"There is a trust in the Church's educational capacity and this is worth highlighting. Then, the Church itself must find new ways, new spaces to monitor the school field", said the prefect of the dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See, quoted by the Ecclesia agency, at the end of a meeting with the Portuguese bishops who are in the Vatican this week on an "ad limina" visit.

Cardinal Tolentino de Mendonça took the opportunity to defend a greater recognition for the mission of teachers, stressing that it needs to be "more cherished".

"It is true that teachers have been left alone and that their decisive social role is not recognized as it should be. Often teachers find themselves alone managing situations of great complexity and the effort they make, all their work, basically of transmission, of openness, of monitoring, of empowering the young people they work with, does not have the social or even family recognition that it should have", said the head of the dicastery for Culture and Education.

For Tolentino Mendonça, "all the necessary conditions must be taken care of so that this profession, this very great contribution to the education of young people, can happen in a serene way in our schools and in our society".

On the occasion, the cardinal also addressed the issue of migrant integration, arguing that cultural diversity should be seen as "a richness" in Portuguese society, rather than an "obstacle".

"Portugal has changed in recent years and will continue to change a lot. The Portuguese are also a community of migrants, we have a diaspora spread across the four corners of the world and we know what it means to also make our contribution to other societies", he said, quoted by the Ecclesia agency.

The prefect for the dicastery for Culture and Education thus urged the creation of "an intercultural society of integration, where the various contributions are welcomed as a common good".

"The idea of universal brotherhood, the idea of social friendship, are not just slogans for building reality, they are practices of reality in which we all need to engage, so that Portugal can also strengthen itself as a country", he added.

The "ad Limina Apostolorum" visit is made every five years and, in addition to meetings of the prelates with the different dicasteries of the Holy See, they also meet with the Pope, with the Code of Canon Law establishing that "the Diocesan Bishop has the obligation to present to the Supreme Pontiff, every five years, a report on the situation of the diocese entrusted to him".

The group for this visit is made up of 29 members of the CEP: 20 diocesan bishops, five auxiliary bishops, one bishop-elect (Beja), two bishops emeritus (Cardinals António Marto and Manuel Clemente) and one priest (secretary and spokesperson for the CEP).

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