Indications Concerning the Upbringing of Children Presentedin the Documents of Catholic Church

Abstract

The article discusses the most important indications concerning the upbringing of children presented in the Church documents from 1929 to 2016. The review is comprehensive, it includes the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Code of Canon Law, the declaration of the Second Vatican Council Gravissimum educationis and papal encyclicals and exhortations: Divini illius Magistri by Pius XI, Humanae Vitae by Paul VI, Familiaris Consortio, Veritatis Splendor and Evangelium Vitae of John Paul II, Amoris Laetitia of Pope Francis. In addition to documents devoted entirely to the issue of education (GE, DIM), the ones that deal with the subject fragmentarily are discussed (FC, AL) and also those that do not explicitly talk about upbringing, but the subject matter of basic values is indirectly a necessary call and educational guidelines (HV, VS, EV). Although they come from the period of nearly 90 years, there is a visible coherence of educational thought based on God’s revelation. The synthesis of the subject seems especially necessary in the present times, when parents face completely new challenges when it comes to the broadly understood environment of raising their children.