Schools: Cardinal Zuppi says they should be places where no one feels excluded

“A truly inclusive school is one of the most powerful tools for justice and peace.” These are the words of the President of the CEI, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi. These remarks come just a few hours after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced her intention to introduce a cap on the number of foreign pupils per class.

“Schools have reopened their gates,” said Zuppi, adding, “the recent incidents of violence give us serious cause for reflection,” in reference to the attack in Rome on a teacher by a 13-year-old pupil. The president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference identified ‘educational inequalities’ as the foremost of the ‘challenges that can no longer be put off’: ‘We cannot accept that a child’s place of birth, economic or physical circumstances, or social background should determine their learning opportunities’. At the start of the school year, he added, “we hope that our schools will be places where no one feels excluded”.