BRISBANE archdiocese’s Education Summit on October 18 failed to allay fears about looming changes within the school system but gave reason for optimism.
This was the assessment of Leo Dunne, who Archbishop John Bathersby gave the responsibility of facilitating the summit process.
Archbishop Bathersby called the summit in response to a number of proposed changes to Catholic schooling provisions in the archdiocese.
Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) executive director, David Hutton, in a reflection on the planning summit, said that for BCE schools the underlying issues represented ‘the most significant challenges in their history’.
They were ‘the need to respond to the most significant school-age population growth in Australia in areas of the archdiocese beyond the metropolitan area’ and the proposals by some religious institute schools (possibly as many as nine) to expand into primary years.
Mr Dutton said the challenge of providing new schools included the fact that land prices in south-east Queensland were increasing rapidly, and ‘the Church looks increasingly to Catholic education to lead its presence in new, mostly low socio-economic communities’.
He said the move by some religious institute schools into primary years came as school-age population in major catchments of the metropolitan area would decline over the next 15 years, increasing competition among Catholic schools.
Some of the likely impacts on BCE schools included a decline in enrolments affecting schools unevenly, including the closure of some; a decline in Catholic education system income; and staff redundancies as some enrolments decline.
Archbishop Bathersby, in addressing the summit, spoke about education in terms of mission.
‘The overarching mission of Christ, whose partial aim might very well be summed up in rugby terms as ‘World in Union’, limits neither diversity, nor excellence, but it does demand a concern for others less fortunate, who due to circumstances, sometimes within their control, often outside their control, are not as well off as they might be, and as a result may not receive the education that all children of the Kingdom deserve,’ he said.
‘Compassion has always been a part of our approach to education as well as a sense of justice, and I believe still is. But what we are in danger of losing is a sense of the solidarity that flows from our faith and common mission.
‘I would hope that by listening to each other today we will arrive, if not at the same conclusions, at least a little closer to the common purpose we once had and that we must rediscover if ultimately we are to be true to our founder, Jesus Christ.’
Mr Dunne said the 80 summit participants, representing a cross-section of stakeholders including BCE authorities, religious institute schools, parents and priests, overwhelmingly showed a willingness to share in the planning of new schools.
He said the participants supported the establishment of a non-regulated forum to continue the process of collaboration in planning, in a bid for greater cohesion across the Catholic education sector.
The summit steering committee will meet on October 29 to consider the responses from the summit and to work on preparing a report for the archbishop.
