On Sunday, November 8, Pope Benedict XVI affirmed the connection between the cultural and religious dimensions of education during an inauguration of new premises of the Paul VI Institute in Brescia, Italy, Pope Paul VI’s birthplace, Zenit reports.  Pope Benedict observed that “it is necessary to transmit to future generations something valid, solid rules for comportment, to indicate lofty objectives toward which one should decisively order one’s life.”  He continued, “The demand for an education capable of meeting the expectations of young people grows, an education that is first of all witness and, for the Christian educator, witness of faith.”  The Holy Father said, “We live in times in which a real ‘educational crisis’ is evident.”  The theme of an “emergency” or “crisis” in education has been a recurring one in the Holy Father’s talks and writing on education.  Previous examples are posted here, here, and here.  During his Address to Catholic Educators at The Catholic University of America in April 2008, Pope Benedict explained how the contemporary “crisis of truth” is rooted in a “crisis of faith.” Source: Zenit