Executive Officer’s Report: February 2020
Most of my February has involved following up issues raised, and directions given, by the AMPJP Council meeting on 11 Feb 2020. This agenda includes:
- developing the Australian Committee of Religious Institute and Ministerial PJP School Authorities;
- organising an additional face-to-face meeting of AMPJP Member Representative in May 2020;
- refocusing the AMPJP strategic direction;
- developing our relationship with ACBC and CRA;
- responding to the draft National Response (to alleged or actual abuse) Protocol;
- continuing development of a Formation and Development framework for Canonical Stewards (MPJP Trustees);
- advocating for Ministerial PJP participation at the Plenary Council 2020; and
- planning for the AMPJP AGM and Canonical Stewards Forum in August 2020;
Recently John Warhurst wrote in an Eureka Street article on Church governance :
The Association of Ministerial Public Juridic Persons, with eleven members, has emerged as a potentially strong third peak body in the church alongside the bishops and Catholic Religious Australia.
While it is appropriate that the place of Ministerial PJPs is recognised in the Church, there should be no illusion that this new form of governance, with its dominance of lay people, is not immune from the difficulties experienced by Bishops and Religious. We were reminded of this in the media coverage of issues at EREA’s school, St Kevin’s College, Toorak.
Good governance involves both positive outcomes and positive process. Those in governance are also judged on both outcomes and process when they respond to a failure within their organisation. With this in mind, there is sobering reading in the Edelman Trust barometer 2020. It shows only 46% of people trust religious leaders. Over the past year, there was a 2% decline in trust of Australian NGOs to 54%. The Edelman Report highlights ethical and competent behaviour as key ingredients in (re)building trust.
From Pope Francis Ash Wednesday homily:
“You are dust, and to dust you shall return” (cf. Gen 3:19).
The dust sprinkled on our heads brings us back to earth; it reminds us that we are dust and to dust we shall return.
We are weak, frail and mortal. Centuries and millennia pass and we come and go; before the immensity of galaxies and space, we are nothing.
We are dust in the universe.
Yet we are dust loved by God. It pleased the Lord to gather that dust in his hands and to breathe into it the breath of life (cf. Gen 2:7).
We are thus a dust that is precious, destined for eternal life.
We are the dust of the earth, upon which God has poured out his heaven, the dust that contains his dreams.
We are God’s hope, his treasure and his glory.
Ashes are thus a reminder of the direction of our existence: a passage from dust to life.
We are dust, earth, clay, but if we allow ourselves to be shaped by the hands of God, we become something wondrous.
More often than not, though, especially at times of difficulty and loneliness, we only see our dust!
But the Lord encourages us: in his eyes, our littleness is of infinite value.
So let us take heart: we were born to be loved; we were born to be children of God.
New events listed on the website:
New website content:
The public news section of the AMPJP website now has the following posts:
- Embracing First Nations Voices in the Church (27 February 2020 – also accessible to AMPJP General and Council members)
- Pope Francis’ Message for Lent 2020 (27 February 2020 – also accessible to AMPJP General and Council members)
- Online ethics course (05 February 2020 – also accessible to AMPJP General and Council members)
