Catholic education

Catholic Education SA is to be congratulated on the impressive and attractive magazine-style publication included in The Advertiser newspaper on Saturday July 31.

Catholic schools in South Australia and in all Australian states have much to be proud of.

The SA publication was indeed in line with the Gospel adage ‘Let your light shine before others …’ The different self-descriptions of the more than 100 schools contain many insightful pearls of wisdom re their aspirations and values.

I list randomly but a few of them: faithful to the example of Jesus; leadership with grace and courage; educate young people to take their place in the Church and the world; prayer, study, community and service; restorative justice; Catholic identity and  commitment to learning excellence; curiosity and creativity are fostered; welcomes family from all backgrounds;  confidence and compassion; and many others.

One wonders whether the leadership at Catholic Education could cull from these gems a succinct and pertinent paragraph or two to serve as a vision for all Catholic schools. This clarifying and unifying statement could be published frequently and widely in the secular media.

I suggest that it would be helpful to the many Catholic families arriving from overseas as they struggle to acquaint themselves with the Australian Catholic culture.

St Mary MacKillop would, I’m sure, approve of us building on the sturdy foundations of Catholic education that she put in place.

Mgr Rob Egar

Faith

I recently purchased some sacramental items from a shop which also sold secular goods. When I said to the proprietor I hoped her business didn’t suffer for selling Christian items, given current anti-Christian views, she replied, without hesitation, she didn’t care if it did. As she put it, ‘without my faith I have nothing’.

What a heroine, and wise too, as she knows she is on the ‘winning’ side.

Cynthia Zacest
North Adelaide