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On the occasion of the opening of the new school year, the archbishop of Catanzaro-Squillace, Monsignor Claudio Maniago, addressed his message to the students, teachers, managers and all the school staff. A wish that places the search for truth, the care of relationships and the beauty of knowledge at the center, inviting young people to fully experience the opportunity of school: “Friends, don’t waste this opportunity”.
«The beginning of the new school year – began Maniago – is an important event for me to wish you all a year in which “you learn to seek and love the truth, to question yourself about the meaning of life and the dignity of every person” (Leo XIV, Magnifica humanitas, 143). In fact, school is the precious place in which not only knowledge and skills are cultivated, but also and above all our most beautiful dreams and projects; the harmonious growth of the person, in his dignity and his profound vocation, is a task and a responsibility that engages each of us in a choral work and a shared responsibility for sowing the future in the face of contemporary cultural challenges”.
The archbishop highlighted that «in the Magnifica Humanitas, at number 146, Pope Leo “an educational system without love for the truth, in which the incessant flow of information replaces the exercise of research, reflection and discernment (…) Many educators are already feeling the signs of a possible dehumanization, in which people know many things but struggle to give direction to their lives, also due to the inability to connect information and knowledge, and not to lose the horizon of meaning. We need to promote a true hygiene of attention: rhythms that include silence, in-depth study, reading, discussion thoughtfully; without these elements, internal freedom may be compromised.” It is a choral work in which we must learn to nourish our soul only with what brings us joy (See St. Augustine), so that our life can be fertilized only with what makes the heart vibrate and gives solidity to our relationships. “School is not called to chase the speed of the digital world, but to offer what digital alone cannot provide: shared time for learning and reliable relationships” (Leo XIV, Magnifica humanitas, 147).
Maniago’s wish is «that you can live every day of this new school year, which you are preparing to begin, in a compelling way so that you can
learn to appreciate the beauty of life, friendship and knowledge. School is a precious opportunity to be conquered by the beauty of the path that is opening up before you and to look more intensely and in depth at the precious treasure that each of us bears. Friends, don’t waste this opportunity. For this reason I pray for you, I bless you, assuring you of my closeness and my support.”