With only nine Catholic chaplains in state schools in WA, Chaplain Joe O’Brien says there are many challenges to be met.
By Anthony Barich
The perception that chaplains are predominantly priests and Religious continues to hamper recruitment into this crucial area, a leading Perth chaplain to 40 public schools in WA says.
Joe O’Brien, a former seminarian who is now an Area Chaplain (supervisor) to 26 chaplains along the coast between Kwinana to East Fremantle and 12 between Boddington and Gnowangerup, said that while numbers have risen sharply since the Coalition Federal Government invested $165 million over three years, there remains a stigma attached to the vocation.
Mr O’Brien, an Area Chaplain for the Churches Commission on Education, the WA ecumenical body also known as YouthCare, said there are barely nine Catholic chaplains among government schools.
He said that before he started chaplaincy in July 2007 he didn’t know what a chaplain was, and he now encourages priests to explain what chaplains do, saying “it’s quite common that people don’t understand the terminology”. He said this perception rises among Catholics largely out of the fact that chaplains in Catholic schools are priests and Religious, though they often have pastoral teams to complement the priest’s sacramental chaplaincy.
There are almost 2,000 National School Chaplaincy Association (NSCA) chaplains in State schools across Australia, but 65 percent of government schools are still without a chaplain.
In WA, 275 State schools have an NSCA chaplain.
Mr O’Brien, 49, a former management consultant, said chaplaincy is the job people rarely tend to appreciate until they’ve experienced it; adding that it gave him a new level of respect for priests and other pastoral workers.
“I used to think priests had an easy job, but having worked as a chaplain and having more to do with priests, I realise how hard they work. Everyone wants a piece of them,” said Mr O’Brien, a Catholic Beaconsfield parishioner.
Figures released last week in an inaugural national study found that chaplain numbers had tripled since the Federal funding began in 1997. Mr O’Brien said the rise was especially noticeable among males, which he attributes to men wanting to continue their involvement among children once their own have grown up, but without the authority role.
He said that divorce and fly-in, fly-out mine work by parents were among the most traumatic factors for students that chaplains deal with. “You can almost pick the day when one – or in many cases both – parents are due to leave or return from work off-shore or in the mines, as the child plays up,” he said. “It’s about listening and being there – even the most troublesome students can often sort themselves out if they’re just listened to.”
Chaplains also deal with mental health professionals in the case of suicidal teens, and are known to receive calls in the night or during holidays when a student dies, and the chaplain must deal with the family, “which can be quite scary”, he said.
However, there is less stigma for a student going to see a chaplain than a psychologist, so they are the preferred option, and principals from public schools have commented on the positive influence chaplains are in their school.
Hillman Primary School principal Wayne McKay said the National Schools Chaplaincy Program has made a significant difference, as many of his students who previously felt isolated and alone are now willing to discuss and confront their personal issues.
Of the principals who took part in Australia’s national research project on The effectiveness of NSCA Chaplains in Government Schools in Australia, 98 percent said that chaplaincy in Australian government schools is “making a major contribution to school morale – it is proactive, unique, effective and important. Government project funding should be continued when the three year cycle of project funding ends”.
Chaplains do not require any formal qualifications but go through a rigorous screening process. This includes an online application; three ministerial references from ministers or priests are checked; applicants are sent to a counsellor chaplain who assesses him/her on the issues they are likely to face with troubled students, then finally they are interviewed by two area chaplains. “Many don’t get accepted,” Mr O’Brien said. “Some chaplains in my area deal with the toughest kids around. There is one bloke who’s a bit of a crazy character but the school loves him, and he loves the place. He’s a top bloke.”
Chaplaincy also draws people from other fields, including one man who left a six-figure job offer to work as a chaplain.
For more information, go to schoolchaplaincy.org.au