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The family, the Church and the school are called upon to provide to children and youth the help they need for their personal and social development, Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church says in his school year beginning message.
"Today, both in rural and urban areas, the family, the Church and the school are called upon to offer children and young people the necessary help for their development on a personal and community level, to cultivate the human person's freedom, responsibility and dignity, in a world deeply marked by individualism and secularization," reads the Patriarch's message.
The leader of the Romanian Orthodox Church deplores the fact that "today, the Romanian village is no longer what it was several years ago", as "the younger generations are leaving their birth villages, many students hail from economically disadvantaged families, access to education is limited, and people's solidarity is increasingly weaker, as the villagers alienate themselves from their own land and from their own identity," the Patriarch goes on to say.
His Holiness Daniel brings to mind that the Romanian Orthodox Church "supports education in the rural area, organizing projects to prevent and correct the early dropout phenomenon, such as the project 'Choose School!' (stages 4, 5 and 6), organized in partnership with the World Vision Romania Foundation."
"At the same time, by continuing the catechetical program 'Christ shared with the children', by organizing camps and educational activities, the Church seeks to encourage children and youth to live their lives in love communion with God and the people, according to the advice of the Holy Apostle Paul: 'Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.' (Romans 14:19). Where there is close cooperation between priest, mayor and teacher, more hope and more intense spiritual communion are generated," says the Romanian top hierarch.
At the beginning of the 2019 - 2020 school year, Patriarch Daniel wishes children, parents, teachers and professors "peace and joy". "On the occasion of the beginning of the 2019 - 2020 school year, we pray to our Savior Jesus Christ, 'our Teacher and Lord' (John 13:13) to enlighten and fill with peace and joy the souls of children and youth, as well as the hearts of the parents, teachers and professors who help the students become a blessing for the Romanian people, for the present and the future of Romania," concludes Patriarch Daniel.
