Pope Francis during his visit at Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem

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Pope’s Global Compact on Education Also Postponed in Response to Worldwide Coronavirus Concerns

Will Take Place in October

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The Global Compact on Education, just like the ‘Economy of Francesco’, has been postponed to the fall due to Coronavirus concerns.

This was announced this afternoon in a press release from the Congregation for Catholic Education.

“The Global Compact on Education, promoted by Pope Francis,” the statement announced, “will take place October 11-18, 2020. The Pact will be signed on October 15.”

“The event, entrusted to the Congregation for Catholic Education, was to take place May 14, with a series of complementary events between May 10 – 17, such as the “Village of Education”, with the best international educational experiences, illustrated by young students from all over the world.”

“The uncertainty linked to the spread of Coronavirus, along with the decisions taken by public authorities on a global scale, have led to the decision to postpone the anticipated meeting in order to allow the widest and most serene participation possible.”

The Global Pact, the statement pointed out, is not limited to educational and academic institutions but rather, “in the belief that commitment to education must be shared by everyone,” involves representatives of religions, international bodies, humanitarian institutions, and from the worlds of academia, economics, politics and culture.

“From this perspective,” it continued, “it can be understood that the broader and more varied participation desired by Pope Francis is not an additional dimension to the Global Compact on Education but rather constitutes at the same time the premise and purpose of such an alliance.”

The Congregation for Catholic Education, it noted, continues to work for this fundamental meeting, in accordance with the intentions of Pope Francis.

In the Holy Father’s message for the launch of the compact, he had said: “Let us seek solutions together, boldly undertake processes of change and look to the future with hope.”

“I invite everyone to work for this alliance and to be committed, individually and within our communities,” Francis expressed, “to nurturing the dream of a humanism rooted in solidarity and responsive both to humanity’s aspirations and to God’s plan.”

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Deborah Castellano Lubov

Deborah Castellano Lubov is Senior Vatican & Rome Correspondent for ZENIT; author of 'The Other Francis' ('L'Altro Francesco') featuring interviews with those closest to the Pope and preface by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin (currently published in 5 languages); Deborah is also NBC & MSNBC Vatican Analyst. She often covers the Pope's travels abroad, often from the Papal Flight (including for historic trips such as to Abu Dhabi and Japan & Thailand), and has also asked him questions on the return-flight press conference on behalf of the English-speaking press present. Lubov has done much TV & radio commentary, including for NBC, Sky, EWTN, BBC, Vatican Radio, AP, Reuters and more. She also has contributed to various books on the Pope and has written for various Catholic publications. For 'The Other Francis': http://www.gracewing.co.uk/page219.html or https://www.amazon.com/Other-Francis-Everything-They-about/dp/0852449348/

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