Ciciripi
Sfiduesi Demokrat
German Jesuit teaches Christian values in Muslim Kosovo
Published:
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- To teach Christian values in predominantly Muslim Kosovo, Jesuit Father Walter Happel uses a secular facade. The German priest is executive director of a Prizren, Kosovo, private school. In its brochure for the public, it is portrayed as a school that teaches "in the European sense"; it does not mention Christian values. Language and science classes are emphasized; the school does not offer religion classes. But the school is called Loyola-Gymnasium Prizren, named after St. Ignatius of Loyola. Its donors include Renovabis, a German Catholic movement; the German dioceses of Cologne and Limburg; and the Italian bishops' conference. And, he even had a Christmas tree in the school this year, Father Happel told Catholic News Service in an April 4 interview during a visit to Washington. The facade is necessary because only seven years ago the ethnic and religious fighting in the region pitted majority separatist Albanian Muslims against minority Christian Serbs. And teaching religious education in a school opens a debate Father Happel chooses to avoid.
German Jesuit teaches Christian values in Muslim Kosovo
Published:
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- To teach Christian values in predominantly Muslim Kosovo, Jesuit Father Walter Happel uses a secular facade. The German priest is executive director of a Prizren, Kosovo, private school. In its brochure for the public, it is portrayed as a school that teaches "in the European sense"; it does not mention Christian values. Language and science classes are emphasized; the school does not offer religion classes. But the school is called Loyola-Gymnasium Prizren, named after St. Ignatius of Loyola. Its donors include Renovabis, a German Catholic movement; the German dioceses of Cologne and Limburg; and the Italian bishops' conference. And, he even had a Christmas tree in the school this year, Father Happel told Catholic News Service in an April 4 interview during a visit to Washington. The facade is necessary because only seven years ago the ethnic and religious fighting in the region pitted majority separatist Albanian Muslims against minority Christian Serbs. And teaching religious education in a school opens a debate Father Happel chooses to avoid.
German Jesuit teaches Christian values in Muslim Kosovo