Mr John Lydon, from the Salesian School in Chertsey, has been elected to the Executive Council of the World Union of Catholic Teachers.

(l to r) Mr Lydon, Bishop Van Looy, Professor Grace, Mr Philpot

The General Assembly and the Congress of the World Union of Catholic Teachers (WUCT) was held at the Salesianum in Rome from Friday 17th to Saturday 18th October 2008. WUCT was founded in 1951 and its purpose is to gather Catholic teachers into a single organisation in order to serve their common interests and the cause of Catholic education throughout the world. It is the only organization representing teachers in schools and colleges to be recognised by the Holy See. As such it has offices in the Vatican and, through its Secretariat, is in regular contact with the dicasteries of the Holy See.

The extent to which WUCT is recognised by the Holy See was reflected in the presence of four officials from the Congregation at the opening of the Congress, the theme of which was The Courage to Education: Context, Challenge and Role. Professor Gerald Grace of the Centre for Research and Development in Catholic education based at the Institute of Education gave the keynote address on the challenges facing Catholic education globally. A further keynote address on the same theme was delivered by Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, Prefect of the Congregation while the closing Mass of the Congress was celebrated by Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues the Secretary for the Congregation.

The Congress was attended by representatives of teachers from across Europe, South America, the Philippines and Thailand. At the end of the Congress John Lydon, Assistant Headteacher at Salesian School Chertsey, was elected to serve on the Executive Council of WUCT together with:

• Mr Mark Philpot - re-elected as World President
• Mr Giovanni Perrone - President of the Italian Association of Catholic Teachers
• Bishop Luc Van Looy SDB of Ghent - Spiritual Counsellor and Ecclesiastical Assistant

The Executive Council is elected for a period of four years.

The Executive of WUCT would like to place on record its thanks to Fr Bernard Grogan SDB, based at the Salesianum in Rome, for his co-operation in maintaining practical links with the Salesianum throughout the Congress and for translating the greeting sent by Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.