CCSSA’s LIFE Framework
“Living Inclusion Faithfully for Everyone”
Catholic Schools share a foundational belief that all children are loved by God, are individually unique
and that the school has a mission to help each student to fulfill their God-given potential in all aspects of
their person: physically, academically, socially, morally and spiritually.
Alberta’s Catholic school districts are responsible for creating a Catholic faith community, which
provides education for all students within the Catholic tradition. The authenticity of each school’s faith
community is determined by its adherence to the faith under the collective leadership of the teachers,
administrators, clerical advisors, and all other adults within the school. It is the task of those individuals to
integrate the faith into every program and aspect of their Catholic school.
Parents and guardians, the
primary educators of children, entrust their children to Catholic schools so that they may flourish and be
pastorally nurtured as they learn the subjects in the Alberta curriculum.
To provide guidance to the Catholic school faith community, in order that it may act in accord with the
teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, Alberta’s Catholic Bishops have provided the Pastoral
Guideline for the LIFE Framework in 2018 to support the faithfulness of the LIFE Framework. This
Guideline provides an explanation in accordance with the episcopal teaching role described in Canon
Law, Can. 806 §1, and is fundamental to the understanding and application of the LIFE Framework. The
Pastoral Guideline consists of a thematic overview, followed by some practical and more specific
guidance for the development of policy and administrative guidelines regarding the establishment of
student-led organizations and activities in Catholic schools as well as information about discerning
conflict resolution to further positive relationships between all partners in Catholic Education.