Bullying in schools ‘prepares for war, not peace,’ Pope Francis tells Catholic educators

During his audience with Italian Catholic educators, Pope Francis interacts with a young girl at the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican on Jan. 4, 2025. / Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, Jan 4, 2025 / 08:58 am (CNA).

Pope Francis warned that bullying in schools prepares students for war rather than peace in a powerful appeal to Catholic educators gathered at the Vatican on Saturday.

Speaking to around 2,000 Italian teachers, educators, and parents, the pontiff repeatedly emphasized his message against bullying, having participants pledge “No bullying!” during the audience.

“If at school you wage war among yourselves, if you bully girls and boys who have problems, you are preparing for war, not peace,” Francis told the Paul VI Audience Hall gathering.

The meeting on Jan. 4 marked the 80th anniversary of the Italian Association of Catholic Teachers and the 50th anniversary of the Association of Catholic School Parents. Francis used the occasion to outline “God’s pedagogy” of closeness, compassion, and tenderness.

Warning against a “remote pedagogy, distant from people,” the Holy Father stressed that effective education requires proximity and engagement. He illustrated this point with an anecdote about a family he had heard about, where parents and children sat together at a restaurant but remained fixated on their mobile phones instead of conversing.

“Please, in families, let’s talk!” the pope implored, emphasizing that “family is dialogue, it is dialogue that makes us grow.”

The papal address coincided with the beginning of the Jubilee journey, which Francis noted has “much to say” to the world of education. He called educators to be “pilgrims of hope” who devote themselves with trust and patience to human growth.

“Their hope is not naive,” Francis explained, “it is rooted in reality and sustained by the conviction that every educational effort has value and that every person has dignity and a vocation worthy of being cultivated.”

The pontiff concluded by encouraging the formation of a “pact between associations” to better witness to the Church’s presence both in and for schools, reminding participants once more to stand firm against bullying.

The Holy Father’s strong message against bullying came on the same day he addressed another group of Catholic educators, the Union of St. Catherine of Siena Missionary Teachers, where he emphasized the importance of joyful witness in Catholic education.

Speaking to the teaching sisters in the Vatican’s Clementine Hall, Francis warned against what he called “vinegar faces,” saying stern countenances drive people away from the faith. The dual addresses highlighted the pope’s vision for Catholic education: combining warm, welcoming pedagogy with firm opposition to behaviors that undermine human dignity and peace.