By Matters India Reporter
Goa, Oct. 8, 2025: The national convention and general body of the All India Association of Catholic Schools (AINACS) opened with a call from Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão urging Catholic educators to be “rooted in Christ and be messengers of hope.”
Addressing more than 1,050 delegates gathered at the Park Regis Convention Centre in Arpora, Goa, the archbishop of Goa and Daman drew inspiration from the Gospel and Pope Francis to invite educators to embody compassion, wisdom, and synodal leadership in their ministry.
Reflecting on the healing encounter between Jesus and the leper, Cardinal Ferrão illustrated the transformative power of loving care. He reminded the assembly that Jesus approached the leper, touched him, healed him, and became a witness of hope. In the same spirit, Catholic educational institutions are called to radiate hope through attitudes of mercy and understanding, the cardinal added.
The cardinal, who is the president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, evoked the miracle of the loaves and fishes, portraying Jesus’ joyful service as a model for educators to share their time and resources with the needy. He also cited the repentant thief on the cross as a symbol of generous forgiveness, urging school leaders to cultivate a culture of reconciliation and grace.
“In our educational institutions, we need leadership marked by loving care, joyful service, and generous forgiveness,” he affirmed, encouraging educators to foster environments where mercy and witness are not just preached but practiced.
In his keynote address, Cardinal Ferrão expanded this vision through the lens of synodality, describing Catholic educational leadership as a journey of communion, participation, and mission.
He called on leaders to cultivate open hearts, to encourage dialogue, and to respect diverse perspectives. Leadership, he said, must move beyond rigid bureaucracies and embrace relationships built on trust and shared responsibility.
He emphasised that discernment is central to synodal leadership. Drawing from the Gospel, he described it as a patient, prayerful approach, attentive to God’s will rather than personal ambition. True discernment, he noted, allows educators to respond effectively to the evolving needs of their communities, making decisions that nurture growth, understanding, and holistic development.
The cardinal also framed leadership as stewardship, reminding educators that students are gifts entrusted to them, deserving care, guidance, and love. Quoting the Gospel of Luke, he described stewardship as a vocation of service, compassion, and patience, one that prioritises the integral development of each student.
Education, he concluded, is sacred work that shapes both mind and character. Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he called for selfless dedication in the field of education. Summarizing his message, Cardinal Ferrão urged Catholic educators to embody synodal leadership by being inclusive, discerning, and stewardship-oriented — guiding students and colleagues as “pilgrims of hope” in this Jubilee Year.
The AINACS convention theme was “Compassion and Wisdom-Driven Leadership: Effective Stakeholder Management in Catholic Schools.”
The above report has missed out on the most important topic of discussion which was “Stakeholder Management” where experts shared insights on engaging all stakeholders and fostering holistic development in schools. Please refer report dated 09 October 2025 in Catholic Connect. The programme spearheaded by Dr Joseph Emmanuel, Chief Executive and Secretary of CISCE, New Delhi, sought to “bring all stakeholders (parents, students, teachers, support staff, and regulatory bodies) together.” It further emphasized that “no reform is possible without taking parents into confidence … most parents today know only the language of marks.” But even most school authorities go by the “language of marks”, otherwise why is there an alarming increase in Catholic students (the most important stakeholder) being thrown out of schools?
Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão’s exhortation to Catholic educators to be “rooted in Christ and be messengers of hope” is very timely. However, it appears the Cardinal is living in ivory tower as hardly any Church-run institution follows the ethos he has espoused. They have become corporate czars and behave in cold businesslike manner with both parents and their wards; they show scant respect to parents (except the affluent) and students, conveniently forgetting both are ‘stakeholders’ without whom they would starve. They consider a law unto themselves and must be chuckling in their sleeves at his call to:
• Radiate hope through attitudes of mercy and understanding.
• Cultivate a culture of reconciliation and grace.
• Cultivate open hearts, to encourage dialogue, and to respect diverse perspectives.
• Make decisions that nurture growth, understanding, and holistic development.
• Imbibe a vocation of service, compassion, and patience, one that prioritises the integral development of each student.
Had our Church-run institutions shown compassion and understanding, no Catholic student would become a ‘drop-out’ (thrown out). This phenomenon is rampant, and the vacant seats are filled by paying non-Christian students. No priest or nun is bothered to keep track of where such hapless ‘dropouts’ are languishing. The mechanism of ‘Remedial Classes’ for weak students is hardly used. They just go by the Rule Book – compassion and understanding take are pushed to the backseat. Most of our Catholic educational institutions are making a mockery of Don Bosco’s Preventive System of education that prioritizes a positive relationship between the educator and student, focusing on guidance and support rather than punishment.
The increasingly low percentage of Catholics in Catholic educational institutions (schools, colleges and universities) especially in Kolkata is appalling – below ten percent. In contrast, CNI church-run Scottish Church College of Kolkata publicly reserves 30% of its seats for Christian students. Many Catholic students who don’t get admission in St Xavier’s and Loreto Colleges are accommodated there. Church-run educational institutions are totally opaque in their operation and very averse to publish/show the actual number of Catholic students in each class/section/stream. Most of the seats, especially in Honours streams, go to non-Christians. There is no remorse or soul-searching on the part of heads/management of these institutions. Soon the Founding Fathers of our Church-run institutions will wake up from their graves and shake up our heads of institutions by the scruff of their collars/habits for losing their soul to the Mammon (instead of saving souls). The new greed that has taken hold of our Church-run educational institutions is to take teaching and non-teaching staff on Contractual Basis without first putting them on probation and then making them permanent within two years. As a result, hire and fire is rampant. This practice of taking Contractual Employees (including teachers) is in total contravention of CBCI Educational Policy Resolution adopted in 2017 under the Chairmanship of Archbishop (now Emeritus) Thomas D’Souza. Heads of our institutions have been making gross misuse of the ‘Minority Educational Institution’ tag and of Article 30. It’s time the Government (both central and state) took a close look at them. Already our church-run institutions have been put under the scanner in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and other states and their fee increase are being regulated. Therefore, Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão’s appeal to Catholic educators is in effect a WAKE-UP call!
Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão’s exhortation to Catholic educators to be “rooted in Christ and be messengers of hope” is very timely. However, it appears the Cardinal is living in ivory tower as hardly any Church-run institution follows the ethos he has espoused. They have become corporate czars and behave in cold businesslike manner with both parents and their wards; they show scant respect to parents (except the affluent) and students, conveniently forgetting both are ‘stakeholders’ without whom they would starve. They consider a law unto themselves and must be chuckling in their sleeves at his call to:
• Radiate hope through attitudes of mercy and understanding.
• Cultivate a culture of reconciliation and grace.
• Cultivate open hearts, to encourage dialogue, and to respect diverse perspectives.
• Make decisions that nurture growth, understanding, and holistic development.
• Imbibe a vocation of service, compassion, and patience, one that prioritizes the integral development of each student.
Had our Church-run institutions shown compassion and understanding, no Catholic student would become a ‘dropout’ (thrown out). This phenomenon is rampant, and the vacant seats are filled by paying non-Christian students. No priest or nun is bothered to keep track of where such hapless ‘dropouts’ are languishing. The mechanism of ‘Remedial Classes’ for weak students is hardly used. They just go by the Rule Book – compassion and understanding take are pushed to the backseat. Most of our Catholic educational institutions are making a mockery of Don Bosco’s Preventive System of education that prioritizes a positive relationship between the educator and student, focusing on guidance and support rather than punishment.
The increasingly low percentage of Catholics in Catholic educational institutions (schools, colleges and universities) especially in Kolkata is appalling – below ten percent. Church-run educational institutions are totally opaque in their operation and very averse to publish/show the actual number of Catholic students in each class/section/stream. Most of the seats, especially in Honours streams, go to non-Christians. There is no remorse or soul-searching on the part of heads/management of these institutions. Soon the Founding Fathers of our Church-run institutions will wake up from their graves and shake up our heads of institutions by the scruff of their collars/habits for losing their soul to the Mammon (instead of saving souls). The new greed that has taken hold of our Church-run educational institutions is to take teaching and non-teaching staff on Contractual Basis without first putting them on probation and then making them permanent within two years. As a result, hire and fire is rampant. Heads of our institutions have been making gross misuse of the ‘Minority Educational Institution’ tag and of Article 30. It’s time the Government (both central and state) took a close look at them. Already it’s happening in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and other states. Therefore, Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão’s appeal to Catholic educators is in effect a WAKE-UP call! Quo Vadis!!