Paper seeks partnership of all Catholic School Authorities in Governance
Our recent position paper calls for Religious Institutes (RI) and Ministerial PJPs (MPJP) to have greater representation, dialogue and partnership in Catholic Schools governance/support structures.
The paper shows that RI and MPJP schools across Australia comprise significant enrolments in the Catholic sector (Average: 4.3% primary and 35.4% secondary).
RI and MPJP School Authorities are historically and currently vital contributors to the mission of Catholic education.
At this critical period in the mission of the Catholic Church in Australia, it is important that all School Authorities are engaged in bringing forth both history, insight and emerging new ways of participating in governance for mission, focused on quality education for all students.
The paper proposes:
- Formal representation, participation and a voice at the table in state and territory-based Catholic System Authorities, confirmed in the Constitutions as exemplified in the Statutes of NCEC and the Constitution of the Queensland Catholic Education Commission.
- Formally constituted co-responsible mission-focused partnerships and processes for dialogue between state and territory-based Catholic System Authorities (Commissions and incorporated bodies) and RI and MPJP School Authorities.
- Structured processes of dialogue and discernment to move towards a mature integrated system of Catholic education characterised by subsidiarity and commitment to synodality – ‘synodality is a style, it is a walk together, and it is what the Lord expects from the Church of the third millennium’.1
The paper was prompted by current and emerging issues of governance within Catholic education, both strategic and operational, across some states and territories in Australia. It has been prepared by the Association of Ministerial Public Juridic Persons (AMPJP) Committee of RI and MPJP School Authorities Australia (CORMSAA) which was formed in July 2020. It is endorsed by AMPJP and Catholic Religious Australia (CRA).
The paper was recently sent to Bishops and RI and MPJP School Authorities for them to consult with episcopal, national, state and diocesan governance bodies, diocesan school authorities. The paper’s information should enable these entities to reflect, discern and respond to facilitate the legitimate participation of RI and MPJP school authorities in Catholic education governance structures and processes.
The full 29-page position paper is available here.
1 Pope Francis (November 29, 2019) Address to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s Theological Commission. Reported in Catholic News Agency (CNA).
Photo by Tatiana Balletti on Unsplash
