The principles laid down by the Jesuits, as to the religious tone of all instruction, have recently been emphasized by Pope Leo XIII., in the Encyclical written in 1897, on occasion of the centenary of Peter Canisius. There we read: "All schools, from the elementary to the university, should be thoroughly Catholic, and one of the main duties of the pastors of the Church is to safeguard the rights of parents and the Church in this matter. It is of the very greatest importance that Catholics should have everywhere for their children not mixed schools, but their own schools, and these provided with good and well trained masters. Let no one delude himself that a sound moral training can be separated from dogmatic religious training. To separate the training in knowledge from all religious influence, is to form citizens to be the bane and pest of society instead of being the bulwark of their country. Moreover, it is not enough for youths to be taught religion at fixed hours, but all their training must be permeated by religious principles."
Some Protestant educators of the highest standing have advocated a system which is practically that defended by Catholics. Thus Professor Schiller strongly insists on "concentration and unity in education." As regards religious instruction he wishes it to be given by one "who has in his hands the most important branches of instruction, those which are best suited to influence education," above all literature and history.[1] The same view is also taken in the Prussian "School Order" of 1892 and 1901, where it is said that it is of the utmost importance that religious instruction is not rent from the other branches, but
- ↑ Handbuch der praktischen Pädagogik, pp. 237-238.
