Catholic Identity

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Last week we (Sean Gill, Denise Long and myself) presented a workshop at the Diocesan Schools National Colloquium on School Improvement. 

Getting to Cairns was an ordeal (around 15 hours) and with our Workshop looming and preparation minimal, Frank Brennan stepped up to the dais as a key note speaker.   Frank is an Australian Jesuit, Human Rights Lawyer and advocate.

My plans to try and work out what I was going to say in the workshop were challenged by the engagement of Frank's keynote; his narrative, humour and challenging content.

There were three quotes from his keynote that continue to sit with me, churn and challenge!

'Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak!'

'The mysticism of the Sacrament has a social character. When we receive the Sacrament turn a blind eye to the marginalised, to inequality and injustice, we receive the Sacrament unworthily.'

'We need to be a Church of the baptised not just a Church of the ordained.'

I am sure there would be divergent responses and views in response to hearing this.  

What would our response be if inserted the phrase ' Catholic Education' instead? 

What if the quotes read as follows:

Catholic Education is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak!

Catholic Education has a social character. When Catholic Education turns a blind eye to the marginalised (within and outside of each school), to inequality and injustice we dishonour our purpose.

Catholic Education needs to be a Church for the baptised (students) not just the ordained (staff -TCEO and in Schools).

We continue to discuss and grapple with the concept of Catholic Identity within our system locally and nationally. 

Is our historical Identity the same in 2017? Should it be?

Does it need to be? 

Who are our schools for? 

Who is in most need of our schools? 

Our students, classes, and schools do not belong to any of us. Whether we are the Director, TCEO staff, principals, teachers or staff, we are guardians and custodians for a period of time.  We are guardians of charism, history, vision, and mission while striving to be what we need to be now and working towards what we need to be tomorrow.

The challenge for our Church and our Educational system is to get caught up in pursuit of answers but to keep 'bending' our conversation towards these questions. 

Trivia: Last week's question:

The answer to last week's question was Brent Wilson.

This week's Trivia Question:

Which Principal is in their Hockey Club's Team of the Century (not this century by the 20th)?

Tweets of the Week:

Around our Schools

Marketing and Enrolments Strategic Planning Meeting at Marist Regional College 

with surrounding schools

A-E, Naplan comparisons: Dave Mohr
Northern Principal Conversation: Tension Woods Centre 

 Staff Formation “Going Deeper” / Classroom Observation Templates: Janaya Plummer
Northern Principal Conversation: Tenison Woods Centre

 Learning Support:  Julia Kramer
Northern Principal Conversation: Tenison Woods Centre

Staff Consult: Our Lady of Lourdes