Catholic education and a new Christian humanism

This chapter honours the work and ideas of Gerald Grace and will address developments around the concept of a new Christian humanism in the context of Catholic education. It will begin by articulating a brief overview of the Congregation for Catholic Education’s recent document, Educating to Fraternal Humanism (2017) before seeking to explore the provenance of the term ‘humanism’ in a Christian context. It will then continue to root the term in a Christological context, emphasising the importance of dialogue before arguing that it is essential to refrain from ‘sloganising’ the term, suggesting that its classical origins are reflected in a modern ‘return to virtues’ as opposed to an over-emphasis on the often-nebulous use of the term ‘Gospel values’. The chapter will conclude by suggesting that ‘a new humanism’, grounded in a sacramental vision, is particularly timely in our contemporary global context.