School and family in the Mariana’s newspaper O Arquidiocesano (1959-1991): “He will defend the rights of God and the Christian community”

ABSTRACT

The weekly O Arquidiocesano, a periodical from the Archdiocese of Mariana (MG), circulated between 1959 and 1991, with an annual circulation of 6,000 copies. One of the newspaper’s goals includes “taking care of the religious life of the Parishes.” The periodical entered the social fields, including the school. It is possible to perceive education as a recurring theme about Christian education, such as the concern with the arrival of television in the homes and the campaign against communism. From 1962 to 1989, the journal added 61 articles with the school theme, which turns to be an analysis object, especially concerning the Catholic faith’s presence in the public system. The church’s hierarchy members and invited parishioners signed most of the items. The research corpus is editions that deal with school education. We selected articles that address the school and the family and highligted the church’s view of the school as a collaborator in human form, according to the spread of Christian principles. If the child’s future is Christian, it makes sense for the parents to choose the Catholic school guided by the teacher in the same faith. The equation is explicit: Christian family is like a Christian school. We can end with the statement that affirms that O Arquidiocesano watches over the Catholic population beyond churches’ physical space or sermons through the control of the family, school, and teacher triad.

Keywords
Catholic education; Catholic press; History of Education; Family; Primary School