Scottish Catholic Observer

Last night’s Scottish launch of a new book examining how Catholic education can engage with the world was warmly received at Glasgow University last night.

Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow said Reclaiming the Piazza by Ronnie Convery, Leonard Franchi and Raymond McCuskey was an important book on ‘the dialogue between faith and culture’ that ‘provided much to reflect on.’

“The Church is in a more difficult place in that dialogue than It used to be,” the archbishop said,” I congratulate the authors on examining how education could be key to changing that.”

Mr Convery, director of communications for Glasgow Archdiocese,said the book was an attempt to look at the relation between education and communication.

“In an era of new forms of communication, this builds on a project of the Italian bishops that asks to find new ways of the Church present it’s mission to the world,” Mr Convery said. “Engaging people and bringing the gifts of our the Christian tradition to the discussion… I think of the line from Archbishop Fulton Sheen ‘you don’t win converts, by winning arguments.”

Dr Raymond McCluskey, of Glasgow University’s school of education, said he hoped the book presented a new path away from US style ‘culture wars’ between secular and religious people.

“I think a culture of encounter, where we reach out to the peripheries is a much more productive way of presenting our Faith,” Dr McCluskey said.

Dr Leonard Franchi, head of the St Andrew’s Foundation, said he believed the book had relevance beyond Scotland.

“I hope that it will find readers in American, Australia and beyond,” he said.

“Wherever Catholic educators are dealing with these issues.”

Archbishop Emeritus Mario Conti of Glasgow was among the guests at the launch that included clergy, university staff and the laity.

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—Pic: Paul McSherry