Catholic schooling was the “adamantine rock upon which the future of the Church in Australia would be built,” according to the Australian Bishops of the First Plenary Council in 1885[1], becoming, according to Catholic historian Edmund Campion, “the single most distinctive feature of Australian Catholicsm.”[2]
Its goal, to form faithful Church members and foster a solid sense of Catholic identity.[3]
The “schools first” policy was reaffirmed at the Second Plenary Council in 1895 and today, as the Church in Australia prepares for the First Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council (2-10 October, 2021), it will be asking Members to consider the question: “In what way does the Church in Australia recommit to the mission of Catholic education, including Catholic schools and universities in the decades to come?”[4]
The Fifth Plenary Council of Australia Instrumentum Laboris states that Catholic schools make a significant impact, educating more than 750,000 students across Australia, and as “places of evangelisation, formation and enculturation, allow students and teachers to explore and experience the Catholic faith tradition.”
It continues by saying, “For many children, the first time they hear about God in a substantial way—or experience prayer and liturgy—is through attendance at a Catholic school, and Catholic Education offices have developed new curricula and pedagogies (teaching practices) in religious education that relate to the contemporary student population of our schools.”[5]
For example, in 2006, the then Western Australian Catholic Education Office’s push to introduce Religious Education (RE) as a Tertiary Entrance Examination (TEE) subject in 2006, was hailed as a step towards the revival of Catholic religious education across the state. It had always been compulsory for students at Catholic schools to study the basis of their faith, yet now Catholic students had the flexibility to utilise RE as a subject to enter university. [6]
The proposed change, supported by the Curriculum Council, would allow RE to be taught under the Outcomes Based Education system, making the subject more systematic, with students required to treat it as seriously as any other subject.
“This approach will change the way RE is taught. We are opting for a program that will prepare and encourage youth to continue their journey of faith beyond the school classroom,” said then Catholic Education Office Assistant Director of RE, Debra Sayce.[7]
Despite being described by The West Australian and The Australian on March 23, 2008, as a “disadvantage” to students, who would have to spend as much time studying for RE as other core subjects, such as Math and English, Ron Dullard, then Director of Catholic Education, defended the program, saying that it “would add flexibility for Catholic students because Religion could be used to gain tertiary entrance.”[8]
Stage Three Religion and Life (RAL) was introduced in 2009, with the initial cohort graduating in 2010. Although no public school offered the Stage Three, RAL course in 2009, there were 19 Catholic schools that did.
In 2012, a study by Professor Richard Berlach and Associate Professor Chris Hackett, from the School of Education at The University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, investigating the impact of the new curriculum, found that the RAL course was a success “fulfilling a very valuable role in the education of young minds and hearts.” [9]
By this stage, some 80 per cent of students used RAL Stage 3 in their ATAR, which had replaced TEE as the vehicle for pursuing university, and by 2018, 83 per cent of CEWA students who studied RAL as an ATAR course, were using it to contribute to their result.[10]
But despite significant contributions such as these to the development and formation of school students, the Instrumentum Laboris states in item 57 that “the retention and support of young people [is still] of particular concern for the Church today.”
It continues by saying that “The breakdown in transmission of faith through generations has resulted in fewer youth attending Mass and participating actively in parishes. Some perceive the Church’s doctrines as a barrier, and the Church as less than inclusive, and are less likely to want to be part of it themselves.”
Item 34 notes that, the shift in Western beliefs and practices and revelations about child sexual abuse within the Church have “coincided with a loss of trust in many other institutions and sectors of the community”, and the working document honestly asks members to reflect on the recommitment to Catholic Education considering these realities. [11]
Continuing, Item 146 explains that, “Given the changing landscape in Catholic schooling—and acknowledging varying levels of faith and formation of staff and students within many schools and related agencies—the identity, mission and evangelising capacity of Catholic Education in Australia should be examined with candour and courage if they are to bring people closer to Christ and his plan for their lives.”[12]
And finally, in item 159 it says that “Catholic Education at all levels plays a key role in enabling an encounter of worldviews and perspectives in the shared quest for truth, wisdom and the common good.” [13]
“At the same time, Catholic
schools, colleges and universities witness to the faith encounter at the heart
of the Catholic tradition, and propose to all people the intellectual, ethical
and aesthetic commitments that arise from the Gospel and the tradition of the
Church.”
[1] Religious Education in Australian Catholic Schools: Three Historical Snapshots. Page 3
[2] Religious Education in Australian Catholic Schools: Three Historical Snapshots. Page 4
[3] Religious Education in Australian Catholic Schools: Three Historical Snapshots. Page 4
[4] Fifth Plenary Council of Australia, Instrumentum Laboris, 2021, Page 48
[5] Fifth Plenary Council of Australia, Instrumentum Laboris, 2021, Item 41
[6] The Record, Religious Ed for TEE will be systematic: By Silvia Defendi March 30 2006
[7] The Record, Religious Ed for TEE will be systematic: By Silvia Defendi March 30 2006
[8] The Record, Religious Ed for TEE will be systematic: By Silvia Defendi March 30 2006
[9] Upper Secondary School Religion and Life Course: Perceptions of the Inaugural Cohort. Page 15
[10] (https://news.cewa.edu.au/category/news/) 83 percent of CEWA students use Religion and Life for ATAR score
[11] Fifth Plenary Council of Australia, Instrumentum Laboris, 2021 Item 34
[12] Fifth Plenary Council of Australia, Instrumentum Laboris, 2021, Item 146
[13] Fifth Plenary Council of Australia, Instrumentum Laboris, 2021, Item 159