The new chair of the Bishops Commission for Catholic Education says that the Gospel is a priority for Catholic Education.
By Anthony Barich
HELPING Catholic school leaders and staff see their vocation as working in a vital ministry of the Church and witnessing to the Gospel is a priority for Catholic education, the new chair of the Bishops Commission for Catholic Education told The Record.
Bishop Greg O’Kelly SJ, who was installed as bishop of Port Pirie on June 10 and succeeded Bunbury Bishop Gerard Holohan as chair of the Bishops Commission for Catholic Education in late May, said that “appropriate staff and leader formation” is a top priority for Catholic education, as education is a “very vital ministry of the Church”.
“There’s about 7-800 Catholic schools in Australia, and we’ve gone through the transition from schools led by Religious to being led by lay, so there is very much a need for appropriate and proper formation and preparation for our staff, that they maintain the strong Catholic character in the education they teach,” he said.
Bishop O’Kelly said that the words of Paul VI are still very pertinent – that young people will listen to witnesses before teachers, and will only listen to teachers if they are witnesses, making their Catholic identity and formation essential to their work. Bishop O’Kelly was principal for 29 consecutive years of St Ignatius Jesuit colleges in Sydney and Adelaide, separately, before being consecrated and installed as Auxiliary Bishop of Adelaide in 2006.
The prelate, who was the first Catholic to chair the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia, said it was also a priority to ensure that government continues an appropriate recognition of non-government schools in terms of funding and support, and that parents have a right to choose schooling of their choice for their children.
“This is very much a part of democratic Australia, and as tax payers parents have a right to be supported in that,” he said.The bishop also said the ministry to the approximately 50 per cent of Catholic children who are not in Catholic schools must also be taken seriously. Some dioceses presently fund lay chaplains in public schools.
Access to Catholic schools is also an important challenge, he said.
He said that the Church needs to ensure that schools are open to young peoples of all backgrounds, “so that we don’t find ourselves charging fees that exclude the poor”. Finding a way to cope with increasing numbers of refugee children is also a significant part of this challenge.