Cardinal Urosa questions new education law that removes religion classes

Caracas, Venezuela, Aug 18, 2009 / 14:37 pm

The Archbishop of Caracas, Cardinal Jose Urosa Savino, expressed regret yesterday over the passage of a new law on education by the National Assembly that “expels” God from the classroom. More than anything else, he said, the children of Venezuela “need to study religion” at school.
 
In an interview with Globovision, the cardinal said he was disappointed the National Assembly did not postpone voting on the bill so that teachers and school administrators could read the measure and participate in the debate.
 
“It is very important that laws unite and not divide us, that they be an expression of the consensus of the nation.  In this case it will instead be a controversial law.  It has now been approved and promulgated and we hope there will be a positive attitude at all levels of society and that solutions be found, so that there are no confrontations over this law and no excessive problems are created,” he said.
 
The Venezuelan cardinal went on to express his rejection of the bill, which removes religion from the classroom.

“This is not about taking out Urosa’s God from the classroom,” he said.  “It’s about removing religion as a subject, something that children need to learn. Just as they need physical education, sports and art, they also need, more than anything else, to study religion.  This was provided for in the former law and it is provided for in the constitution,” he pointed out. 

“It is a true shame and at the same time from a legal point of view it is totally questionable,” Urosa added. He said the Church’s schools would continue to fulfill their commitment to provide religious instruction to all the children of Venezuela.