This is the fourth in the Norbertine Library Lecture Series on Whither Catholic Education. Brother Ernest Miller visits us from New York; he is  is the founding director of the Adrien Nyel Project within the Office for Mission and Ministry, Lasallian District of Eastern North America. His itinerant ministry is based in New York City. Previously, he served seven years as Vice President for Mission, Diversity, and Inclusion at La Salle University in Philadelphia. 

In one of the most cited passages from Catholic social teaching, Justice in the World, the 1971 Synod of Bishops articulates a challenging mission for the Catholic church with the claim that “action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world is a constitutive dimension” of the “Church’s mission.” This claim that social action for justice is a core dimension of Catholic identity and practice has deeply shaped the church for more than fifty years. 

This presentation will explore the nature and meaning of Catholic education through the lens of the 1971 Synod document and the wider Catholic social tradition? Is action for justice a defining element of Catholic education? To teach as Jesus did, Catholic education is called to act with prophetic audacity to build the reign of God here and now.