O ideário educacional católico do século xx na produção bibliográfica do Padre Teófanes (1930 -1960)

Abstract

The present study presents the catholic, conservative and entrepreneurial educational ideas of the Alagoas-born Father Teóphanes Augusto de Araújo Barros (1912-2001), in the 1960s. His ideology was examined from the local, national and international perspectives. Three topics were developed in his books: The Teaching Mission (1961), The Assertive Mission (1981) and Allocutions (1989)*. Our study was based on the theories and methodologies from the Annales School, especially on the works of March Bloch (2001). Such approach made it possible to move away from the either apologetic or condemning attitudes towards Father Teóphanes works and look at the wider scope of his ideias on Christian education. His intention at the time was to promote a re-Christianization of the Brazilian people in opposition to the growing threats of Communism and Liberalism. The study consists of three parts. Firstly, his experience as an educator, which started with the foundation of the Colégio Guido de Fontgalland in 1939. His contribution to the National Free Schools Campaing (CNEG in portuguese) in the 1940s, when more than 50 secondary schools were opened in Alagoas. In the early 1950s, his was responsible for the creation of the Philosophy College of Alagoas, which was later incorporated by the Federal University of Alagoas. He also contributed to the creation of Teacher Training Colleges in the cities of Penedo and Arapiraca. In 1974, he founded the Higher Studies Center of Maceió. The second part of the study, deals with the Brazilian Catholic Church demands in the 1930s and 1960s. The focus then was on an entrepreneurial, conservative and catholic orientation based on international writers such as Jacques Maritain an national authors such as D. Sebastião Leme, Jackson Figueiredo and Alceu Amoroso Lima. In the third and last part, his writings were analyzed, in especial two of his books: The Educator’s Mission (1961) and Allocutions (1989)*, which were chosen because of their educational approaches. His books deal with recurring themes such as secondary education, teenage education, catholic-oriented education and the issue of Church neutrality in private education. Our conclusion was that Father Teóphanes believed the family had a central role in the formal education of their children. He also defended paid, non-compulsory, Christian-oriented education. He was interested in teenage development and adult formation in the secondary school. He also supported the position of the Church in favor of privative education. The present study reveals the links between the local, national and international scenarios and the universality in the ideias of this educator born in Alagoas. *our translation