Pro-life, pro-family champion takes helm of Colombia’s Education Ministry
Ilva Myriam Hoyos Castañeda has been named Colombia’s new Minister of Education by President Abelardo de la Espriella following the resignation of Vivian Morales. Hoyos, a lawyer, former dean of a law school, and adviser to the Pontifical Council for the Family, will oversee a review of school textbooks to remove “woke” ideology and propose allowing private and religious entities to support education in underserved areas. Her appointment has sparked debate over the church’s role in public schools and has drawn criticism from feminist and left‑wing groups because of her anti‑abortion stance and past work with former Inspector General Alejandro Ordóñez. The new minister faces challenges in improving educational quality after recent national test results showed declines in reading and mathematics, and in restoring infrastructure damaged by an August 10 earthquake that left thousands of schools without classrooms.
20 days ago
Ilva Myriam Hoyos Castañeda has been appointed Colombia’s new education minister after Vivian Morales resigned for personal reasons. Her arrival brings a lawyer and longtime advocate for family, children’s rights, religious freedom, and opposition to abortion into a ministry facing disputes over school curricula, religious participation, educational performance, and earthquake-damaged infrastructure. 1
President Abelardo de la Espriella announced Hoyos’s appointment and praised her “talent, strength, integrity, and steadfast defense of values.” 1
She is expected to address initiatives begun under Morales, including a review of school textbooks intended to remove what the government describes as “woke” ideology. Another pending proposal would allow private organizations, including religious groups, to help provide or administer educational services in areas where the state has limited presence. 1
The proposal concerning private and religious participation has prompted debate over the role of churches in public education and the constitutionally secular character of the state. Father Edilberto Estupiñán of the Colombian Bishops’ Conference said religious, moral, and ethical education had not received sufficient attention in recent years. 1
Hoyos’s appointment has been criticized by feminist and left-wing groups, including former President Gustavo Petro. The criticism is linked in part to her previous work with Alejandro Ordóñez, a former inspector general and prominent opponent of abortion who now serves as Colombia’s ambassador to the Organization of American States. 1
Hoyos has consistently opposed the decriminalization of abortion and has defended freedom of conscience, citing its protection under Article 18 of Colombia’s Constitution. 1
During an earlier legal debate over same-sex unions, she described marriage and family as central institutions of the legal system. She also argued that heterosexuality and procreation—characteristics she identified as defining marriage in Colombia’s constitutional and legal framework—should not automatically be treated as discriminatory against people or couples with a homosexual orientation. 1
Born in Bogotá in 1959, Hoyos is a lawyer with a doctorate in law. She previously served as dean of the law school and director of the Institute of Humanities at the University of La Sabana, and has taught at universities in Colombia and abroad. 1
From 2009 to 2016, she was a delegate inspector general responsible for defending the rights of children, adolescents, and families. She also advised the Pontifical Council for the Family, participated as a lay expert at the 2007 Aparecida conference of Latin American and Caribbean bishops, and served as an auditor at the 2014 Synod on the Family convened by Pope Francis. 1
In Colombia, Hoyos chaired the Episcopal Conference’s National Council for the Culture of Care for seven years. In that role, she participated in programs to prevent and respond to abuse and violence and helped train diocesan teams and religious communities. 1
Her published works include books and articles on religious freedom, university education, human dignity, human rights, and the legal status of the human person. 1
Hoyos takes office as recent national test results showed declines in Colombian students’ reading and mathematics performance, with only a modest improvement in science. Improving educational quality is therefore one of the ministry’s central tasks. 1
She must also oversee the restoration of schools damaged by an earthquake on August 10. More than 3,500 educational centers were affected, leaving nearly 400,000 students without classrooms. 1*
Evaluate Catholic influence on Colombian public education policy
Catholic influence on Colombian public education has been historically substantial, institutionally important, and normatively contested. The supplied evidence supports a strong influence on the formation of schools, civic ideals, family policy, and Church–state cooperation, but it does not establish the precise content of Colombia’s current education statutes or policies.
Catholic religious orders were central to the development of formal education in colonial Colombia. Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits, and others founded schools, while Jesuit colleges provided secondary education and introduced instruction in subjects such as mathematics and physics. The expulsion of the Jesuits seriously weakened the Church’s educational contribution for a period.
This history helped make Catholicism part of Colombia’s national and social identity. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the constitutional order recognized Catholicism as an essential element of social order, while also formally protecting religious liberty and permitting other forms of worship. A concordat with the Holy See regulated Church–state relations.
Thus, Catholic influence was not limited to private schooling: it shaped the assumptions within which public authority understood education, morality, social unity, and national formation.
Catholic social teaching promoted a subsidiary role for the State. This means that government should support and coordinate education without replacing parents or monopolizing the educational sphere. Libertatis conscientia describes the family as fundamentally responsible for education and the State as responsible to “guarantee, protect, promote and supplement”; it rejects an educational monopoly and supports assistance for private schools performing a public service.
John Paul II applied this principle directly to Colombia in 1998, insisting that parents have the right to choose an educational model and that the State should provide the assistance necessary to make that right effective. The same framework appears in Catholic educational teaching more generally: parents have priority in educational choice, while civil authorities should make diverse educational options available and support families in choosing among them.
This perspective could influence Colombian policy in several ways:
However, the available material does not demonstrate exactly how extensively these principles were implemented in Colombia, nor whether particular funding mechanisms or regulations remain in force.
The Church’s influence has also been exercised through institutions rather than only through legislation. Catholic schools, colleges, and universities contributed to the formation of civic conscience and Christian moral principles, according to John Paul II’s 1991 address to Colombia’s ambassador. He also noted that these institutions should protect the freedom and rights of other confessions.
The Catholic educational model is broader than technical instruction. It seeks integral formation: intellectual, moral, civic, and religious development. Catholic teaching regards the family, parish, and school as interconnected settings in which faith and social responsibility are transmitted.
This has likely strengthened emphasis in Colombian educational debates on:
John Paul II specifically urged Catholic schools in the Americas to serve the poor and marginalized, presenting education as essential to overcoming forms of poverty caused by lack of opportunity.
Catholic influence did not necessarily imply the exclusion of other religions. The historical constitutional framework cited above combined Catholic recognition with formal religious freedom. Likewise, John Paul II described Catholic schools as contributing to civic formation while protecting the rights of other confessions.
The Catholic position therefore contains a tension:
Catholic teaching rejects the idea that pluralism requires a completely religion-free school system. It argues instead that genuine pluralism requires room for religious education and religiously distinct schools, provided that the rights of others are respected.
Catholic influence on Colombian public education can be evaluated as deep but historically changing:
The evidence supplied is strongest for historical influence and Catholic principles, but insufficient to determine the current legal status of religious instruction, public financing of Catholic schools, or the precise effect of Catholic advocacy on present Colombian education policy.