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Archbishop Chaput Pens Pastoral Letter To Teachers, Administrators In Archdiocese Of Philadelphia

By Steve Tawa

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Catholic school educators in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia gathered inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center Friday for the first "Archbishop's Day for Teachers and Administrators."

During the session, Archbishop Charles Chaput presented a pastoral letter to more than 3,500 teachers and administrators on Catholic Education and Faith.

'We have an ongoing dialogue about the most important issues in the life of the students," Chaput said.

Archdiocese Secretary for Education Chris Mominey also addressed the attendees.

"Please know how thankful he and I both are that you have chosen to minister with us in this most awesome mission of catholic schools," Mominey said.

Quoting the Archbishop, Mominey said the goal is to "equip saints for life, in this world and the next."

"We animate it in the context of six common virtues," he said: respect, integrity, enthusiasm, collaboration, innovation and excellence."

In the pastoral letter, Mominey said the Archbishop articulates the role of the teacher.

"We don't pay them to teach," he said. "We pay them to make sure that students learn."

Archbishop Chaput also wrote about the role of parents as the "primary educators of their children;" the church, he said "is their partner in that task."

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