Education
| Institutions | # |
|---|---|
| Parishes and missions | 408,637 |
| Primary and secondary schools | 125,016 |
| Universities | 1,046 |
| Hospitals | 5,853 |
| Orphanages | 8,695 |
| Homes for the elderly and handicapped | 13,933 |
| Dispensaries, leprosaries, nurseries and other institutions | 74,936 |
Missionary activity for the Catholic Church has always incorporated education of evangelized peoples as part of its social ministry. History shows that in evangelized lands, the first people to operate schools were Roman Catholics. In some countries, the Church is the main provider of education or significantly supplements government forms of education. Presently, the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system. Many of Western Civilization's most influential universities were founded by the Catholic Church.
Read more about this topic: Role Of The Catholic Church In Western Civilization
Famous quotes containing the word education:
“If factory-labor is not a means of education to the operative of to-day, it is because the employer does not do his duty. It is because he treats his work-people like machines, and forgets that they are struggling, hoping, despairing human beings.”
—Harriet H. Robinson (1825–1911)
“In this world, which is so plainly the antechamber of another, there are no happy men. The true division of humanity is between those who live in light and those who live in darkness. Our aim must be to diminish the number of the latter and increase the number of the former. That is why we demand education and knowledge.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“In the years of the Roman Republic, before the Christian era, Roman education was meant to produce those character traits that would make the ideal family man. Children were taught primarily to be good to their families. To revere gods, one’s parents, and the laws of the state were the primary lessons for Roman boys. Cicero described the goal of their child rearing as “self- control, combined with dutiful affection to parents, and kindliness to kindred.””
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)