The Catholic bishops of NSW and the ACT have just released a Pastoral Letter, titled Catholic Schools at a Crossroads .

The Letter invites reflection on the future of Catholic schools which stand at a critical point in their history. It draws attention to the need to ensure that the schools are truly Catholic, that they are centres of ‘the new evangelisation', that their students achieve high levels of ‘Catholic religious literacy' and practice, and that they are led and staffed by people who will contribute to the achieving of these goals.

While acknowledging the accomplishments of the schools (‘jewels in the crown of the Catholic community'), the Bishops point to very challenging trends in school enrolment patterns and a weakening in practice of the Faith within a context of increasing secularisation, consumerism, family dysfunction and values disorientation.

The Bishops make important comments on the need to ensure a ‘critical mass' of both Catholic students and Catholic teachers in our schools.

They commit themselves, with the help of CEOs and other parties, to identify specific markers of progress and to monitor developments using such indicators.

Fifteen markers are named. These relate to clarity of purpose of the Catholic school, appointment and composition of staff, enrolments, Catholic culture, outreach to families, Religious Education (including assessment of religious literacy), the practice of the Faith by students, and increasing the proportion of children from poorer homes in our schools.

The bishops have also asked the NSW Catholic Education Commission to investigate the desirability and feasibility of establishing Catholic pre-schools.

We will be reflecting on the Pastoral Letter's implications and challenges for our schools over the coming months.

Catholic Schools At a Crossroads (28 pages 2181KB)