reprimand schools when their curriculum is not aligned with provincial learning standards. Inspection teams evaluate whether written curriculum reflects the BC Curriculum’s learning standards, competencies, and Big Ideas—not whether it is “secular enough.” The Ministry’s Manual for School Inspection explicitly states that faith‑based schools may integrate their religious worldview “throughout their educational program,” provided the provincial standards are met. Schools are cited when they fail to demonstrate written alignment with the BC Curriculum, not when they express their Catholic identity. Ironically, removing Catholic values from written documents increases the risk of non‑compliance, because inspectors expect clear, documented curriculum planning rather than unwritten or purely oral intentions.
• Pedagogically — Research in curriculum design consistently shows that “what is not planned is not taught” (Wiggins & McTighe, Understanding by Design, 2005). Written curriculum ensures coherence, continuity, and equity across classrooms. When Catholic values are left to individual teacher discretion, they become vulnerable to omission, inconsistency, and personal comfort levels—contradicting the BC Curriculum’s emphasis on “transparent learning intentions” and “clearly communicated criteria.” Parents who choose a Catholic school have a legitimate expectation that faith integration is not accidental or optional but intentionally documented.
• Theologically — Catholic identity is inherently incarnational: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The Church has always insisted on the importance of written teaching—Scripture, creeds, councils, encyclicals, and the Catechism. Ex corde Ecclesiae (1990) calls for an “institutional commitment” to Catholic identity that is “public, enduring, and visible.” The Canadian bishops’ document Educating Today and Tomorrow likewise emphasizes that Catholic education must be “explicitly grounded in the Gospel” in its structures and programs. Restricting Catholic values to oral comments alone contradicts the Church’s understanding of how faith is transmitted: publicly, joyfully, and in durable written form.
• Pastorally — An oral‑only approach produces fragmentation and inequity. Students in the same grade may receive radically different experiences of Catholic formation depending on their teacher’s comfort, training, or personal emphasis. Written articulation of Catholic values in course outlines and unit plans creates a shared standard that unifies staff and provides clarity for families. Research on school choice shows that non‑Catholic families who enroll in Catholic schools often do so precisely because they value the moral and character‑formation environment (Bryk, Lee & Holland, Catholic Schools and the Common Good, 1993). Transparent written documentation signals confidence, hospitality, and integrity—not exclusion.

The umbrella of Catholic values — what I have named Canadian Values — is a gift to the Church and to Canada. It enables Catholic schools to form students who are intellectually competent, spiritually alive, morally mature, and culturally attuned. It demonstrates that being distinctively Catholic is not a narrowing but a widening, a way of gathering all that is true and good into a coherent harmony. The 2015 Vatican congress called Catholic education to be proactive, not defensive — to be places of encounter, dialogue, and hope. The bishops of Canada and the United States have called us to integrate faith across every subject and to walk together with Indigenous Peoples in truth and reconciliation. The BC legal framework gives us the freedom to teach from our tradition while meeting the high standards of the province's curriculum. And the students in our classrooms need a coherent moral vision that can hold their lives together.

☂️ Let us therefore hold the umbrella high. Let us write it into our course outlines, teach it in our classrooms, and live it in our relationships. Let us offer the nation a vision of education that is unapologetically Catholic and radically open — a canopy of Canadian Values under which all can find shelter, and from which all can go forth to build a civilization of love. As Pope Francis said, "Education is an act of hope for a better society" (2024).

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