Currents News Staff
So far, the main impact of the coronavirus outbreak in Rome has been the three-day closing of an important church.
Now, even large Vatican events that have been in the works for months are being postponed. One of them is the long-anticipated “Economy of Francesco.”
“The idea was to call those attending to shape tomorrow’s economy and make a pact with them to change this world. The pope wanted to engage with young people because they still have the possibility of bringing about change,” said Luigino Bruni, professor, LUMSA University (Rome).
The event will take place in Assisi in November, 2020, instead of in March, as originally planned. The pope is expected to speak to the 2,000 participants representing 115 different countries, on Nov. 21.
That’s not all. The “Global Compact of Education,” originally set for May, has been postponed to Oct. 11-18. The Vatican invited religious, cultural and political leaders from around the world to fix what the pope called a broken global educational pact.
“The educational pact shouldn’t simply be a set of rules. It shouldn’t be a “reconstruction” of the positivism we have received from the Enlightenment. It needs to be revolutionary,” said Pope Francis.
The objective is to make education more equitable and relevant to the different needs of economies and societies around the world.
The event was to include an “educational village” built on the main street leading to St. Peter’s Square, to showcase experiences and spark debates and meetings with young people, students and families. The new pact will be signed on Oct. 15.