Dignitatis humanae : public funding and divesting of faith schools in a liberal State

Abstract

This article examines a largely overlooked element of Dignitatis Humanae:, that is, its relevance for the question of whether or not the State has a duty to fund faith schools. To this end the fragmentary remarks of a number of commentators are examined, as well as the text, context and drafting of the Declaration itself. Dignitatis Humanae is also compared to another Vatican II document in this regard, namely Gravissimum Educationis. The analysis is extended to an area which has not, so far as the authors are aware, been explicitly dealt with by moral theologians: the question of whether there could be a duty of the Church to divest itself of control of some of its schools and transfer them to the State.