The Record Magazine Issue #03 (July 2016)

EDUCATION TEACHING, LEARNING AND TECHNOLOGY IN 2016

Official magazine for the Catholic Archdiocese of Perth

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Featured this month 21st century education Exploring the dynamic world of digital learning

LifeLink Day for Schools Creating powerful visual display

Feature School St Jude’s Parish and School community

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‘I am the Light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark but will have the light of life. — John 8:12

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Dr Tim McDonald Revere the Past and Create the Future

Prof Celia Hammond Responding to the challenges of today and tomorrow

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FROM THE ARCHDIOCESE From Archbishop Timothy Costelloe From Bishop Donald Sproxton

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IN THIS EDITION Centre for Faith Enrichment Notre Dame University Vocations: Carmel O’Shaughnessy National Catholic Education Commission Obituary: Monsignor James Francis Nestor Movie Review Book Review Events

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FROM THE EDITOR Jamie O’Brien Education is an enormous issue and it is evident from the numerous reports over the years, that Catholic education as a ‘service’ has much to offer - particularly in the Archdiocese of Perth and indeed the whole of Western Australia. It certainly is at the forefront of working to deliver the very best in Catholic education now and into the future.

In this third issue of The Record Magazine, we take a closer look at 21st Century Education, the encouraging work of LifeLink Day for schools, the opportunities at the Archdiocesan Centre for Faith Enrichment, as well as the supportive culture being fostered at St Jude’s Lynwood/Langford.

In his recent opening speech at the NCEC Conference, Archbishop Costelloe said that all of us are on a journey of faith. All of us have already travelled some distance along this journey and all of us have a long way to go.

The articles in this Issue take a look at that journey and invite you to share them with those around you.

The Record Magazine is a magazine for the people – and I am confident you will all take the time to engage with us. Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas at editor@therecord.com.au, or by contacting us on 08 9220 5900.

ARCHBISHOP’S WORD

“I HAVE COME THAT YOU MAY HAVE LIFE, AND HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY”

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in society as a whole. This was especially true in relation to moral values but it was also true of other values as well.

Growing up in the 1950’s and 1960’s I was very fortunate to find myself in the situation where the values my parents believed in and tried to communicate to me were the very same values that were at the foundation of the schools I attended. Society was changing rapidly of course in the 1960’s but it is still true to say that the values which I learnt at home and at school were by and large identical with the values which were widely accepted

In some respects this is still the case. Indeed we might say that in certain ways things are better now than they were before. The way in which Anzac Day is honoured and celebrated, especially by our young people, is a good example of this.

The recognition of selfless courage, a sense of respect for those who have done so much for us, a deep desire for peace: these are all values which our society celebrates and seeks to foster. They are also deeply Christian values. I am always impressed by the way in which our schools, both primary and secondary, go to great lengths to help their students understand

s many readers would know I was born and raised in Melbourne. I come from what might be described as a normal Catholic family and attended a local Catholic Primary School and then a Catholic Boys’ Secondary School, Salesian College, from where I matriculated in 1971.

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the significance of this important national day.

Another remarkable feature of our schools is the way in which they work so hard and so creatively to develop in their students a keen sense of social justice and a recognition of their need to reach out generously, compassionately and respectfully to those in our society who are marginalised or disadvantaged. The way in which our schools engage with our LifeLink program to raise money for those in need is a powerful example of this. So too are the many and varied activities of social engagement, both here in Western Australia and also interstate and overseas, which are a feature of so many of our schools.

The respect for Anzac Day, and

ARCHBISHOP’S WORD

the strong sense of commitment to those in need, are not unique to our Catholic schools, but they are certainly characteristic of them. They are one way in which our schools play a vital part in maintaining and improving the social fabric of our cities, suburbs and rural communities.

the Catholic community in Australia, right from its very beginnings, has been determined to commit itself wholeheartedly to the work of Catholic Education It does remain the case of course that the basic harmony between Catholic family values, the values of our Catholic schools and the values of our wider society is no longer as close as it used to be. Our young people live in a world where they are more likely to experience disharmony between the values of home and school and the values of the wider culture in which they are immersed. This is perhaps the greatest challenge our Catholic families and our schools face today. Our Catholic faith offers a vision of life and of relationships which we believe corresponds to God’s creative design for the world and for humanity. It is so much more than a disconnected set of moral rules or principles which are arbitrarily imposed with no coherent justification for them.

Rather it is an integrated vision of what it means to be truly human, in relation to others, in relation to the world in which we live, and in relation to the God who created us and who sustains us.

It is precisely this vision of a fully and deeply human life which our schools seek to offer to, and hopefully foster in, our students and their families. Rather than simply a place where Religious Education has a place in the curriculum, our Catholic schools strive to be places where the Catholic vision of life, the Catholic world view, becomes the setting in which everything else the school does takes on its particular and unique characteristics.

It is certainly true for many of the students who attend our schools. It is also true for some of those who seek employment in our schools and colleges. This is a challenge for us as a Church, and it is also an opportunity. Our schools are enormously attractive to parents, often because of the environment or culture they encounter when they come into contact with the schools in various ways.

Central to this Catholic world view is the idea that a life lived in conscious awareness of God’s loving presence, with the developing relationship of trust and love which are the inevitable outcome of such an awareness, is something so vital to true human flourishing that to deprive our young people of this in their formative years at school is to do them a very serious disservice.

It is this conviction which explains why the Catholic community in Australia, right from its very beginnings, has been determined to commit itself wholeheartedly to the work of Catholic Education. It is why we are redoubling our efforts now to maintain and deepen the Catholic identity of our schools.

That commitment has not changed.

Of course nothing is perfect and our efforts must continue as we seek to help our students, our families, our schools staff and our school leaders come to a deeper understanding of this essential dimension of our Catholic Education system. As I pointed out above we live in a world which is no longer so accepting of the values which underpin our schools. We are all part of the society in which we live. We are all affected, often in ways we do not always recognize ourselves, by the powerful forces of our culture, many of which work against our Christian vision of life.

This is true of many of the families who choose a Catholic education for their children.

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That culture and environment are an expression of the Catholic world view which, sometimes in explicit ways and sometimes in more hidden ways, underpins all that the school is seeking to achieve. The more fully any particular school can be a living expression of the Catholic world view the more enriching it will be for the students, their families, and the staff who serve them.

I am enormously grateful for the extraordinary commitment of those who are involved in Catholic Education here in our archdiocese.

Conscious of the challenges they face I am determined to do all I can as archbishop to support them, to encourage them, to celebrate them, and to help them develop their relationship with the God who loves us and who has made himself know to us in Jesus, living in his Church.

I invite you all to join me through your prayer, your support and your encouragement as we continue to shape a faithful, committed and Christ-centred Catholic Education System here in Western Australia. +Archbishop Tim Costelloe ARCHBISHOP OF PERTH

BISHOP’S WORD

THE GATHERING AT ALICE SPRINGS

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he dreaming stories of the Aboriginal people of Alice Springs, are

inspired by the remarkable ranges that run east and west of the town.

The forms of the MacDonnell Ranges remind you of the caterpillar.

So there are many stories about how things have come to be in which the caterpillar figures largely.

One of these stories is about the caterpillar that wanted to travel south to the great sea. He would not heed the warnings from the others that he must only travel from the east to the west, as all the others have always done.

The caterpillar was determined to go his own way. He was about to pass through a gap but was challenged not to proceed any further by a giant beetle. Still, he would not stop but attempted to go on, at which point, as the story goes, the beetle bit off the caterpillar’s head. Today, you can see the unusual hill running at an angle to the rest of the ranges and in the centre of the gap is a smaller hill, the head, seemingly separated from it.

I appreciate the connection of the Aboriginal people to their land and how their spirituality has been fashioned by the environment.

Their stories of the Dreamtime are ways of explaining their origins and respect for the world around them.

We, the people who have come to Australia much later, received a tradition that helped us to understand the way things are in the Book of Genesis, particularly the gradual alienation of humanity from God and the need for Christ to come to restore the relationship on our behalf.

I joined the other members of the Bishops Commission for Relations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island People in Alice Springs in April as we provided a retreat for the members of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council and the diocesan Aboriginal Catholic Ministries from around the country.

Normally, our meetings are for business, but it had been felt by the NATSICC members that a retreat would be very valuable in building an important foundation of trust and deeper respect as we listened to one another in a spirit of prayer.

It turned out to be a moment of great grace and communion.

The starting point was how to pray with the scriptures. To this end, we used a form of Lectio Divina and discovered that its method could be applied to our listening to one another. Every activity over the days we spent together was transformed by the experience

of this prayer. Key sessions on symbols, initiation, sacrament and mission, as understood by the Church and Aboriginal people, were presented. There was remarkable agreement to be found in both traditions. Particularly moving was the note of deep appreciation that was made by an Aboriginal elder for the knowledge about Jesus that her people received from the Catholic missionaries.

Alice Springs was chosen as this year marks the 30th anniversary since Pope John Paul II visited Australia and gave his address there to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait people. We were privileged to be able to celebrate Mass at Blatherskite Park as he had done and to recall his words of encouragement all those years ago.

Much has been achieved, but much more must be done since that day the Pope challenged the entire nation to acknowledge that we will be lacking something vital if we do not welcome the contribution of our Aboriginal brothers and sisters to the Australian conversation on who we are and where we are going.

Another significant experience was provided by John Lochowiak, the Chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council, when he presented an overview of the Aboriginal tribal and family structures, the place of women in the traditional society alongside men, and the

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development of the stories and their transmission from place to place.

John was able to tell us the aspects of these traditions that are not restricted by Aboriginal law. His presentation gave each of us a fresh understanding of the culture and customs of the people, and how all cultures in Australia would benefit from learning from the experience of the people who have occupied and been provided for by this land for nearly 60,000 years.

I returned to Perth, pondering on these days I had spent with great people engaged in Aboriginal ministries around Australia. I asked myself how can our Aboriginal brothers and sisters be encouraged to make their unique contribution to our society. I see that relationships need to be deepened, by all the people of our nation showing respect for each culture, especially that of the first peoples of this land.

This respect includes the acknowledgment that the Aboriginal people were occupiers and stewards of their land, according to their unique systems and the dictates of the difficult environment. It is about listening to each other respectfully. The retreat showed how it can be done.

Bishop Donald Sproxton Auxiliary Bishop of Perth

Digital tools have today been fully incorporated into the learning experience of students Photo: Mercedes College

It is difficult today to find a school in Western Australia that does not integrate digital learning into its curriculum.

Most schools have, in one way or another, adapted to technological advancements and have at least attempted to plan, evaluate and integrate Information and Communications Technology (ICT) into the learning experience of its students.

Particularly within Perth, there is much talk at present about schools practising 21st-century learning methods - but what does this mean and how is it implemented?

The Record Magazine journalist, Marco Ceccarelli, recently spoke to Digital Learning Coordinator at the Catholic Education Office of WA, Daniel Groenewald, and Digital Learning Consultant within the same organisation, Gabrielle Trinca, about the interconnectedness between teaching, learning and technology in 2016.

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here has been recognition within the school curriculum for students to be provided with new skills that will allow them to thrive in the 21st century,” Mr Groenewald said, reflecting on how he and Ms Trinca support WA Catholic schools in integrating and innovating with digital curricula.

“Our aim as digital learning experts is to help teachers create a flourishing child. We do that by helping them incorporate digital technology into their teaching methods.

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“We provide cutting-edge professional development in all areas. From digital tools, which make learning more interesting and alive, to product knowledge on things like Office 365, Google apps for education, and information on how to use Apple Ecosystems,” he added.

Mr Groenewald and Ms Trinca regularly visit schools in order to observe current teaching methods and suggest ways of embedding digital tools within these. The aim of their visits, Ms Trinca explained, is not to impose new learning methods onto teachers, but to gradually infuse technology into teaching and learning according to what she described as “the SAMR model”.

Developed by Dr Ruben Puentedura, the SAMR model stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition and is designed to help teachers use technology in ways that transform the learning experience of students.

“Our aim is to start at the bottom levels of Substitution and Augmentation, so introducing typing instead of writing, using an eBook rather than a paper book, and working towards the higher levels of Modification and Redefinition where the students use the technology in an innovative way,” Ms Trinca said.

“In this way, you’re transforming the knowledge and giving students new opportunities to express what they know. Our aim is to go beyond Substitution. We’re hoping to be transformative. That SAMR model captures this,” Mr Groenewald said.

Both Mr Groenewald and Ms Trinca acknowledged that much has changed over the past 25 years in terms of what the digital world can offer. Unlike before, information today is everywhere, meaning schools are no longer places where students go to access information they would not have at home.

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TOP: Digital Learning Coordinator at the Catholic Education Office of WA, Daniel Groenewald, helps teachers incorporate digital technology into their teaching methods. He is currently working on introducing Virtual Reality as an educational tool that will have a significant impact on the way students receive information.

Photo: Marco Ceccarelli RIGHT: Developed by Dr Ruben Puentedura, The SAMR model is designed to help teachers use technology in way that transforms the learning experience of students.

[Teachers] gravitated towards creating inquiry projects and rich research-style questions.

This has seen teachers adapt their teaching methods in order to keep up with this change in information distribution.

Combined with technological tools available at home and in the classroom, a more “inquiry-based learning” approach has been introduced.

“Since teachers recognise that they cannot solely focus on distributing information and explaining concepts, they have gravitated towards creating inquiry projects and rich research-style questions.

“Teachers are now using what is called Flipped Learning - a model that sees the class and homework elements of a course reversed.

Short videos are viewed by students at home, while, in class, they engage in exercises, projects, or discussion,” Ms Trinca said.

FEATURE

“Students may then go online in open or closed online environments to get feedback from their teachers or peers,” Mr Groenewald said.

The changes in teaching methodology have also had an impact in the way 21st-century learning environments are designed and constructed. To complement the introduction of new digital tools, flexible learning spaces have appeared that allow students to move around.

Ms Trinca explained that any contemporary school should have at least these three key learning spaces: The Cave: where students work independently on their work.

The Watering Hole: students and teachers informally gather around a table to share knowledge and ideas and give feedback before moving back into their cave spaces.

ENHANCEMENT

REDEFINITION Technology allows for the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable

MODIFICATION Technology allows for significant task redesign

The Campfire: a group of students comes together to learn from an expert.

Finally, Mr Groenewald addressed a new innovative and cutting-edge learning tool which, although still a work-inprogress within education, will have a significant impact on the way students receive information – Virtual Reality.

TRANSFORMATION

AUGMENTATION Technology acts as a direct tool substitute, with functional improvement

SUBSTITUTION Technology acts as a direct tool substitute, with no functional change

“The double edge sword of technology is that, before, everything was curated, whereas today this is not the case. There is no longer a specific hierarchy of educators and there are problems of reliability, digital literacy plagiarism and misinformation.

“With Virtual Reality, we can give students a set of goggles and, for instance, take them back into a historical environment if they’re studying history, or a marine environment if they’re studying marine science. It is a way of making the abstract concrete.”

“Teachers have to work in this world and they need to know whether they’re being manipulated or not. They need to be able to distinguish between invalid and valid forms of knowledge, they need to learn the online literacy skills to see how texts are constructed - that’s the role of the new teacher.” Mr Groenewald said.

All these advancements in digital learning are not without their dangers and challenges. From the reliability of information, to the accessibility that young people have to inappropriate online material, to the dangers of ill-intentioned individuals online, Mr Groenewald and Ms Trinca stated that cyber safety is something they take very seriously.

“We’re working very hard with teachers on this,” Ms Trinca added. “We also work on getting the parents on board as they are often the child’s number one model. Particularly with blogging and social media, it is important for parents to set the right example and have consequences in place for when their children misuse the technology. It’s about creating a safe environment.”

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ix-hundred students from 74 Catholic Primary Schools came together on Wednesday 8 June, to create a powerful visual display at Lake Monger Reserve to celebrate the official launch of the Archbishop’s 2016 LifeLink Day. The students and their teachers took part in creating the visual display by linking up some 44,000 paper links, which represented their generous support for people in need – and thus bringing together the support of more than 32,000 students who participated in ‘Link Up on LifeLink Day’ prior to the official launch, making a gold coin donation for each paper link.

With a large wooden cross at the centre of the visual display, students and their teachers worked together to join all the paper links together into one, long, continuous chain as a symbolic representation of what can be achieved by working together to make a real difference in the lives of those who reach out for help.

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2016 LIFELINK DAY EMPOWERS STUDENTS, TEACHERS TO CREATE POWERFUL VISUAL DISPLAY WORDS Jamie O’Brien

LIFELINK

Archbishop Costelloe said that though the annual LifeLink Day initiative, young people are made aware of the many hardships facing so many people in our community, and how the Church responds to this need through our LifeLink social service agencies.

“It was an exciting opportunity to join as ‘one Catholic family’ to demonstrate what can be achieved when we all join together, united by Faith and guided by love, to care for our brothers and sisters in need,” he said.

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton and Catholic Education WA (CEWA) Executive Director Dr Tim McDonald came together to launch the event, working with the students and their teachers during the linking of the paper chains.

when we do look at Jesus and see God looking back at us, what we see is God’s mercy

“The Pope has called 2016 a Year of Mercy because he wants to help us realise that when we do look at Jesus and see God looking back at us, what we see is God’s mercy,” the Archbishop continued.

Jointly hosted by Archbishop Costelloe and CEWA, the special event was an opportunity for the students to demonstrate their collective care, compassion and support for people in need within our community.

“In this Year of Mercy, may this example of our Catholic young people inspire people of all faiths, all ages, to open their hearts and help everyone in need in the community,” Archbishop Costelloe said.

LifeLink is the Archdiocese of Perth’s umbrella organisation which supports the Church’s many social service agencies. LifeLink agencies reach out to more than 34,000 Western Australian families and individuals in need each year, delivering $54 million dollars of professional programs and practical assistance throughout the State.

In speaking to the students and their teachers at the launch, Archbishop Costelloe said that each school is different, and special, but that they all have one thing in common: each school has Jesus at its heart.

“The most important person of all is Jesus. And it is because Jesus is so important that Pope Francis decided to ask all Catholics, and others who are part of a Catholic school community, to join him in this special Year of Mercy.

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CATHOLIC EDUCATION:

RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGES OF TODAY AND TOMORROW WORDS Professor Celia Hammond

Vice Chancellor, The University of Notre Dame Australia

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ver the last two decades I have had the pleasure of serving on boards and committees of a variety of different Catholic educational bodies, including, for the last eight years, and by virtue of my position as Vice Chancellor, on the governing boards of The University of Notre Dame Australia.

In reflecting on these experiences, I am struck by the significant changes which have occurred over this time period and the impact they have had on all educational institutions. The speed and extent of technological developments are the most visible of all changes which our educational institutions have had to address. Less visible but nonetheless significant are the changes which have increased the level of regulation and reporting imposed on educational institutions and have been partially responsible for the increased ‘businessification’ of our educational institutions. The impact of the declining numbers of Religious involved in our educational institutions (reflecting the declining number of Religious in Australia) which commenced before this time period is also still being felt.

The specific changes over this time period are unique and of our time, but even a cursory glance at history demonstrates that facing change and needing to adapt to change is not a unique phenomenon. It is also important to note that just as they have done in previous times, our Catholic educational institutions have adapted to all the changes and continue to be resilient, innovative and excellent.

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While acknowledging that change is alwayspresent and that our Catholic educational institutions have adapted and continue to thrive, it is important that we remember to press the 'pause' button every now and then and take the time to thoroughly reflect on and evaluate whether the adaptations we are making in the face of change are right for us as Catholic educational institutions. For example, simply because something is best practice in the commercial world, in another not- for - profit sector or even in the state education system does not mean that it automatically fits with or furthers the mission of Catholic educational institutions. This is because Catholic educational institutions are not just “any” institution. They are and must be different.

The Catholic difference must permeate every aspect of the institution; our policies, our processes, our language, our decision-making and our actions

We need to balance our books, to understand the needs of our communities, to evaluate our actions, to communicate our achievements, to plan for the future and all the other miscellany of actions which are part and parcel of responsible stewardship. But, we must be ever-conscious of the risk that these tools and practices may seduce us into a way of thinking or acting that are indifferent to, or worse, completely antithetical to the reason for our existence.

Over the course of history, our Catholic educational institutions have adapted to change and thrived in large part because those who worked in or served them had the humility to understand that they were part of a much bigger picture and that their work was integral to the mission of the Church.

A Catholic school or university is an educational community grounded in faith, that seeks the full development of the human person, in mind, body and spirit. It is a community that believes that the human person is made in the image and likeness of God, and is destined for God. It is a community that places the Person of Jesus Christ at the heart of all its endeavours.

The “Catholic difference” in Catholic education can never be reduced to Religious Education classes, social justice initiatives or crosses in classrooms. As important as they are, they alone do not guarantee our mission. The Catholic difference must permeate every aspect of the institution; our policies, our processes, our language, our decision-making and our actions - and we must always be mindful of the potential consequences of any changes we make, particularly when we import practices from the commercial or professional worlds.

Of course, our Catholic educational institutions must be run professionally, incorporating and utilising the best educational, commercial, management, and business practices, tools and measures available. This is an integral duty of anyone managing or serving on a board or committee of our educational institutions and it is essential for the future of our organisations.

While the changes we face now are different, all who manage, work in or serve Catholic educational institutions need to approach today’s challenges in the same way. With humble awareness, we need to remember that our skills, no matter how great, count for little if they are disconnected from the very reason our institutions exist: to help our students grow in the fullness of their humanity and to enter into a life-long relationship with Jesus Christ. The most important question we will then ask, in the first instance, is not “How well are we responding to change?” but rather, “How well are we responding to our mission?”

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REVERE THE PAST AND CREATE THE FUTURE WORDS Dr Tim McDonald

Executive Director, Catholic Education Western Australia

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atholic Education Western Australia is a remarkable system of schools.

From its early beginnings in the 1840s, our system has grown into a vibrant network of Catholic learning communities.

Seventy-seven thousand students and 10,000 staff now have the opportunity to learn, teach and flourish in 163 schools and colleges spanning Western Australia’s four dioceses - from Kununnurra in the far-north Kimberley region to Esperance in the south.

Over the years, dedicated religious and lay staff have established schools to cater for the full

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diversity of our state, from schools providing the only formal education in remote communities, to large colleges across the major centres in our state.

In the past four years, we have built six new schools and one new campus to cater for the growing demand for Catholic education. Designed for a new age of education, these schools are future-focused learning spaces that activate collaboration, problem solving and critical thinking in an energised, inclusive format.

Securing funding and expertise to support capital development in new schools is always going to be difficult. It is, however, vital to

the mission of Catholic Education that faith-based learning is on offer for emerging communities in highgrowth regions; and it is a challenge that our staff and system leaders handle with agility, resourcefulness and passion.

A far greater challenge for Catholic Education is how we re-imagine learning and development in an increasingly interconnected and complex world at a time when the rate and scale of change is so accelerated. How do we enable our students to flourish and how do we invest in our teachers to make extraordinary learning possible and demonstrable in every classroom?

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If communities are to thrive in the 21st century, we must learn how to reinvent the very foundation of society - our schools. As educators, our expertise and experience have immense value and our competence in this century will be driven by our capacity to face the world and its challenges successfully. This new world is vastly different from the one many of us faced as students ourselves. But our needs and our purpose as human beings has remained unchanged. As the new world beckons, we must design an education system that provides capacity for problem solving, an agile disposition and an ability to live with uncertainty and complexity, managing the demands of a digital lifestyle with adroitness and optimism. We must seek new ways to reach our potential – as learners, teachers, school communities and as a society.

their children in faith and support them as they nurture their children to generously contribute as moral and ethical members of society.

Our purpose for all educators is, of course, our students. In an education system with students at its heart, children will flourish when they can work as curious learners with the capacity to problem solve, collaborate and connect with others, when they are seen as independent self-starters who are resilient to change. As they grow as faith-filled people, experiencing Christ in their lives and in the lives of others, they will learn tolerance and the welcoming of diversity, and will be challenged to be moral and ethical people. They will flourish when they reach their potential and are supported to be the best citizens possible.

Designing schools for the 21st century is a process that begins with questions. It is about rekindling curiosity to discover new educational opportunities and ways of learning.

But, as we continue on our 2,000-yearold journey that is Catholic Education, let us not forget that our needs and desires, and the very nature of human flourishing, remains eternal.

Let us be enlivened by the Pope in his encyclical, Evangeliuum Gaudium - The Joy of the Gospel, that we are people of abundance and are called to be missionary disciples, bringing the Good News to life in our students and the communities we serve. To work in Catholic Education Western Australia is a privilege and we have a wonderful master teacher in Jesus who modelled for us how to love, serve and heal – the very work Catholic educators do in our schools each day.

Our schools need to be places where every student and staff member has a sense of belonging, where everyone learns they have a talent.

To flourish as schools, learners and teachers alike need to realise that their lives have great purpose and that they have the power to act responsibly and be generous to give back.

Our teachers will flourish when they develop as Catholic teachers, when they see the profound impact they have on their students and thus express the ageless heart of our profession; when they have the capacity to weave the values of our faith in the everyday and can witness to their faith.

For parents to flourish in society, they need to be acknowledged as primary educators, supported by technologies that connect them in real time to their children’s learning.

As an education system, we need to build capacity for parents to guide

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CENTRE FOR FAITH ENRICHMENT: CELEBRATING 40 YEARS

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hey say that life begins at 40; however, in various ways, the Centre for Faith Enrichment (CFE) has been abounding in life since its conception back in 1976!

The CFE is the adult faith education agency of the Archdiocese of Perth.

Its mission is to help “everyday” Catholics in both Perth and rural parts of the Archdiocese – and, indeed, anyone who is interested – to understand their faith more deeply, so as to live their faith more vibrantly.

“Someone recently described the Centre for Faith Enrichment as offering food for the soul, heart and mind, all in the same place,” comments CFE Director, Dr Michelle Jones.

Top: Mother M Phillip with Sr Mary Berry RSM. Sr Mary was the founding director of the former Maranatha Institute.

Top Right: Prof Francis Moloney delivering a lecture recently at the now Centre for Faith Enrichment.

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“That captures very well what we are trying to do.

On any given day, we may be offering a short course at our home base, the Newman Siena Centre, a workshop in a parish, and an online course – which particularly enables people in the country and those who may be unable to attend our programs in person still to experience faith enrichment.”

CENTRE FOR FAITH ENRICHMENT

Dr Jones adds, “People love that our courses do not have any exams or assignments!”

Recent face-to-face and online courses offered by the CFE include Exploring the Mass, Grace-Filled Parenting, Prayer: Being Yourself Before God, Last Things, Five Portraits of Jesus in the Year of Mercy and The Spiritual Journey of Thomas Merton.

The CFE has evolved significantly over its 40 years. It emerged under the leadership and guidance of Sister Mary Berry RSM. From its inception in 1976 until the early 1980s, the agency – known initially as the Holy Spirit Institute of Religious Formation and later as the Maranatha Institute – was primarily a facility for retraining for pastoral ministry religious sisters who had retired from the ministries of teaching and nursing.

Gradually, the focus of the agency was widened to include training lay people for pastoral ministry and, in time, the agency began to offer short courses to all simply wishing to deepen their understanding of their faith.

So what does the future hold for the CFE? Dr Jones explains.

who would like to go a little further on the faith enrichment journey.”

“We plan to continue making a wide variety of faith enrichment opportunities as accessible as possible to people all throughout the Archdiocese. We are also hoping that the CFE will be able to offer a comprehensive, structured program of theological formation for those

If it is indeed true that life begins at 40, the CFE surely has a lot to look forward to!

‘IT’S ALL HAPPENING!’ WHAT’S THE TRINITY DOING IN US? WED, 27 JUL, 10.00AM - 12.30PM With Rev. Dr Tom Ryan sm at the Newman Siena Centre LUKE’S GOOD NEWS IN THE YEAR OF MERCY: NEW PATHS AND NEW UNDERSTANDINGS FRIS, 29 JUL - 16 SEP, 10.00AM - 12.30PM With Mrs Jan O’Connor at Newman Siena Centre WHO ARE YOU JESUS? WHERE ARE YOU JESUS? SUNS, 31 JUL - 7 AUG, 2.00PM - 4.00PM With Rev. Dr Tom Ryan sm at Newman Siena Centre PRAYER, HUMOUR AND HUMILITY: LEARNING FROM ‘THE VELVETEEN RABBIT’ WED, 3 AUG, 10.00AM - 12.30PM With Rev. Dr Tom Ryan sm at Newman Siena Centre LIVING THE CHRISTIAN MORAL LIFE TUES, 9 - 23 AUG , 7.30PM - 8.15PM With Rev. Dr Charles Waddell online

For information about upcoming courses and events, call the Centre for Faith Enrichment on 08 9241 5221 for a brochure, or visit www.cfe.org.au.

RADICAL AMAZEMENT THUS, 11 AUG - 1 SEP, 10.00AM - 12.00PM With Shelley Barlow, RNDM at Newman Siena Centre THE MYSTERY OF GOD AND SUFFERING THUS, 11 - 25 AUG , 7.30PM - 8.15PM With Rev. Dr Charles Waddell online SENT TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF MERCY: A CONFERENCE TO CELEBRATE THE 800TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DOMINICAN ORDER 26 - 27 AUG FRI, 7.00PM - 8.30PM, SAT, 9.00AM - 3.30PM With Dr Margaret Scharf, OP and Fr Brian J. Pierce, OP at St Cecilia’s Parish Centre, corner Grantham Street and Kenmore Crescent, Floreat THE SPIRITUALITY OF THOMAS AQUINAS: THEOLOGIAN AND MYSTIC WEDS, 31 AUG - 21 SEP , 7.00PM - 9.00PM With Dr Margaret Scharf, OP at Newman Siena Centre

I S S U E 3 JULY 2016

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FEATURE SCHOOL

ST JUDE’S PARISH AND SCHOOL COMMUNITY – PUTTING LOVE AND MERCY IN ACTION

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t a time when there is great turmoil and distress for families around the world who are fleeing their homes to escape persecution, fearing for their lives, there is a resistance by many to welcome them into their communities.

The Jesuthasan family, father Rayappan and his wife Kalpana, together with their three daughters, fled their home in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to escape persecution and to find a better future for their family. They are now a thriving family of the Lynwood/Langford parish, thanks to the support of Parish Priest, Fr Terry Raj, and Principal, Lyn Stone. Photo: Michelle Ebbs

It can be a test for humanity to reach out to embrace those who are vulnerable and in need. A true generosity of spirit and heart is required to welcome adults and children who, faced with such terrible circumstances, have been forced to leave their homes. How can anyone challenge parents who want to find safety, peace, and, hopefully, happiness in another country?

If faced with this frightening and often life-threatening situation, wouldn’t any parent do the same?

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As in so many other countries, there is great debate and angst throughout Australia about the acceptance of refugees into our cities and suburbs; however, there are people who are reaching out and extending their hands in friendship and love.

The Jesuthasan family, father Rayappan and his wife Kalpana, together with their three daughters, fled their home in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to escape persecution and to find a better future for their family.

“We provide translation services for families, often via staff members or members of our community with similar cultural backgrounds, and we fund a Pastoral Care Worker through the National Chaplaincy Program,” said Mrs Stone.

After fleeing from the danger and turmoil, they spent time in a refugee camp in Malaysia before eventually arriving in Perth where members of their family had already settled.

Mr Jesuthasan shared with St Jude’s Lynwood Langford Parish Priest, Father Terry Raj about the family’s re-location experience.

“We came to Australia to find a fair and safe environment for our family,” Mr Jesuthasan said.

“My wife’s brother had already moved to Perth and is a member of St Jude’s Parish. With the help of Parish Priest, Fr Raj, and parishioners, we found accommodation.

“Our faith is very important to us so it was wonderful to have Fr Raj’s support and to be surrounded by a community who welcomed us and helped us to settle into our new life,” he said.

For migrant families, education for their children can often be their highest priority. They want the children to have the chance to do well in their new country. Rayappan and Kalpana definitely wanted their girls to have access to a good education. After settling into their accommodation, their next step was to meet with Lyn Stone, Principal of St Jude’s Primary School.

“St Jude’s Catholic Primary School is a vibrant, multicultural, single-stream school which very much reflects the local Langford neighbourhood. We have more than 15 nationalities and 27 different languages are spoken,” said Mrs Stone.

“While our school community includes a significant number of refugee and new migrant families,

Langford is a well-established suburb which is home to many third-generation Australian families, providing a rich diversity in culture and social groups.

“We also have a very active Friends of St Jude’s group who offer additional support and outreach to our families who are in need.”

“The chance to have a good education for our children through the inspiring hard work of Mrs Stone and the teachers, and being with the

We believe that St Jude’s

multiculturalism is a microcosm of

what Catholic community is all about “We believe that St Jude’s multiculturalism is a microcosm of what Catholic community is all about – the mission of the school is, therefore, part of the mission of the Church,” she said.

“In circumstances such as the Jesuthasan family, it was critical for our staff to ensure the girls were able to successfully integrate into our school, to feel welcomed and comfortable in our school community.

lovable friends, has made our move to live in Perth a bit easier. They are all very special to us,” said Rayappan and Kalpana.

Now they are all feeling safe and are smiling once again through the generosity of a special, close-knit community who have made it their mission to welcome the family.

And, they have a new ‘Aussie’ baby, another little girl – that makes four!

“We do all we can to support all our families, emotionally and financially.

For example, in the case of families who have come to us as refugees, we give consideration to their school fees and may need to provide them with their uniforms and other general school requirements.

“The children can also receive personal support offered by our staff and other individuals, which is often done in a very quiet, subtle way.

“We pride ourselves on our special programs which assist the children and families; one such program is the Mercy Connect Program where volunteers come into the classrooms to support specific students.

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NOTRE DAME

‘WHALE OF A TALE’ — Program encourages children to develop a lifetime love of reading

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ducation students from The University of Notre Dame Australia’s Fremantle Campus are teaching the valuable lesson of reading to children in care through a unique and rewarding program developed to improve literacy outcomes.

The ‘Whale of a Tale’ Recreational Reading Program was established through a partnership between the university and the Western Australian Department for Children Protection and Family Support’s Fremantle district (DCPFS). Its goal is to improve the lives and literacy of children in care through the building of relationships and the love of reading.

Katelyn Robinson says the ‘Whale of a Tale’ Recreational Reading Program gives preservice teachers from their first year of study an opportunity to connect with children and classrooms very early in their university studies. Photo: Supplied

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Dr Glenda Cain, Senior Lecturer and Literacy Coordinator in Notre Dame’s School of Education, Fremantle, says the program enables a pre-service teacher to spend one hour each week with a child in care, enjoying books and stories through their own special time together. In 2016, 18 of Notre Dame’s pre-service teachers will take part in the program.

“The program gives pre-service teachers from their first year of study an opportunity to connect with children and classrooms very early in their university studies. Reading aloud to children is well recognised as an important way of building many early literacy and language concepts that will set a child up for future success,” Dr Cain said.

“Pre-service teachers take on the role of a ‘real teacher’ very early in their studies and experience the joy of building a relationship with a child as they read together. The child is able to learn early literacy and language concepts in a meaningful and engaging context. In essence, the reciprocity of the experience through the fun and enjoyment of sharing a story is highlighted.”

Final year Bachelor of Education (Primary) student, Katelyn Robinson, continues to use reading as a tool for education and inspire the children under her guidance. On the back of her commitment to ‘Whale of a Tale’, Katelyn received employment as a part-time reading tutor to children in care with other programs delivered through the DCPFS. Katelyn says that, despite the challenges many children she had worked with faced in their lives, reading had vastly improved each student’s attitude to learning and enabled him or her to realise greater self-belief.

Reading had vastly improved each student’s attitude to learning and enabled him or her to realise greater self-belief.

“I would go as far to describe my relationship with these students as a ‘big sister’. It has been such a privilege to work closely with them in a one-on-one environment where their needs and achievements are acknowledged and rewarded,” Katelyn said.

“Being part of the ‘Whale of a Tale’ program has been a beneficial experience. Having an opportunity from my first year at university to

impact on the education of future generations is something I will take with me into my teaching career.”

Western Australian Minister for Child Protection, the Hon Andrea Mitchell MLA, says this important partnership with Notre Dame gives pre-service teachers a first-hand insight and understanding into how trauma affects learning.

“For many children coming into care, their previous home environments may have not exposed them to adequate reading and writing resources, and understanding the challenges they face and encouraging them to read is the key to developing their literacy skills,” the Minister said.

Professor Michael O’Neill, Dean of the University’s School of Education, Fremantle, says the ‘Whale of a Tale’ Recreational Reading Program is a natural fit for Notre Dame’s teaching students through its emphasis on service-learning.

“In addition to reading engagement, this initiative could further develop relationships; not just between institutional partners, but also between Notre Dame’s pre-service teachers and young people,” Professor O’Neill said.

“This connection could allow these young people to realise their potential and explore places that only the world of literature can offer. Literature is a prayer of the imagination and a space of wonder and comfort.

“Above all, this program acts as a pathway to a growth in confidence for all individuals – the confidence to extend help, the confidence to receive help and the confidence to even ask for help.”

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“He jumped up and said to the class, ‘Mrs O really does care you know, she is crying for me, she wants me to succeed.”

THE CALL OF THE CLASSROOM WORDS Jamie O’Brien and Rachel Curry

T

he road to becoming a principal hasn’t been straightforward for Carmel O’Shaughnessy.

The Foundation Principal of St Elizabeth’s Catholic Primary School in Hocking, Mrs O’Shaughnessy experienced learning difficulties as a student and later pursued a career as a nurse.

It was a personal matter that called her to the vocation, she told The Record Magazine, after she witnessed the struggles of a child who was getting little support from the system.

“I decided that it couldn’t be that hard to go to university and undertake the Bachelor of Education to give this young person the best possible outcomes for his future,” she said.

“However, it didn’t take me very long to realise that I was never ‘a real teacher’ for someone so close to me. This young person went on to have two very successful careers. For me, I was successful in applying for a teaching position in Catholic Education and the rest is history.”

Growing up in a family of seven children in the State’s Mid West, Mrs O’Shaughnessy’s caring nature was clear from a young age.

In fact, the reason she became a nurse was because she felt sorry for the chickens who had to have their heads cut off for dinner.

“I thought that if I was a nurse I would be able to look after them,” she recalled.

Principal Carmel O’Shaughnessy found reading very difficult as a child and consequently tells her students that “almost anything is possible if you work hard”. Photo: Jamie O’Brien

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VOCATION

Her father worked for the Western Australian Government Railroads, while her mother – a devout Catholic – balanced looking after her large family with supporting the local parish and Dominican Convent.

The children were also called upon to contribute, Mrs O’Shaughnessy said, and she spent many hours helping in the convent vegetable garden or cleaning the church on Saturdays with her siblings.

She looks back on her primary school days at St Paul’s Catholic School in Three Springs fondly, but said learning itself didn’t come naturally to her.

“Unfortunately I found learning very difficult and vividly remember struggling with reading. I learnt very quickly the power of coping mechanisms,” she said.

“We always read in a round robin style so I positioned myself as the number four child and listened intently so I could recall verbatim what had been read. I managed to get away with it for some time. I often tell my students that almost anything is possible if you work hard.”

“Teaching is an amazing career. As a teacher you have the parents’ trust that you will love and care for their child and support them in their learning, to become active, moral citizens in the society in which they live,” she said.

to find within themselves the understanding that Jesus is with them as they support their child’s total development

Mrs O’Shaughnessy is also a fierce supporter of Catholic education, but said the system wasn’t without its hurdles.

She believed the challenge for Catholic educators today was to “bring alive” their Catholic practises to families that have moved away from the Church and rarely attend Mass.

“We must provide parents with opportunities to regain the knowledge of their Catholic faith and to find within themselves the understanding that Jesus is with them as they support their child’s total development,” she said.

Reflecting on her years as a teacher and principal, Mrs O’Shaughnessy said there were many memorable moments, and hopefully many more to come, but one in particular stood out.

One of her Year Seven students had nominated as a leadership candidate, but due to low self-esteem and learning difficulties,

Her secondary school experience boarding at Dominican Ladies College in Dongara was also enjoyable, she said.

She admitted that she would often get in trouble for speaking out in defence of the younger girls, particularly when they were sad or unwell.

Mrs O’Shaughnessy would go on to display the same compassion and tenacity for her own students, but before becoming a teacher, she experienced a rewarding, and at times heartbreaking, career in nursing and midwifery.

She said her patients heightened her “awareness of resilience, effective listening, sincerity, importance of family”.

After moving into education, Mrs O’Shaughnessy became a passionate advocate for a strong relationship between teachers and parents.

Principal Carmel O’Shaughnessy has followed an unconventional path to educational leadership, first pursuing a career in nursing before the struggles of a child close to her prompted her to become a teacher. Photo: Jamie O’Brien

“I believe that parents and teachers must be active participants in their child’s education and to this end, an active community school is the essence towards success. I also believe that all children need to experience love and care, and support in their learning regardless of their ability.”

he began crying during his speech to the class.

“He looked over at me, and being a softie, I was shedding silent tears.

He jumped up and said to the class, ‘Mrs O really does care you know, she is crying for me, she wants me to succeed’. And he was voted in unanimously by the class,” she said.

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UNDERSTANDING THE CATHOLIC RESPONSE TO NAPLAN

WORDS Ross Fox, Executive Director, National Catholic Education Commission

N

ational test results, known as the National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy, or NAPLAN, will once again hit the headlines when the results of testing in numeracy and literacy for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are released.

The reactions to the results of the NAPLAN will be many and varied.

Some will celebrate the strong performance of their students; some will celebrate improvement by their students. Some parents will shrug their shoulders; some will scour the results to help them choose a school for their child.

The media will almost certainly try to create tables and ladders to devise simplistic comparisons of schools and judge school communities based on their NAPLAN results.

So, is there a “Catholic” response to NAPLAN results?

Any response must be shaped by this simple fact: assessments such as NAPLAN provide a useful, but clearly limited, understanding of how students and schools are performing.

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One of the benefits of NAPLAN is its ability to supplement teachers’ and parents’ understanding of how a student is progressing in his or her learning. Where a student is struggling with a certain aspect of his or her education, additional attention can be offered in the classroom and at home to help lift ability in that area.

Catholic principals, teachers and school staff are undoubtedly committed to the learning journey of each child. However, Catholic schools, by virtue of being Catholic, subscribe to a broader view of a school’s role to enrich the life and learning of a student.

Catholic schools have a strong academic record, but the Catholic understanding of the transformative power of education extends well beyond student test results.

The purpose of Catholic schools is to deliver an education that forms a young person academically, spiritually, socially, emotionally and physically. Their explicit goal is to develop students equipped to make a difference in the world beyond school.

TOP: Executive Director of the National

Catholic

Education

Commission, Ross Fox.

Photo:

Supplied RIGHT: Lucas Patchett and Nic Marchesi have credited their ministry – which includes starting up a mobile laundry service that provides a listening ear and a clean set of clothes to Australian women and men who are homeless - to their exposure to the Church’s outreach work while they were in a Catholic high school. Photo: The Catholic Leader, Brisbane

Reading comprehension, writing, spelling, grammar and mathematics are all tested during NAPLAN. Senior high schools students undergo a range of tests, both internal and external, to test their achievement in various subject areas.

But what of the other qualities, skills and even virtues we desire for students? What if, as well as asking students where an apostrophe fits into a word and how to calculate the length of a triangle’s longest side, Catholic schools asked students how they can be a better sister or brother?

How they can be a better son or daughter. How they can live a life that is inspired by the service and selflessness of Jesus Christ, of Mary of the Cross MacKillop, of St Vincent de Paul.

The current Young Australians of the Year likely asked those questions of themselves. The fact they attended a Catholic school is likely not unrelated.

Lucas Patchett and Nic Marchesi were honoured in January for their work starting up a mobile laundry service that provides a listening ear and a clean set of clothes to Australian women and men who are homeless.

They have credited their ministry to their exposure to the Church’s outreach work while they were in a Catholic high school.

The story of Nic and Lucas – realising an idea in a service that now reaches tens of thousands of people and is backed by a growing number of supporters – is an exceptional one, but

not one that’s unique within the Catholic education community.

Australian and international research has found that students who attend a Catholic school are more likely to volunteer in their community than students from other schools. Students in Catholic schools are less likely to encounter bullying. Students from faithbased schools are more likely to contribute to social cohesion and to social stability.

Catholic schools provide a highquality education, and parents rightly expect that from the school they choose. Families who choose a Catholic school also want an environment that models important values for their children, that challenges them to contribute to their community and that reminds them that they are so much more than a test score.

That’s the type of broad-based education Australian families seek in a Catholic school. That’s why hundreds of thousands of families are making that choice – and doing so in record numbers.

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O B I T UA R Y:

MONSIGNOR JAMES FRANCIS NESTOR WORDS Rachel Curry

Catholic education in WA as we know it today wouldn’t be the same without Monsignor James Francis Nestor, who passed away on 22 February, just a few months shy of his 90th birthday.

Born and raised in Ireland, Mgr Nestor was the inaugural Director of the Catholic Education Office of WA and later served as the muchloved parish priest at Holy Rosary Parish in Nedlands.

Long-time friends, Father Geoff Aldous and Rosemary Hill, shared their memories of this intelligent, gentle and humble man with The Record Magazine journalist, Rachel Curry.

The article below also contains excerpts of the eulogy by friend and colleague, Dr Peter Tannock.

J

He had to leave the seminary and spent 18 months in a chest hospital in Dublin and two years convalescing at his home in Garrafraums in the care of his mother.

Mgr Nestor’s illness could not dissuade him from his vocation and, once recovered, he returned to Dublin and entered the famous All Hallows Seminary, which prepared priests specifically for foreign missions.

ames Francis Nestor – who also went by the names Jim, Jimmy, or simply Mons – was born on 15 October 1926 in Dunmore, County Galway, in the west of Ireland.

His state of health had prompted thoughts of a warmer climate and, upon his ordination in 1956, he obtained sponsorship from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in the United States.

The fifth and last child of John and Mary Nestor, he distinguished himself at an early age through his outstanding intellect, winning a competitive scholarship to board at a Catholic secondary school.

Fortunately for the state of Western Australia, his visa application was denied by US immigration officials due to his tuberculosis background and, instead, he was sent to the Archdiocese of Perth, where he began work as a curate at Our Lady of Victories in Wembley.

Upon his graduation in 1945, he gained entry to the famous Irish national seminary at Maynooth, near Dublin, having long before decided to enter the priesthood.

Simultaneously commencing a degree in Celtic Studies at the National University of Ireland – from which he graduated with first class honours – he was destined for a career as a diocesan priest in the west of Ireland, before a devastating tuberculosis diagnosis in 1949 changed the course of his life.

The move ‘down under’ suited Mgr Nestor well. He fell in love with the Australian bush and developed an irrational devotion to Australian Rules football (especially Subiaco Football Club and the West Coast Eagles).

While he became an Australia citizen in 1986, he always kept in touch with his family in Ireland and retained a strong connection to his homeland.

Monsignor James Francis Nestor, who passed away on 22 February, was described by friends as someone who did everything with a smile, from his ordination in Dublin in 1956 to his last Mass as parish priest of Holy Rosary in Nedlands in 2003.

Photo: Supplied

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His friend of more than 50 years, Fr Geoff Aldous, said he was often brought to laughter by his mate’s “Irish wit and turn of phrase”.

As for his faith, Mgr Nestor was a great man of prayer, rising early each day to pray quietly for an hour, and reflecting on the great mysteries of life and death.

“That would be the way he had an effect on me, a quite profound effect,” Fr Geoff recalled.

“He would say to me, ‘We can’t solve all problems, we just trust in the God of mystery’.”

Mgr Nestor’s foray into Catholic education came in 1960, when thenArchbishop Redmond Prendiville asked him to enrol in a Diploma of Education at the University of Western Australia.

He became the Director of Catholic Education for the Archdiocese of Perth in 1967 and held this role for 18 years, a time which saw profound change in the Church and in its school system.

The post-Vatican II changes to religious orders, the surge in the school-age population, and the extreme financial and organisational pressures on the Church brought the school system to the brink of collapse.

Some argued the Church should withdraw altogether from its school apostolate and there was great political ferment over the issue of ‘state aid’ but, ultimately, the period led to dramatic change and expansion of the Catholic school system.

Mgr Nestor’s successor, Dr Peter Tannock, said during his eulogy, the Church “needed the intellect, diplomacy, selfless honesty and class of James Nestor to understand and facilitate these changes”.

He was instrumental in establishing the Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia – and its Catholic Education Office – in 1971, the first in Australia and the prototype for others to come.

Recognising his remarkable work, the Queen awarded him the MBE in 1975 and the Pope made him a Monsignor in 1982 and awarded him the pontifical medal Pro Ecclesia Pontifice in 2009 – not that Mgr Nestor would tell anyone about such honours.

he’d go visiting people who were sick or unwell.”

Mgr Nestor would walk down to Loreto Primary School almost daily, where there is now a school house named after him, and was also very involved with the Carmelite Monastery.

He was a man of extreme humility, Fr Geoff said, and would be the last person to push his credentials.

“He was a very interesting and wellread person but, at the same time, always very humble and gentle,” he said.

“He always had that happy smile, right up until the last time I saw him.”

In 1987, at the age of 61, Mgr Nestor began a new career when he was appointed parish priest of Holy Rosary Parish in Nedlands.

He threw himself into this role over the next 16 years, working tirelessly for his local community and attracting a strong following at his Sunday Masses due to his wonderful homilies.

“He gave all of his time and energy to the parish,” recalled Rosemary Hill, parishioner and the friend who cared for him in his retirement.

“Priests are supposed to have a Monday off but, on his Monday off,

Above all, Rosemary remembered her friend’s openness and welcoming nature when serving the parish community, which was not unlike that of Pope Francis.

“He never judged anybody and he never criticised anybody, but always encouraged,” she said.

“He was a good man, a good friend and a good priest, without exception.”

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MOVIE REVIEW

DOCUMENTARY DETAILS TRUTH ABOUT ASYLUM SEEKERS AND REFUGEES WORDS C allum Ryan, Office for Film and Broadcasting,

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

C

hasing Asylum documents the lives of asylum seekers sent by Australia’s refugee policy into offshore detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru.

The testimonies of detention centre staff are interspersed with interviews with the displaced people themselves, accumulating their shared distress to powerful effect. What it occasionally lacks in polish or partiality, it makes up for with passion and righteous anger.

The impossible conundrum at the heart of Australia’s policy is as follows: are the deaths of refugees at sea, desperate people exploited by people smugglers, horrible enough to justify imposing such harsh conditions upon refugees who do make the journey by boat to Australia, intended as a deterrent to those tempted to follow them?

Consecutive Australian governments since John Howard, hailing from both sides of the political spectrum, have answered ‘yes’. Attacking the business of people smuggling at its core was the feted intent – if individuals paying to be shipped to Australia are subsequently indefinitely detained offshore, and are even guaranteed not to be able to settle in Australia, then who would willingly pay the high price for a ticket on any people-smuggling vessel?

It is acknowledged early in the film that this policy has achieved its intended result – to intentionally misquote former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, ‘the boats have been significantly reduced’.

However, director Eva Orner is fundamentally concerned with the impacts of this policy on those refugees unfortunate enough to be on its receiving end, now detained in our

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offshore detention centres with no end in sight.

Orner has managed to secretly film inside these camps and, despite the flashes of shaky-cam-induced nausea inevitable when using small hidden cameras, the footage is provocative.

Though often separated from Orner by language barriers, the physical bearing of the detainees speaks loud enough.

As one talking head and former security staff at a detention centre puts it, there is a complete absence of hope.

Men, women and children alike – these are people without a foreseeable future. Several social workers sent underprepared to the centres vouch for the daily struggle that these people face to even find the will to continue living.

The sanctity of human life and the obligation that we all share to treat others with dignity cannot be overstated.

When the credits roll by, Chasing Asylum cannot offer a solution to the catch 22 at the heart of Australia’s refugee policy.

Is the answer to accept and resettle all refugees coming by boat, thus bolstering the dangerous operations of criminal people smugglers?

Or is the answer to continue along our internationally maligned path, and let those who have already come suffer to save those who are deterred from coming by sea in future? This is not to suggest that the film ought to have a solution – it has been a demonstrably difficult issue in politics for decades.

Orner has come to the subject with a noble agenda, shining a light on the flesh and blood human beings who suffer under the policies made by comfortable politicians holed up hundreds of miles away. Her mission in making the film has

Chasing Asylum documents the lives of asylum seekers sent by Australia’s refugee policy into offshore detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru. Photos: Supplied been well addressed, and viewers will be hard-pressed to forget it when next discussing refugees in our country.

With all that said, the documentary can fall short of cinematic greatness. The stunning opening shot from on board a people smuggler’s vessel is soon replaced with more conventional lensing of interviews and daily life. The editing, while internally consistent, can leap through the various threads somewhat haphazardly.

This reviewer was a member of the Ecumenical Jury at the Berlin Film Festival in February, after which our Jury Prize (and the Golden Bear no less) was awarded to the Italian documentary Fuocoammare. It shared a similar subject, chronicling the intersecting lives of refugees and locals on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, both circles connected through the local doctor who shepherds them through life.

However, it refrained from including interviews, instead relying on its powerful, haunting visuals, woven together with the camera as a silent observer. This more meditative, cinematic approach may have helped Chasing Asylum avoid feeling like an extended episode of Four Corners. Any emotion that the film conveys loses some poignancy when it’s constantly accompanied by signposts as to what and how great your emotions should be.

Callum Ryan is an associate of the Australian Catholic Office for Film & Broadcasting.

BOOK REVIEW

THE LIFE OF DON ANGELO CONFALONIERI AMONG THE ABORIGINES OF AUSTRALIA S Girola & R Pizzini (eds), Nagoyo: The Life of Don Angelo Confalonieri among the Aborigines of Australia, 1846-1848, Trentino Historical Museum Foundation, Trento: Italy, 2013 (in English).

Between 1846 and 1848, Don Angelo Confalonieri undertook a mission to Aboriginal people at Port Essington, now part of Australia’s Northern Territory, where Britain established the Victoria settlement in 1838. Rome made the Victoria settlement a vicariate in 1845 and placed it under the Diocese of Perth led by Bishop John Brady. In 2016, a commemoration will mark the 170 years that have passed since Confalonieri arrived in Port Essington.

While in Rome during 1845, Brady had convinced Gregory XVI and Vatican officials to make Western Australia a diocese and appoint him its bishop. The proposal was based on Brady’s claim that there were 8,000 European settlers and 2,500,000 Aboriginal people who required his ministry. These figures were fanciful. In January 1846, Bishop Brady returned to Perth from Europe with 28 missionaries, including Sisters of Mercy, Benedictine monks and Holy Ghost Fathers. The missionaries faced difficult circumstances as there were, in reality, only a few hundred Catholics to support them. They nonetheless made a noteworthy contribution to Australia’s religious landscape. The Sisters of Mercy founded schools and the Benedictines established a monastery, both continuing to this day.

The lesser known of Brady’s missionaries is Don Angelo Confalonieri whose mission to Port Essington was one of a series which Brady planned to establish as

an outreach to Indigenous communities.

Port Essington had a military garrison and little else. Lord Edward Stanley, British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, had promised financial support to Brady and his missionaries but the bishop had to wait years for it.

While Confalonieri lived there only briefly, these studies by experts in history, anthropology and linguistics demonstrate that his work was farreaching. In the preface, eminent Catholic historian, Rev Dr Edmund Campion, notes that the 19th century was ‘an era of great personal generosity’ (p 9). The work of Confalonieri with the Aboriginal people is one example of such generosity. New Norcia’s Rosendo Salvado is another.

In the first chapter, Maurizio Dalla Serra provides an overview of Confalonieri’s early life in the Italian province of Trent. The young priest suffered poor health and yet remained determined to overcome these setbacks. Eventually, he was admitted into the missionary college of Propaganda Fide. Pope Gregory XVI and Pius IX encouraged a surge in missionary activity in the 19th century by creating new missionary orders, colleges and territories.

Rolando Pizzini follows, discussing the challenges of Confalonieri’s time in Australia. Access to resources and interaction between colonial authorities decided the fate of many missions. Pizzini emphasises that individual personalities were equally important and he shows that Confalonieri gained both the respect of the Port Essington military officers and an intimate understanding of the Aboriginal people.

Elena Franchi describes how the Victoria settlement was a hybrid between a ‘military colony’ and ‘trade outpost’.

Franchi also looks to the broader history of the locality’s Aboriginal people, taking in earlier exploration by Dutch mariners and ongoing visits by Macassar fishermen from Indonesia. Port Essington was abandoned in 1849.

Leading on from Franchi, Stefano Girola provides an insightful study of the Catholic Church’s ministry to Australia’s Indigenous peoples. Girola contends that such missions were complex undertakings with both empowering and disenfranchising outcomes. The aim was to bring the faith to Indigenous peoples but, in the process, the Church also adopted an advocacy role, publicly questioning their treatment by colonial authorities and settlers.

Bruce Birch explores the tangible reminders of Confalonieri’s time at the Victoria settlement. The priest produced phrase books translating into English the language of two local groups (the Iwaidja and Garig people). Nagoyo [Father] is included among the phrases as the name the tribes adopted for Confalonieri.

The manuscripts contain important information on matrimonial and other rituals associated with the groups.

The final chapter, also by Elena Franchi, studies Confalonieri’s exchange with the Aboriginal groups from an anthropological point of view. The relationship was by no means onedirectional. Confalonieri fulfilled the roles of ‘catechist, educator, physician and arbitrator in disputes’, becoming a key player in their society. In recent times, such missions have regained the attention of anthropologists. They provide unrepeatable examples of relations between those on the margins of society – missionaries and Indigenous peoples.

The economic, political and social aspects of the British Empire during the 19th century have been thoroughly investigated. However, as Professor Hilary Carey articulates in God’s Empire, Religion and Colonialism in the British World, c1801-1908 (Cambridge, 2011), the British Empire was as much a Christian spiritual empire as it was a political realm. The centrality of religious belief and identity to the empire continues to be revealed through studies such as Nagoyo.

I S S U E 3 JULY 2016

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EVENTS 21 TO 23 JUL RETREAT - THE YEAR OF MERCY Please join us for a series of talks by Fr Elio Capra, a Salesian priest who currently lectures in Liturgy and Sacramental Theology at the Catholic Theological College in Melbourne. It’s easy to forget that God’s mercy is at the heart of Jesus’s teaching. Let us reflect more deeply on God’s call to mercy and what we can do to become a visible sign of that Mercy. Evening sessions, Thursday, 21 July and Friday, 22 July, 7pm; morning sessions, Saturday, 23 July, 9am and 11am, St Thomas More Catholic Church, 100 Dean Rd, Bateman. Cost: Donation. Further info: stthomasmore.faith@gmail.com.

23 JUL LITURGY COMMITTEES WORKSHOP I The Liturgy Committee Workshop I will offer the Archdiocesan Guidelines for the preparation of Parish Sunday Masses while also offering a template for Liturgy Committee meetings and the roles and responsibilities in preparing liturgies, including communication with the wider parish community. Saturday, 23 July, 9am-12 noon, Centre for Liturgy, 28 Marda Way, Nollamara. Cost $10. Registrations are essential. Click here for registration and flyer. Further info: 08 9207 3350 or registrations. cfl@perthcatholic.org.au; www. liturgycentre.com.au.

27 JUL MUSIC FOR MASSES WITH CHILDREN - WORKSHOP The Centre for Liturgy, 28 Marda Way, Nollamara will be holding a Music for Masses with Children workshop on Wednesday, 27 July, 7.309.30pm. Please register by 15 July at registrations.cfl@perthcatholic.org.au Further info: 08 9207 3350 or www. liturgy.perthcatholic.org.au.

LIVING THE FAITH: EXPLORING NEWMAN’S LIFE AND SPIRITUALITY It is with great pleasure that The University of Notre Dame Australia and

the Sisters of St John of God welcome visiting scholar Monsignor Roderick Strange to the Notre Dame community.

Please join us for his public lecture on Living the Faith: exploring Newman’s Life and Spirituality. Wednesday, 27 July, 6pm, The University of Notre Dame Australia, Santa Maria Lecture Theatre (ND1), 19 Mouat St, Fremantle.

For registration, visit nd.edu.au/ssg/ visiting-scholar. Further info: fremantle. events@nd.edu.au or 08 9433 0575.

28 JUL TO 20 OCT DISCOVERING RESTORATIVE JUSTICE TOGETHER The Archdiocese of Perth invites you to a course on Restorative Justice, a way of building relationships in any setting - families, parishes, organisations, communities, workplaces, etc. Explore a new way of relating to people and learn how to address the harm caused either to us or by us which leads to broken relationships. Facilitated by Barbara Harris and Fr Paul Pitzen from Emmanuel Centre, at Catholic Pastoral Centre, 40A Mary Street, Highgate over four Thursdays, once a month commencing 28 July, then 25 August, 29 September and 20 October, 9am12.30pm. Cost free. All welcome.

Registrations required ASAP as places are limited. Further info: Claire Chew agency.support@perthcatholic.org.au or 08 6104 3600.

are mercy and justice related? This topic is relevant in the Jubilee Year of Mercy and this reading weekend will enable a conversation to address these important questions in our time.

Presented by Margaret Malone SGS. The text for the weekend is: Mercy; The Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life, by Cardinal Walter Kasper, available at www.amazon.com or through the Benedictine Institute for $25. Recommended cost $300. Further info: Dr Carmel Posa SGS, 08 9654 8371, carmel.posa@newnorcia.wa.edu. au; Jill O’Brien, jill.obrien@newnorcia. wa.edu.au 30 JUL LITURGY COMMITTEES WORKSHOP II Liturgy Committees Workshop 2 explores the Mass in further detail and the role of ministries within the Mass to promote full, conscious and active participation of the faithful within the Mass and life of the parish. Saturday, 30 July, 9am-12 noon, Centre for Liturgy, 28 Marda Way, Nollamara.

Cost $10 per person. Registrations are essential. Further info: 08 9207 3350 or www.liturgycentre.com.au; registrations.cfl@perthcatholic.org.au.

29 JUL

31 JUL

MUSIC FOR MASSES WITH CHILDREN - WORKSHOP

WORLD YOUTH DAY 2016 PERTH FESTIVAL

The Centre for Liturgy, 28 Marda Way, Nollamara will be holding a Music for Masses with Children Workshop on Friday, 29 July, 10am-12 noon. Please register by 15 July at registrations.cfl@ perthcatholic.org.au. Further info: 08

“You’re only a screen away” Free Event – local WYD celebrations. You are invited to bring your friends and family to for a special screening of World Youth Day with Pope Francis and entertainment from Ignite Live Band and Kukuleczka Polish dance group at Northbridge Piazza, cnr Lake and James Sts, Sunday, 31 July, from 1-3pm for an afternoon of festivities followed by Mass, 5-6pm at St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth. Further info: Catholic Youth Ministry, 08 9422 7912 or admin@cym.com.au.

9207 3350, www.liturgycentre.com.au 29 TO 31 JUL LIVING A LIFE OF MERCY What does it mean to believe in a merciful God? How do we show mercy in our lives? How do reconciliation and forgiveness connect with mercy? How

Send your events to communications@perthcatholic.org.au To ensure publication, please send details a month prior before the scheduled date of your event.

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THE RECORD MAGAZINE

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J U LY 2 0 1 6

ISSUE 3

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