OCR Text |
Show ORIGIN OF, FREE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. The manner in which soma people, outside the Roman Catholic Church, talk of our free school system, is very apt to be misleading in some respects. The class to which we refer is, no doubt, fully convinced that the public school system is a natural product of protestantism. The following extract from a, book eiiuueu, -National jaucation in Europe," by Henry Barnard, LL. D., will prove enlightening to some and cf interest to all: "But not to Germany or to any other people, or any civil authority anywhere, any-where, but to the Christian Church, belongs the higher credit of first instituting in-stituting the public school for the elementary education of the poor, which was the earliest form which this mighty element of modern- society assumed. as-sumed. After the third century of the Christian era. whenever a Christian Church, was planted, or religious institutions in-stitutions were established, there it was the aim of the higher ecclesiastical authorities to found in seme form a school for the nature of children and youth for the service of religion and duties ofsociety. Passing by the ecclesiastical ec-clesiastical and catechetical schools, we find as early as 529, the Council of j Vaason strongly recommending the establishment of village schools. In 800 a synod at Mayenee ordered, that the parochical priests should have schools ii the towns and villages that the children, cf all the faithful might learn letters from them; let them receive re-ceive and teach these with the utmost charity, that themselves may shine as the stars forever. Let them receive no remuneration from their scholars, unless un-less what the parents may voluntarily offer." A council at Rome, in S36. under Pope Eugene II., ordained that there should be three kinds of schools established estab-lished through Christend'om; episcopal, parochial iru towns and villages, and others wherever there could be found place and opportunity. In S36 Lothaire I. promulgated a decree de-cree to establish light public schools in some of the principal cities of Italy, "In order that opportunity may be given to all, and that there may be no excuse drawn from poverty and the Qimcuuy oi repairing to remote pJaces." The third Council of Lateran, in 1179, says: "Since the Church of God, as a pious mother, is bound to provide that opportunity for learning should not be withdrawn from the poor, who are without help from patrimonial riches, be it ordained, that in every cathedral there should be a master to teach both clerks and poor scholars gratis." This decree was enlarged and again enforced by Innocent III., in the year 1215. Hence, in all colleges' and canons, one bore the title of the scholastic canon. The Council of Lyons, in 1215, decreed that "in all cathedral churches and others provided with adequate revenues, rev-enues, there should be established a school and a teacher by the Bishop and chapter, who should teach the clerks and other poor scholars gratis in grammar, gram-mar, and for this purpose a stipend should be assigned him." Such was the origin of the popular school, as now generally understood everywhere the offspring and companion com-panion of the Church." |