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Closing Date for Copy - Volume 25 Issue Two - Spring Term 2024 edition. Copy to Editor by 9th April 2024. Published to schools 10th May 2024.

Food Poverty and Catholic Schools in the Post Covid-19 era

Professor Stephen McKinney, Stuart Hall & Kevin Lowden

‘I’m Called to Love You’ LGBTQ+ students in Catholic Schools

By Dr Maureen Glackin

the Well-being of Teachers

By Peter Boylan

Embedding an interreligious approach to emotive topics in the classroom: Conflict in the Middle East

By Anna Taylor

Let Us Shine

by Dr Mary Higgins The Sheep Do Not Get Any Smellier Than This

By Dr Simon Uttley

Why is providing post 16 Core RE in Catholic Schools important and what are the challenges?

Catherine Herring

Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School - Social Justice Conference

By Kerry Macfarlane

A Few Thoughts On Ianus, the Magi and New Year’s Resolutions

By Paul Rowan

Religious Education, Catholic Schools and the 2023

Curriculum Framework: Navigating New Roles and Relationships

By Dr Fiona Dineen

What are we to make of the ‘Prayer and liturgy Directory’ for Catholic schools?

By Dr Sean Whittle

Willie Slavin

A Happy New Year to all our readers and a special welcome to this 25th Anniversary edition. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our contributors both past and present together with all of our subscribers and readers for their loyalty and encouragement over the past 25 years.

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Food Poverty and Catholic Schools in the Post Covid-19 era

Many educational systems throughout the world are now adjusting to the post Covid-19 era. These systems are reflecting on the effects of the restrictions and lockdowns on children and school education. This is certainly the case in the Catholic schools in the UK and this is an opportune moment to examine the continuing pressing social challenge of child poverty and the impact of child poverty on the school education of children and young people. We must emphasise from the outset that child poverty levels in the UK were alarmingly high before the pandemic, were exacerbated by the pandemic, and continue to be unacceptably high. The Child Poverty Action Group report that the overall figure for child poverty in the UK for 2021-2022 was 4.2 million children or 29% of all children. This amounts to nine children in a classroom of thirty (Child Poverty Action Group, 2023). These levels of poverty and child poverty in the UK have been affected by the economic effects of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and the cost of living crisis which has grave consequences for the most vulnerable families.

All schools have a duty of care towards the children and young people on their roll and take this responsibility seriously. Catholic schools share this duty of care and it is also underpinned by the demands of the gospels for social justice and the preferential option for the poor. This is a key feature of Catholic Social Teaching, as articulated by John XXIII on the eve of the Second Vatican Council and in the more recent social teaching of Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. This preferential option for the poor has been especially emphasised by Pope

Francis, notably in Evangelli Gaudium (2013) which dedicates a substantial section to the Christian response to the poor. In this section, Pope Francis draws attention to the Christian call to the preferential option for the poor:

Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor, and for enabling them to be fully a part of society. This demands that we be docile and attentive to the cry of the poor and to come to their aid (Pope Francis, 2013, paragraph 187).

There are different forms of poverty that affect children and their engagement with school education. These include food poverty, digital poverty, uniform poverty and the poverty experienced by many children and young people who are young carers. While school staff are neither trained nor employed as Social Workers, many of them face the consequences of child poverty on a daily basis: children arriving in school hungry; children who do not possess adequate clothing for inclement weather or sports; families that cannot afford extra resources to support school learning activities or extra-curricular activities and a lack of access to devices or the internet. Many schools provide some form of intervention whether through breakfast clubs, uniform banks, access to devices in schools and the schools work hard to ensure that they ‘poverty proof’ the school day. There is evidence that these resources are being stretched in some places. The headteacher of St Philip Howard Catholic primary school in Hatfield has recently commented to the media that the levels of child poverty have increased significantly, and this has put pressure on the school

By Professor Stephen McKinney

Stephen McKinney is Professor of Education in the School of Education, University of Glasgow. Stuart Hall and Kevin Lowden are Senior Research Fellows in the School of Education, University of Glasgow.

By Stuart Hall

By Kevin Lowden

foodbank and second-handuniform sales (Fullbrook & PA Media, 2023). This article will now focus on food poverty with a specific emphasis on food banks and free school meals. The authors acknowledge the ongoing challenges of digital poverty, uniform poverty and the poverty experienced by young carers and, in terms of food poverty, the introduction of breakfast clubs in many Catholic schools (and all other schools) throughout the UK and the increasing numbers of teachers providing snacks for children.

According to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights article 25, ‘everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food…’ (United Nations, 1948). This means that food security is enshrined in Human Rights and this has been consolidated in the United Nations Sustainable Goals. Sustainable Goal number two aims to ‘End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture’. In terms of Catholic Social Teaching, the right to food is rooted in the fundamental Godgiven dignity of every person and their right to live a true human existence. To live this God-given life to the full, a person needs to have access to a sufficient amount of nutritious food (US Bishops, 2023). Returning to Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis comments in paragraph 191:

In all places and circumstances, Christians, with the help of their pastors, are called to hear the cry of the poor. This has been eloquently stated by the bishops of Brazil: “We wish to take up daily the joys and hopes, the difficulties and sorrows of the Brazilian people, especially of those living in the barrios and the countryside – landless, homeless, lacking food and health care – to the detriment of their rights. Seeing their poverty, hearing their cries

and knowing their sufferings, we are scandalized because we know that there is enough food for everyone and that hunger is the result of a poor distribution of goods and income”.

Food poverty or food insecurity is a world-wide issue and effectively means that people do not have access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. Food poverty is having an increasing impact in the UK on the lives of many children and young people and their families. There has been a steep increase in the price of food since the second half of 2021 (FrancisDevine et. al., 2023). In the twoyear period between October 2021 and October 2023, food prices increased by 28% (Harari et. al., 2023). It is unsurprising, then, that the main foodbanks have reported unprecedented rises in demand for their services. At this point, it has to be recognised that the UK wide food bank networks and independent food banks are formal charitable organisations or small bodies motivated by charitable concerns – they are not Government funded. The Scottish Government has recently outlined a strategy, Cash-First: Towards ending the need for food banks in Scotland, which aims to ensure that everyone has a sufficient and secure income to meet their needs. This Scottish Government aims to eradicate the need for food banks in the long-term (Scottish Government 2023a).

The latest annual statistics from the Trussell Trust for April 2022 to March 2023 indicate that nearly three million food parcels were distributed, one million of these were for children (The Trussell Trust, 2023). The latest mid-year figures for April 2023 to September 2023 indicate that 1.5 million food parcels were distributed. Sixty-five percent of all parcels in this mid-year reporting period were for families with children and 320,000 people

had to approach foodbanks for help for the first time. There is a rise in the number of schools that support foodbanks or have established their own food banks to support the children and their families. A good example is St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham which directs families to local food banks when necessary (St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, 2023). St David’s RC High School in Dalkeith, Scotland has an ongoing foodbank appeal and Corpus Christi primary school in Oldham hosts a food bank once a month to support the local parish foodbank pantry (St David’s RC High School, 2023; Corpus Christi, 2023).

In England, there is provision for universal free school meals for infants from the reception class to the end of year 1 (Gov.UK, 2023). Beyond this, free school meals are means tested and the number of children and young people eligible for free School meals in England has risen sharply since 2018 and now stands at 2.0 million children. This is the equivalent of 23.8% of all state funded pupils (FrancisDevine et.al., 2023). In Scotland, all children from primary one to primary five are entitled to a free school meal as a universal benefit. Beyond primary five, free school meals are means tested (mygov.scot, 2023).

The planned rollout of universal free school meals for children in primaries six and seven was targeted for 2022, delayed till 2024, and now further delayed until 2026 (Hepburn, 2023). There are also opportunities to apply for free school meals in the school holidays. By 2022, the total figure among Scottish children registered for free school meals constituted 51.9% of the total school roll, though this included all the children from primary one to primary five who are entitled to the universal provision (Scottish Government, 2022). Recent findings from Scottish Government statistics demonstrate that children and young people from

the most deprived areas of Scotland do not always have breakfast, are more likely to have a poor diet, and are less likely to eat fruit and vegetables regularly (Scottish Government 2023b).

There are serious questions about the number of children and young people in the UK who may be fed through a combination of foodbanks and free school meals. There are further questions about the quality of the food and the nutritional value of these meals for physical and intellectual development. Food banks can only provide short-term relief and cannot offer a long-term solution to food poverty which, as has been seen above, is a major issue for society in the 21stcentury UK. Caritas Westminster has a three-fold approach to tackling food poverty: direct relief; enabling food security and influencing and advocacy. Direct relief involves support for food banks and the provision of emergency supermarket vouchers to meet immediate food needs. Caritas Westminster has joined the Children’s Food Campaign ‘Say Yes to School Food for All’ (Caritas Westminster, 2023a).

This is a call for the provision of free school meals for all children and young people from nursery to sixth form through a progressive roll out by 2030. It is to be noted that this campaign is for healthy and nutritious food (Sustain, 2023). Enabling food security means that advice is also provided in debt counselling, education and training in nutrition and cooking skills, Finally, influencing and advocacy seeks engagement with those in power and seeks changes in the systems that force families into poverty (Caritas Westminster, 2023b). This threefold approach seeks to address the immediate and pressing need to alleviate hunger, support people to become more autonomous,and apply pressure to people and structures to introduce preventative

measures and bring about greater social justice.

Food poverty has become a scourge in the 21st century UK. It is an unmistakable and very public sign of the extent of contemporary poverty and inequality. While food security is a Human Right, it is also at the heart of Catholic Social teaching on the God-given dignity of the individual person. There is ample evidence of primary and secondary Catholic schools supporting children and young people and helping to alleviatefood poverty. However, there is also evidence that Catholic schools, like other state funded schools, are experiencing an increase in the number of children and families who need support and resources are being stretched.

References

Caritas Westminster (2023a) Say Yes to School Food for All. https://www.caritaswestminster. org.uk/say-yes-to-school-food-for-all-1480. php

Caritas Westminster (2023b) Food Security. https://www.caritaswestminster.org.uk/foodsecurity-918.php

Child Poverty Action Group (2023) Child Poverty Facts and figures. https://cpag.org. uk/child-poverty/child-poverty-facts-andfigures#footnote1_m1xtqoh

Corpus Christi Primary School (2023) Corpus Christi Cares. https://www.corpuschristi. oldham.sch.uk/Corpus-Christi-Cares/

Francis-Devine, B. Malik, X. & Danechi, S. (2023) Food Poverty, Households, food banks and free school meals. House of Commons Library. https://researchbriefings.files. parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9209/CBP9209.pdf

Fullbrook, D. & PA Media (2023) Child Poverty its worst for decades – Hatfield head teacher. BBC news. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ukengland-beds-bucks-herts-66848569

Gov. UK (2023) Apply for Free School Meals. https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals

Harari, D., Francis-Devine, B., Bolton, P. & Keep, M. (2023) Rising Cost of living in the UK. House of Commons Library. https:// researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/ documents/CBP-9428/CBP-9428.pdf

Hepburn, H. (2023) Free primary school meals for all may not happen before election. Times Educational Supplement, 6thSeptember 2023.

mygov.scot (2023) School Meals. https://www.mygov.scot/school-meals

Pope Francis (2013) Evangelli Gaudium. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/ en/apost_exhortations/documents/papafrancesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_ evangelii-gaudium.html#The_special_place_ of_the_poor_in_God%E2%80%99s_people

Scottish Government (2022) School Healthy Living Survey statistics 2022. https://www. gov.scot/publications/school-healthy-livingsurvey-statistics-2022/pages/2/

Scottish Government (2023) Cash-First: Towards ending the need for food banks in Scotland Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA). https://www.gov.scot/ publications/cash-first-towards-ending-needfood-banks-scotland-child-rights-wellbeingimpact-assessment-crwia/pages/1/

Scottish Government (2023b) Health and Wellbeing Census Scotland 2021-2022. https://www.gov.scot/publications/health-andwellbeing-census-scotland-2021-22/pages/ physical-health/

St Anne’s Catholic Primary School (2023) Food Banks and Financial Support. https://www. stannessolihull.co.uk/food-banks/

St David’s RC High School (2023) News Update, 17 November 2023. https://www. stdavidshighschool.co.uk/our_school/school_ news/latest_news.html

Sustain (2023) Healthy School Food for all. https://www.sustainweb.org/childrens-foodcampaign/healthy-school-food-for-all/

The Trussell Trust (2023) Latest Stats. https://www.trusselltrust.org/news-and-blog/ latest-stats/

United Nations (1948) Universal Declaration of Human Rights. https://www.un.org/en/aboutus/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (2023) For I was Hungry & You Gave Me Food: Catholic Social Teaching and Agriculture. https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/ human-life-and-dignity/agriculture-nutritionrural-issues/for-i-was-hungry-cst-andagriculture

by Dr Maureen Glackin

‘I’m Called to Love You’ LGBTQ+ students

in Catholic Schools

Reviewing the situation

The long-promised government guidance for transgender pupils in schools has now arrived[1]. Originally expected to be published last summer, it was delayed due to the fact that some of its content was considered unlawful. ‘It is a difficult and sensitive area’, stated Gillian Keegan the Secretary of State for Education, ‘and more information is needed about the longterm implications of a child to act as though they are the opposite sex’[2]. The guidance, which is out for consultation, has been met with mixed reviews, with some applauding its “common sense” approach and others concerned that its lack of clarity will engender more work and anxiety for hard-pressed teachers and headteachers[3], many of whom feel that they have been left dealing with this complex area entirely on their own. In so doing, schools' pastoral responses are focused on ensuring that every child is safe and treated with compassion. In the context of Catholic schools, this pastoral response must be enacted not only within a legal framework but also a theological one.

A recent BBC survey of 7,000 teachers in England indicated that about 8% of primary-school teachers and 75% of secondary school teachers had taught trans or non-binary pupils and just over half said they would ‘not be very or at all confident about the next steps to take if a child wanted to change their name, use different pronouns or change their appearance, hairstyle or clothes – what is known as socially transitioning’[4]. I accept that there will be some who feel strongly that such issues are not appropriate for consideration within a school setting. However, the reality, as the BBC survey evinces, is that many schools are already managing transitioning pupils and staff and therefore it is absolutely essential

that we open up this conversation and discern a theological and pastoral response that supports our Heads.

Ambiguity, joy and confusion

I was contacted by a Head who had a new pupil about to start at her school. The pupil was born a girl but had been identifying as a boy for some time which identity the Head was supporting in this new school context. The Head was seeking advice as the school chaplain had raised an objection, saying that treating the pupil as a boy was incompatible with the Catholic identity of the school. The rationale for this perspective was referenced to magisterial documents and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales’ Statement on Gender Identity, 2018. The latter document references the ideological, anthropological and theological issues that are required to be addressed in the context of transgender. Whilst acknowledging that the ‘ideology of gender is creating confusion’, it does not offer a conclusive, definitive judgement on what one is asked to believe. In presenting a theological understanding, it states: ‘Our teaching is that God creates human beings male and female: “God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27). This sexual difference and complementarity is within every person…Indeed, the body is God’s gift. It is with and through our bodies that we make our earthly journey, with all its ambiguities, sufferings and joy. This understanding is vital for welcoming and accepting not only ourselves, and each other, but also the entire world as gifts of God’[5]

I find the final sentence of this extract significant with its emphasis on welcoming and accepting the entire

world in all its confusion, joy and complexity as gifts of God. For me, it seemed to represent the manner in which this Head was responding to the issue before her, being most strongly guided by the gift of the pupil, rather than the complexity of the situation he presented. The Bishops’ statement seemed to further elucidate this, saying: ‘We recognise that there are people who do not accept their biological sex. We are concerned about and committed to their pastoral care. Through listening to them we seek to understand their experience more deeply and want to accompany them with compassion, emphasising that they are loved by God and valued in their inherent God-given dignity. There is a place of welcome for everyone in the Catholic Church’. In conclusion it strikes a pastoral/theological balance whilst avoiding a resolute conclusion: ‘As we continue to reflect on these issues, we hope for a renewed appreciation of the fundamental importance of sexual difference in our culture and the accompaniment of those who experience conflict in their sense of self and God-given identity. We all have a duty to protect the most vulnerable’.

I felt that this document was equally as supportive of the Head’s stance towards the pupil as the concerns of the school chaplain and indeed provided a means to open up a meaningful dialogue between the two. In responding to the Head, I also turned to the words of Pope Francis, speaking about LGBTQ+ people, who said: ‘Welcome the person, study the situation, accompany the person and integrate him or her into the life of the community. This is what Jesus would do today’[6] My intention was to reassure the Head that her response sat within a Catholic understanding of the issue. However, it also made me consider the response of the school chaplain. Whilst respectful of his challenge to the Head, it was clear that it had added to her anxiety about the situation rather than prompting a

purposeful, informed, collaborative reflection on the course she had taken. The Head was extremely conscious of the school chaplain’s disapproval and anxious that this might result in some form of criticism or censure from church authorities. The experience seemed very far from the Synodal approach which calls for ‘authentic listening…and the ability to find ways to continue to walk together beyond fragmentation and polarisation’[7].

Interestingly, the school chaplain contacted me, without the Head’s knowledge, asking for clarity on the theological argument I had put to the Head and how this was allied to Church teaching. I responded, sharing my thinking and sources but received no reply.

Managing Tensions

The tensions exposed in this scenario illustrate the tightrope that Catholic Heads walk in these situations. On the one hand there is the Equality Act which states that ‘it will be unlawful for schools to treat pupils less favourably because of their gender reassignment and that schools will have to factor in gender reassignment when considering their obligations under the Equality Duty’[8]. It continues: ‘There is evidence that the number of such cases is increasing and schools should aim to address any issues early on and in a proactive way’[9]. And on the other we have ‘The Church’, whose responses range from the conservative of Cardinal Gerhard Müller, who condemns LGBTQ+ ideology as ‘a grave sin against the well-being and salvation of children and young people who are in the process of maturing and finding their identity’[10] to the liberal of Fr James Martin S.J., who wants the church ‘to listen to the experiences of LGBTQ people…[and] stop targeting [them]..as if they’re the only ones whose lives don’t conform to church teaching…’[11]. Whilst I have only mainly anecdotal evidence to support my conclusion, I believe it

is reasonable to suggest that most Heads are adopting the latter, more inclusive approach to trans issues in their schools with a strong eye on the Equality Act while maintaining a constant vigilance to opposing, critical voices from some within the church.

This is not a comfortable position for any Head, however one would hope that there is compassion and kindness from all in the church for everyone involved, drawing upon the Synodal spirit that asks us ‘to manage tensions without being crushed by them, experiencing them as a drive to deepen how communion, mission and participation are lived and understood’ [12]. I firmly believe that this is possible.

The road to Emmaus

Returning from World Youth Day in Lisbon, Pope Francis recently reiterated our duty to accompany LGBTQ+ people on their personal path to spirituality within the framework of the rules of the church[13]. This call to accompaniment is familiar to Catholic school communities as it is the term used to characterise school chaplaincy with the story of Emmaus used as the gospel paradigm[14]. And there is much here that is of relevance. In the Emmaus story, Jesus coaxes relation and trust from those confused and dazed by life events as they saunter along the road; he engages in dialogue and discussion to educate and enlighten; he responds to the invitation to share a part of the lifestyle of these people by sharing a meal with them, and in so doing he leaves them better able to understand the complexities of life, and more sure of their purpose and mission in the world.

So what is the model of Church that Jesus gives us in Emmaus? It is one of a community of people who freely share and exchange ideas and ideals[15]; one that invites people into its life and whose style of

living influences and informs the life decisions they make[16]. It is one based on the authority of the scriptures and relationship with the person of Christ[17]. It is a Church that is present when two or three are gathered in the name of God[18]; it is a Church not for 'respectable people', or 'those in the know' but 'outcasts'[19]. It is a Church with a missionary imperative [20] but not one that is validated by the size of its congregation[21]. It is a Church which risks everything to go after the lost sheep to elucidate and enlighten the saddened and confused[22]; it is one that does not exclude those who are different but gives to all the same gift of the Spirit, the same fire to overcome difficulties[23]. It is a Church that is firmly rooted in relationship: relationship between its members socially and ritually, and their individual and shared relationship with their God[24]

The Personal Church

Another Head I have spoken with calls this the ‘Personal Church’, saying ‘as much as it might be the ‘Big Church’ that people kick against, it will be the ‘Personal Church’ that gives them something different’. With reference specifically to LGBTQ+ issues he says: ‘Many people, actually, are strong Catholics, who think ‘If this was my son, if this was my sister, would I want them to be happy?’ And they believe as Catholics in loving thy neighbour and that’s interesting…it’s that human level’. This approach is what he has drawn upon in his own experience of supporting LGBTQ+ pupils, much to the surprise of many. In relating the experience of one pupil who disclosed to him, he says: ‘One of the interesting things was that the pupil said, “I know you’re going to have difficulty with this because you’re Catholic”. And I went, “But no. I’m the Head of a Catholic school and I believe this should be a place of love and kindness. I believe God made you. So I’m not going to have any difficulty with who you are and who you feel you are …I’m called to love you.” And I didn’t find that a

profound statement. But I do find the pupil’s statement to me, “You’re going to have a bit of difficulty with this because you’re a Catholic” as one of those times where the big message loses the subtleties of its nature’.

One of the reasons I feel privileged to work with Catholic school Heads and teachers is that they give priority to the pastoral reality of the pupil in front of them, giving expression to the ‘subtlety’ of the church’s nature’ whilst remaining undaunted by the criticism of ‘the big message’. I await the outcome of the consultation on the draft guidance with interest, however in the meantime, the Heads of our Catholic schools will continue to realise that Synodal process in actuality as they accompany their pupils, humbly and in a spirit of dialogue and encounter, bringing them to the knowledge that the biggest message of the church is that we are called to love them.

All schools and Headteachers have been completely anonymised

References

[1] DfE, December 2023, Gender Questioning Children. Non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges in England. Draft for consultation. https://consult.education. gov.uk/equalities-political-impartiality-antibullying-team/gender-questioning-childrenproposed-guidance/supporting_documents/ Gender%20Questioning%20Children%20%20 nonstatutory%20guidance.pdf

[2] Wood, P. July 20th, 2023 No 10 warns schools to proceed with ‘extreme caution’ after transgender guidance delayed https://inews.co.uk/news/no-10-warnsschools-to-proceed-with-extreme-cautionafter-transgender-guidance-delayed-2492251

[3] https://www.fenews.co.uk/fe-voices/sectorreaction-to-transgender-guidance-for-schoolsand-colleges/

[4] Moss, L., Parry, J. May 19th, 2023 Teachers walk tightropes in face of no trans guidance https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ education-65473198

[5] Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, 2018 A Statement on Gender from the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, https://www.cbcew.org.uk/astatement-on-gender-from-the-catholicbishops-of-england-and-wales/

[6] Pope Francis 2nd October, 2016 cited in https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/ francis-has-accompanied-gay-transgenderpeople-even-pope

[7] Vatican, 2023 Instrumentum Laboris For the First Session October 2023, n.28 https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/ common/phases/universal-stage/il/ENG_ INSTRUMENTUM-LABORIS.pdf

[8] Department for Education (DfE), May 2014 The Equality Act 2010 and Schools, Departmental advice for school leaders, school staff, governing bodies and local authorities, 3.3

[9] Ibid. 3.6

[10] Müller, Cardinal G. March 30th, 2022 in Boos, D. Cardinal Müller Condemns LGBT Ideology as Creating a “Persecuting Minority” https://europeanconservative.com/articles/ news/cardinal-muller-condemns-lgbtideology-as-creating-a-persecuting-minority/

[11] Martin, Fr. J. in Davison, M. June 16th, 2021 ‘Fr. James Martin on LGBT ministry: Love the 'most important' church teaching’ https://www.ncronline.org/culture/fr-jamesmartin-lgbt-ministry-love-most-importantchurch-teaching

[12] Vatican, 2023 Instrumentum Laboris For the First Session October 2023, n.28

[13] Pullella, P. August 7th, 2023 Pope says Church open to everyone, including LGBT people, but has rules https://www.reuters. com/world/pope-says-church-open-everyoneincluding-lgbt-people-has-rules-2023-08-06/

[14] Luke 24:13-35

[15] Luke 24:18-27; Vatican, 1964 Lumen Gentium, n.37

[16] Luke 24:28-32; Vatican, 1965 Apostolicam Actuositatem, n.4

[17] Luke 24:25-27; Vatican, 1965 Dei Verbum, n.1-6

[18] Matthew 18:20; Luke, 24:13

[19] Matthew 9:12; Luke 24:18; Vatican, 1965 Gaudium Et Spes, n.63

[20] Luke 10:2; Luke 24:33; Vatican, 1965 Ad Gentes, n.2

[21] Matthew 18:20

[22] Luke 15:1-7; Luke 24:15-18; Ad Gentes, op.cit. n.5

[23] Acts, 11:17; Luke 14:32; Gaudium Et Spes, op. cit. n.41

[24] Luke 24:13-35

For the Well-being of Teachers

By their witness and behaviour teachers are of the first importance for a distinctive character of the Catholic schools. It is necessary to their formation that to provide some suitable pastoral provision’

The Catholic School, 1977 para 78

Introduction

Professor Gerald Grace wrote a major article in Networking recently (Vol 24, issue 2) asking the question ‘Are we providing necessary pastoral care for teachers in Our Catholic Schools and Colleges?’ and appealing from examples for where school initiatives are working to provide such support. One would hope that good examples would be revealed where such provision is exemplary, especially in a Christian sector where such practise would be a part of the ethos of the school of what ever phase or type. Is this so?

If, for a moment, we disregard the word ‘Catholic’ in the question, we can see that ‘State’ schools are being driven by the State into the circumstances where such support for teachers cannot be provided easily. Following the old proverb ‘he who pays the piper calls the tune’ the government, as the arbiter of financial provision for education sets the level of available financial resource, directs what schools and other institutions are expected to achieve, and monitors and controls how such expectations are being reached. Such a command structure, apparently driven by an ideological background, with little room for professional sharing of experience, or negotiation over levels of available financial resource, must be the main cause of the frustration, weariness and lack of well-being of so many teachers, when they are treated as functionaries with little regard for their social, personal or professional satisfactions.

By Peter Boylan

Catholic Social Teaching

If this is the case for all state schools, it is equally true for Catholic schools within the state sector. On some occasions, colleagues in state schools would presume that the Catholic sector had some mysterious provision of additional finance that allowed them to succeed where others failed. Any Catholic headteacher could reassure them that this is not the case. But Catholic schools do have a resource to be accessed in Church teachings.These offer guidance on both justice in the workplace and principles for educational justice. The sadness is that these are little known and therefore little understood and applied. The earliest of these must be the epistle of James where he writes of Christian faith and social justice. The foundational encyclical on social teaching ‘Rerum Novarum’ sub titled ‘On Capital and Labour’ was published in 1891, during the ministry of Pope Leo XIII.

Rerum Novarum was written at a time of revolutionary change, challenging the excesses of employers. It speaks of ‘a small number of very rich men who have been able to lay upon the labouring poor, a yoke little better than that of slavery itself.’

The encyclical was in part, inspired by the London dock strike of 1889. By arguing in print and in person of the justice of the dockers case Cardinal Manning’s heroic role in the negotiations led to its settlement.. This was so effectivly well argued that much of Manning’s thought and writing became incorporated in the

encyclical. ‘Rerum Novarum’ should be required study for anyone wishing to understand the basics of justice in the whole area of employment, in the principles that lead to this justice, in the possession of private property, in the primacy of the family, the role of the state and of politicians, the human rights of individuals, the right to withdraw labour and much more. For this to have been composed in the late nineteenth century illustrates how much our society has regressed in recent years from accepted Christian values. Do we still live in a Christian society?

However, a certain mystique has grown up around strikes. On the one hand strikes are painted as unnecessary, inconvenient and disruptive to a settled life-pattern; on the other there may be some ‘sacredness’ about not crossing a picket line or failing to act in solidarity with strikers. The justice of the cause may not be considered or trivially dismissed. ‘Rerum Novarum’ makes the statement ‘when work people have recourse to strike it is frequently because the hours are too long, the work too hard or their wages insufficient.’ The well-being of a work force relies on satisfaction of all three of these points. How often has this been heard when work force representatives have been interviewed in recent disputes?

A particular difficulty arises in any dispute connected with those whose life’s vocation lies in service. When patients, those being cared for, or schooling children, are the

focus, matters beyond conscience are raised. Professional practice in such service sectors can all too easily be exploited. When the State effectively determines hours, working conditions and payment, and declares ‘a fair settlement’ justice is not only denied but directly overthrown. The effect is to decrease the ability of that workforce to maintain any hope of improvement and increase desperation. None of this is conducive to the well-being of any individual caught up in such circumstances.

A suggested starting point: self-help

The well being of all working in schools and in this instance Catholic schools must be set a priority. Unless that is so, their prime duty to the children will not be met to the best advantage. There are some points which could help individual coping based on their own faith journey.

Firstly, the vocation. In addressing Catholic Educators in Toronto, in 1990, Cardinal Hume emphasised that, “Parents, teachers, pastors must undertake specific responsibilities, secure in their own sense of vocation and their own professional confidence.” Such an assurance reminds us not to be knocked by those who seek to devalue our competence. Our faith is with us when we display in our vocation that professionalism and ability arising from our own formation, education, study, commitment and experience. We must be confident in our own abilities. Ideology has its place but not in the application of experienced professional practise.

Secondly is the need to remember that our first duty, theologically, morally and legally is to the pupils. In a statement by the English Hierarchy in the last century, described as ‘Principles to be remembered’ it begins with the declaration that ‘It is no part of the normal function of the State to teach’ and so sets a

theological pattern. The State ought to encourage sound education, to assist in the financial cost of provision and intervene when necessary, but not interfere with parental responsibility with limited exceptions. The teacher is always acting ‘in loco parentis’ and never ‘in loco civitas.’ The teachers’ authority comes from God through the parents. This also presents a clear moral authority while the legal authority comes from a judgement of 1893 that ‘the schoolmaster was bound to take such care of his boys as the careful father would take care of his own boys’, adding ‘and there can be no better definition of the duty of a schoolmaster than that.’ Given that the language reflects the date rather than the exclusive sense, this definition still stands in law, ‘In loco parentis’.

Thirdly, remembering the adage ‘a trouble shared is a trouble halved’ it is important to seek assistance when well-being is threatened. As with children reluctant to admit that they do not understand a point, if any one individual feels depressed in the staff-room there will be others. Would it be possible to establish a small self-help group if none exists? By supporting others we will support ourselves. Analyse the problem; is it one arising from internal practise that could be altered or it is a difficulty arising from outside the school and the school agency which is of larger magnitude? Local issues can be acted upon, but the greater external pressures take more action by a larger group to resolve. Surely this is a real and practical role for bodies such as CATSC, in assisting and campaigning in both fields, internal and external, if they are not already taking such support as a priority.

Finally, in asking for help, the power of prayer should be remembered. Our modern, headstrong society rushes onward without stopping to think. It is important to hold to a time of reflection, meditation and prayer. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians,

gives us a powerful message from Christ. “My grace is all you need, for my power is strongest when you are weak.” (2 Corinthians 12 9) Somewhere we can find that internal resilience to face matters but we need to ask for that spiritual help first.

A Plea for Action

Returning to the opening of this article. Professor Grace was appealing for information to be shared, about good practise for school staff, about no practise or even somewhere in between. Unless this response comes, however willing others might wish to be, without such information there can be no analysis of the real need or what might be recognised as good practise. The purpose of research is to identify routes to development. Research and Development go hand in hand. If the issue of well-being is important efforts must be made to address the matter.

There have been encouraging developments in recent years in the number of teacher practitioner researchers contributing to articles and reports to journals such as Networking: Catholic Education Today.

Professor Grace has made an appeal for some research to be carried out on the state of pastoral care for teachers which will report good practice to be disseminated to schools, as well as examples of poor or even absent practice (the identity of schools being presented in all cases).

The full maturing of Modern Professional Practice is now to be seen in the work of vocational experts who are both technically highly competent as practitioners (e.g. teachers) but also innovative and creative in research activity (e.g. researchers). Here is a challenge that needs to be answered!

Embedding an interreligious approach to emotive topics in the classroom: Conflict in the Middle East

The infiltration of Hamas on the 7th October into the Israeli Kibbutz of Nir Oz, succeded by the murder of 1,200 civilians, the rape and torture of residents alongside and the abduction of 240 hostages has led to an Israeli military response that has triggered an intense global interest and a fervently emotional response. In 2014, Zack Beauchamp analysed the patterns of support for either side of the ‘IsraelPalestine[sic]’ conflict on mainstream news and social media platforms, including X (then Twitter) amongst others. The results of his analysis foretell what we continue to see in 2023; that this particular conflict is extremely polarising. Very few Tweets, TikToks or news outlets acknowledge the nuance or the complexity of this war, and as Beauchamp comments, our saturated space is thus dominated by responses which are ‘miserably partisan’.[1]

As members of the Catholic Community we of course have a duty to consider conflict, and speak out when we witness humankind suffering. An article in a recent copy of the Tablet drew upon Pope Benedict XVI’s warning to British political leaders back in 2010 to suggest that contemporary British democracy is facing a challenge in its support of the Israeli Defense Forces’ military response.[2] Similarly, CAFOD have offered prayers for peace which ask God to ‘quiet the clamour of war’ as they shared the tragic story of Viola and her family, who were killed in an air strike on a Gazan Greek Orthodox Church in October.

Moreover, at a time of social media news in snippets, teachers have a duty to inform and educate their students about global conflicts. Not only do teachers need to ensure that the news that students are consuming isn’t

disinformation, but they need to offer guidance for how to apply reason about conflict appropriately for not yet fully mature minds. Thomas Aquinas proposes that until a child develops their use of reason, they must borrow it from their parents. Yet, as Patrick Quinn states in his work ‘Aquinas’ Views on Teaching’,[3] Aquinas sees teachers as an ‘example of a legitimate external noetic agent’, meaning that teachers are duty bound to impart knowledge, and reason, to their students. However, classroom experience teaches us that this particular conflict seems more difficult to confront in the classroom than others, and that we need tools to understand how to stimulate and govern class discussion without upsetting our students, particularly those of Jewish or Muslim faith.

The complexities of this particular geo-political and religious conflict are wrapped up in so much nuance that ‘miserably partisan’ views are far too binary to adopt, and too complicated for discussion in an hour long Core RE lesson each week. In Religious Studies A-Level we teach the students about RM Hare’s ‘Bliks’ - a lens through which people view the world. Even if (or when) material from the other ‘side’ or ‘opinion’ is presented, the recipient will never be able to see beyond their personal lens and interpretation of the world. In this regard, whilst it should seem obvious to most that the terrorist behaviour by Hamas was abhorrent, and that the subsequent killing of any innocent civilians must always be wrong, in this particular conflict opinions rest at an extreme dichotomy and judgments are more damning.

One approach to teach this topic could be to explore the conflict through Aquinas’ Just War theory as a vehicle for discussion. Students

could be introduced to the Theology of ‘Jus ad bellum’ (the theory that conflict must have a just cause and be a proportionate response) and they could be asked to consider whether this conflict upholds or undermines these conditions. However, not only is this approach quite reductive (and presumptuous that a clear value judgement derived from Thomistic thought can be made in just an hour), but it could be particularly hard to be seen to govern fairly and students who are Jewish or Muslim could feel very exposed.

A second approach could be to whip staff and students into a moratorium on the topic. One Catholic Lecturer experienced just this during a recent guest lecture at a Catholic Sixth Form College where he had voiced, in a general class discussion about war in the field of English Literature, that the Middle Eastern conflict had ‘evil on both sides’. This may seem innocuous enough, but the intense emotional investment that young people have with this conflict drove one Muslim student to make an immediate complaint to the Principal, and the lecturer was subsequently asked to not refer to the conflict for the rest of his visit. It is justifiable that Principals want to protect their students from emotional distress, and this approach may seem tempting (and arguably sensible) in a multi-faith classroom. However, Pope Francis said in a recent address to the faithful in St Peter’ square “I am close to all of those who are suffering. Palestinians and Israelis. I embrace them in this dark moment”. This rhetoric of embrace from Pope Francis does not seem to support a notion of avoidance in the classroom. Whilst Pope Francis is talking in this address about the suffering of those

By Anna Taylor, Aquinas Sixth Form College, Stockport

directly impacted by the conflict, I can unfortunately see that our own students are emotionally suffering through this war in their own (albeit less severe) way. They may be experiencing heightened anti-Semitic or Islamaphobic abuse (recent Police figures reveal that AntiSemitic attacks are up by 1,350% in parts of the UK)[4]. Students may also be emotionally affected by the disturbing news coverage, the sheer loss of life and the fear of global instability. They may also feel confused about the opinions and scared about what they should say or how they should react. Pope Francis’ call should be used as a drive for Schools and Colleges across England to guide our students through any personal ideologies of hatred and division, in a hope to bring them all to the same conclusion, a conclusion which seems so simple and yet so out of reach; peace with clause or caveat. As Pope Francis urged at a proceeding address “Peace. Please, peace”

However, a third interreligious approach was trialled at our College through the Core RE programme with an aim to address the conflict in a way which would embrace Jewish, Christian and Muslim students. Core RE at a Catholic Sixth Form College is a key vehicle to unpack and address global issues through the lens of Catholic Theology and Catholic Social Justice. It is a forum which we are lucky to have and it gives us an edge over our non-faith College competitors. The KS5 draft curriculum directory, alongside the Sixth Form Denominational Framework Annex, offers flexibility to address key issues as and when they arise. To respond to this particular conflict in time, we planned a lesson on what the 3 Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have in common. It began with a simple Venn diagram which asked students to map out the key differences and commonalities between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In a College context where the majority of our students come from non-Catholic schools, not only did this activity offer an excellent opportunity for students who have never studied GCSE RE to refresh (or introduce!) themselves to the key tenets of 3 world religions, but it allowed our Muslim and Jewish students to take pride in being

educators of their religion in a largely white educational setting. We then explored who Abraham actually was; his geographical location, his wife, his lineage and his revelations from God. Again, Muslim and Jewish students took particular pride in articulating their understanding of the story of Abraham and the command from God to sacrifice his son. Ronald Green states that the Jewish faith sees Genesis 22 as the ‘supreme moral responsibility between God and Man’[5], and this story of sacrifice is particularly prominent in Islam where in the Qu’Ran, Surah 37 (verses 102-103) depicts the son as being Ishamel not Isaac. Despite these different interpretations of the story, it remained remarkably easy to celebrate what the religions have in common, and we introduced the language of ‘cousins in faith’. Pictures were then shown of significant religious buildings in the Holy Land; the Wailing Wall, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, alongside a reiteration of how residents and tourists from the three religions predominantly live in harmony here. These pictures were particularly suitable as they allowed students to put the preceding Genesis story into context better, as they could visibly see Mount Moriah. The lesson culminated in a card sort activity whereby students had to analyse different passages and quotes on peace from the Torah, the New Testament and the Qu’Ran. This presented a good opportunity to remind students that all Abrahamic religions actively promote peace. Examples from the Old Testament included Psalm 4 “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord make me dwell in safety”. New Testament examples included John 14 “Peace I give you, My peace I leave you” and 2 Thessalonians “May the Lord of Peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way”. Finally, some Islamic examples included Qur’an 56:25-26 “Therein they will hear no abusive speech, nor any talk of sin, only the saying ‘Peace! Peace!”

The Core RE lessons were then paired with a Chaplaincy led service for peace held in our College Chapel. Here, students celebrated the Word of the Beatitudes and students were offered

reflection time to contemplate the power of the teaching ‘Blessed are the Peacemakers’. Students sang hymns of ‘Peace, perfect peace’, and ‘Make me a channel of Your peace’, and they were asked to light a candle whilst listening to reflective music. Students were then guided through powerful prayers for Peace in the Middle East. Some of these prayers, written by our Chaplain included:

“Providential and loving God, we commend to you our whole world, all countries and races, nations and people, both young and old, rich and poor. We commend the people of Israel and the Palestinian people, and the Jewish people all over the world into your holy hands. Send your Holy Spirit to bring peace to all people, peace to our hearts, peace to our families, peace to our country, and peace to all nations.

We ask you this in Jesus' name, today and every day. Amen”

The benefits of taking an interreligious approach to the conflict, as opposed to a geo-political or Just War based approach, was the constant reminder that Jews, Christians and Muslims have much in common. The activities were purposefully designed to combat the ‘miserably partisan’ approach in the media, in a way which took students on a journey to Israel, without exposing their leanings towards one ‘side’ or the other. The service for Peace upheld Pope Francis’ call “Peace. Please, peace” and it allowed our teachers to fulfil their duty to impart noesis about an emotive topic in a nuanced way.

[1] https://www.vox.com/2014/8/7/5971759/ chart-israel-palestine-polarized-twitter

[2] https://www.thetablet.co.uk/editorsdesk/1/23788/the-real-challenge-fordemocracy-political-ends-require-moralmeans

[3] Quinn P, Aquinas’ Views on Teaching, New Blackfriars, Vol 82, No 961, Wiley Publishing (2001)

[4] https://www.theguardian.com/news/2023/ oct/20/antisemitic-hate-crimes-in-london-rise1350-since-israel-hamas-war-met-says

[5] Green, Ronald, Abraham, Isaac and the Jewish Tradition, The Journal of Religious Ethics, Vol 10, No1, (1982), Blackwell Publishing

Let Us Shine

Let us Shine is a small Scottish Charity which built a school in 2007, initially with two classrooms, in North Ghana, one of the poorest regions of the country. It was the idea of Fiona Mawuena from East Kilbride near Glasgow. As a student pharmacist she had taken a gap year working in Accra and travelled throughout Ghana. In the distant villages she saw that education for girls consisted of them sitting under a mango tree practicing their letters with a stick in the sand. She was motivated to improve this situation. She persuaded the Chiefs in Kpandai district to provide a 17 acre site for a boarding school for girls. She then returned home to organise funding this project. She asked for sponsors for the girls and donations from family, friends, organisations such as Rotary, the Catenians, Ladies groups and our local Catholic primary schools.

The Let us Shine Girls Academy was officially opened in 2008. My husband, Dr John Higgins, a Paediatrician in Stirling was seriously ill at that time but wanted to help with sponsorship. At his funeral a few months later, enough money was raised to build a third classroom, admit 30 more girls, and employ another teacher. This was the start of my involvement as a volunteer, visiting the school annually until lockdown.

The work involved promoting health education, malaria prevention, dental care, and first aid. It was essential to impress on the girls the importance of handwashing. It was successfully taught to the tune “ If you’re happy and you know it wash your hands.”

Initially there was no running water at the school. The toilet was a basic hole in the ground with a screen round it and electricity was intermittent and weather dependent.

The local Catholic Primary Schools in Central Scotland were amazing in their enthusiasm to help. These included, St Kenneth’s East Kilbride, St Patrick’s Denny, St Mary’s Bannockburn, Our Lady’s Stirling and St Margaret’s Cowie.

The schools sponsored individual students at Let us Shine, Ghana, and received films of the daily routine of school life in Kpandai along with video messages from the girls. They donated some of their school sweatshirts and were delighted to see them worn in Ghana. The girls liked to put on a warm top when the temperature dropped to 29 degrees Centigrade!

By Dr Mary Higgins

St Margaret's School, Cowie

Let us Shine students wearing the sweatshirts of the Scottish Schools.

The senior pupils wrote pen pal letters, obviously avoiding including any personal contact data. On my first visit I took these with me to Ghana and guaranteed a reply for each pupil on my return. It certainly made an impression on the Scottish pupils when they could see the inequality between the schools.

As well as sponsorship, the primary schools organised fundraising events, including their own stall at the school Christmas Fayre and a proportion of the Lenten Almsgiving. The Pupil Let us Shine committee were given a list of the prices of essentials for the school. The money they raised was ring fenced for their chosen purpose. They appreciated this ownership and were delighted to be given photographic confirmation of how their money was spent.

Through their efforts over the years, the school was able to have local village joiners build desks for the classrooms and bunk beds for the dormitories. They contributed to a water bore hole and pump on the school ground, mosquito nets, mattresses, textbooks, jotters and even the plastic cups and plates for the girls’ meals.

The Let us Shine Academy has grown and presently provides full primary

education and 3 years of Junior High School teaching. The first cohort of students from 2007 are now furthering their careers. Some are teaching, some completing their nursing training and others at university. This would have merely been a pipe dream for them if it had not been for the provision of solid education for girls.

Nelson Mandela’s statement is true. Education is the way out of poverty.

I had intended only going out to Ghana once to see the classroom built with the donations at John’s funeral. I was moved to see the plaque attached to the wall dedicated to him! On reflection; I think that once the red dust of Ghana got under my skin I just had to return!

The girls were desperate to learn, and an absolute pleasure to teach. On the subsequent eleven visits after my first trip to Ghana, I took out lots of

handicraft materials and at free time I worked with them making Pom poms, brooches and friendship bracelets. I had tremendous fun with them although I declined joining in their football matches! Running around hard ground in bare feet at 35 degrees Centigrade did not appeal to me.

I feel I gained a tremendous amount of joy and satisfaction from the experience of working as a volunteer at Let us Shine. It certainly gave me a purpose and helped to fill the huge gap left after my husband’s death.

I would love to return but I think at the age of 76 it would be unrealistic to put myself in the position of being a 12 hours car journey away from good medical care! I do however have the most marvellous memories of my many visits! Memories rekindled when, for purposes of this article, I looked out these photos. It was lovely seeing them again. I could almost feel the heat of the red dust of Ghana!

Mary was a GP in central Stirling for over twenty years, with a special interest in Old Age Psychiatry. She is actively involved in Holy Spirit Church in parish of St Mary’s, Stirling and continues to visit Primary Schools and local Groups to show films she has taken, and to discuss the work of Let us Shine.

Dr Higgins with pupils in class

The Sheep Do Not Get Any Smellier Than

This

The place of the English Catholic Secondary (High) School in supporting priestly formation.

Drawing on nearly twenty years of Headship of Catholic comprehensive schools in England, Simon Uttley, a serving Headteacher, questions how, in an age of declining parish attendance, there can be any reason not to optimise the relationship between our parishes and all our Catholic schools- including the sometimes rather more challenging secondary schools. Further, as Pope Francis leads us to a missionary reimagination, how best can both parish and school function, and how the relationship can be symbiotic. Our Catholic schools have, rightly, been challenged to foreground their Catholic identity and ensure mission integrity through the latest framework governing the Church’s framework for the inspection of schools. At the same time, context is important, as so many schools are struggling with a national shortage of teachers and teaching assistants. In our parishes, while there has been some levelling-off of decline, and an interesting, though modest

increase in interest in parish practice from Generation Z (in stark contrast to the Vatican II generation), the concern remains over a lack of clergy on the one hand and a lack of teenagers and younger families on the other.

Uttley’s question is simple: why, given that what he calls our ‘privileged ecclesial space’ is constituted by both parish and school, is there less collaboration? Why less of a missionary paradigm – and sense of urgency - in our schools, where the ‘disappeared’ are to be found – they being both the teenagers and many of the young professionals whose non-appearance we lament? His conclusion is that, rather than raging against the dying of the light by, on the one hand, accusing parish life as being boring and out of touch for the young and, on the other, accusing our Catholic schools – particularly secondary – of being flaky and ‘not Catholic enough’ – can we not be people of possibilities? And, to this end, let us

by Dr Simon Uttley

Headteacher of Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic school in Reading, England. Simon s Visiting professor in Catholic Education at the Centre for Catholic Education, Research and Religious Literacy at St Mary’s university, Twickenham, London. He is Full Professor and Course Leader with the University of Notre Dame (U.S.A.), London Global Gateway, where he leads a programme on Catholic Education and the Common Good. Simon is a licensed inspector of Catholic schools.

break down the ‘cultural differences’ through the encounter of the two cultures by hardwiring a substantial internship in our schools for those in clerical formation.

To establish a proof of concept, Uttley drew together eight members of the clergy, including two active Diocesan Bishops, (including one from the United States and a very senior member of the hierarchy of England and Wales) three ordained priest members of a religious order, and three Diocesan clergy. The members ecclesiology covered a relatively broad spectrum and while none would have objected to being identified, as their identities were immaterial to the subject in hand, they are not disclosed. As we are looking primarily at the encounter between school and local parish, we are limiting this research group to those whose formation led to priestly ordination. This limitation is deliberate and fully recognises the need to look at the contribution of, for example, female religious, in subsequent investigations.

The first stage was to cross-refer to the Ratio Fundamentalis – a broad summary of the ‘curriculum content’ of priestly formation. The extract above is just a snapshot but describes how the life of our Catholic schools offers a rich seam of experience for those in priestly formation, while also placing them, for a substantial period of time (at least three months was one suggestion) in a professional, regulated space with leadership and management from a variety of talented lay men and women. Crucially, the role would be one role among many in the school, flexible and as close to full time as possible.

The focus group response was universally in favour of the power and impact of such placements on those in priestly formation. For one priest,

”It gives them (those in formation) a realistic understanding of the struggles and challenges faced by

professional people in general and teachers in particular, including most especially that of witnessing to the faith in a demanding context.”

For one Bishop:

“Encountering young people and school staff in a structured setting where there are everyday possibilities for ongoing and fruitful communication between those in and training for ministry and young people and school staff”

… “Giving clergy in formation an experience of structured timetabled work in a way which is not possible in the same way in placements in parishes”.

The group felt the experience must go beyond the ‘come in and give a talk’ approach to go someway to break down barriers and caricatures by simply being available to the young and to staff. In Uttley’s own school this included a local parish priest – crucially, open to receiving the necessary training in working with young people that everyone needs -then spending time in the playground once a week, his starting point being simply asking children ‘how is it going’ and taking it from there. The hallmarks of success then: regularity of attendance, no ‘power relationship’, showing an interest in the child’s story and having invested in some basic training with the

experts – the teaching staff.

Differences did exist in responses, such as the optimal time placements should last, and whether those less confident in pastoral ministry and talking to adolescents should be required to undertake such an experience. While demonstrating a sensitivity to the strengths and weaknesses of those in formation, it would seem that, given the expectations of as lifetime in the vineyard, overcoming some of these concerns through experience is also equally valid.

This paper is one attempt to cash out the call to mission, on the one hand, and the reality of parish decline - both through declining attendance and shortage of clergy – on the other. While there is no suggestion that such placements will lead to an immediate return to church on the part of the young, or to clergy developing a phenomenal acumen for working with the (alienated) young, it remains evident that you cannot be what you cannot see. The power of encountering ‘the other’ on the parts of those in formation, current clergy, adolescents and young professionals, Catholics and non-Catholics – is powerful and transformative. In an era beyond the days of Religious in schools, ‘cultural’ Catholicism and practice as the norm, this modest research, realistically, calls for openness and a degree of reimagination on the part of all.

Why is providing post 16 Core RE in Catholic Schools important and what are the challenges?

The first principle in Article 4 of the Religious Education Directory [ RED] states that ‘Religious education is the core of the core curriculum and is to be the source and summit of the whole curriculum’

As such in Catholic schools our young people are expected to spend at least 10% of curriculum time studying religious education from EYFS up until the end of KS4 with the majority taking a GCSE in the subject. And at KS5 5% of the curriculum is devoted to the study of religious education. In fact, all schools that are state-funded, including free schools and academies, are legally required to provide RE as part of their curriculum, including at KS5. (National Curriculum in England: Framework Document, DfE, September 2013, p.4). But how many do? From a quick check of the curriculum offer of some of my local sixth forms and colleges, the answer is none, or if they do it is subsumed into a general enrichment or a super curricula discussion programme involving other subjects, that provides some perceived value to their future careers or educational pathways.

Catholic sixth forms are not insulated by this wider societal expectation, to provide a setting where students can pursue academic success or relevant career opportunities, so, it can come as no surprise that where there is provision of an explicit Core RE programme, attitudes such as apathy and reticence are widely prevalent. Sadly, not only among the students but also, often tacitly, supported by their parents. The underlying retort is ‘what is the point? especially if it is non- examined and so does not lead to a specific qualification. Examined subjects, part time jobs, other enrichment opportunities are seen as more important as they lead to something tangible. The growth in credentialism, secularism and utilitarianism in our society has in turn led to a resistance to studying any topic

that is perceived as irrelevant for their lives, especially anything linked with theology and spirituality. This viewpoint has been supported by one survey which revealed that 62% believe religion is irrelevant in making decisions [Detailed Typology – Mapping the Terrain CYMFED 2010. Statistics from survey of 886 young Catholics – 15-25 year olds]

‘The Catholic school is thus confronted with children and young people who experience the difficulties of the present time…In an increasing number of instances they are not only indifferent and non – practising but also totally lacking in religious moral formation. To this we must add - on the part of numerous pupils and families a profound apathy where ethical and religious formation is concerned, to the extent that what is in fact required of the Catholic school is a certificate of studies or, at most quality instruction and training for employment.’ [The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium 1998: 378]

Another challenge is the age group of the students themselves. Post 16 is a time when they are working out who they are, what they believe and what they want to become. They have a greater degree of autonomy and choice than they have had previously; they can choose different pathways such as employment, apprenticeships or education and for those who stay in education they can focus on the subjects they enjoy as well as drop those they don’t. So, a compulsory Core RE programme can be seen as a hinderance to their perception of autonomy even if they have chosen to attend a Catholic sixth form. In fact, they are absolutely ‘allergic’ to being ‘told’ what to study or believe. Another challenge is diversity in the make-up of the sixth form itself, which makes designing a Core RE curriculum that responds to the needs of all difficult. The CES Census https://cescensus.org.uk/ downloads/CensusDigestEngland2022. pdf shows that 60% of students in

by Catherine Herring

Director of Catholic Life and Chaplaincy lead Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College

English schools are of the Catholic faith, but that the lowest number of Catholic students are found in years 12, 13 and 14 [p.20]. In addition, the pattern of belief in Catholic schools varies considerably from diocese to diocese. The most common pattern of belief is Catholic-other Christian followed by no religion and then other religion. This can impact the design of a Core RE curriculum as schools that take in students from outside its own stem school as well as the fourteen Catholic sixth form colleges cannot guarantee a common baseline in terms of knowledge or understanding. All of this will impact the curriculum design of any Core RE programme, as starting points and shared knowledge cannot be taken as a given.

For some sixth forms the challenges lie in funding, timetabling and staffing. There is a national shortage of religious education teachers and this shortage combined other difficulties such as funding, finding space in the timetable and suitable rooming can all hamper the provision of a Core RE programme. This is reinforced by the fact that Core RE does not appear in or impact the main secular accountability measures. It is an important question: should Core RE be prioritized over other important needs and demands of the curriculum?

However, despite all the challenges, Core RE it is at the heart of our mission as Catholic educational establishments. Lucy Kellaway, in an article for the Financial Times [ December 23rd 2022], noticed when she joined the staff as a teacher in a Catholic school, that its approach was different from schools she had previously worked in. Its purpose, revealed in her first staff meeting was not just about results – it was much more than that. This in the end is why we provide Core RE post 16 and why it is important. It is the lesson where they are not weighed and measured by exams or course work, it is a place where they can dialogue with themselves, the content and others. It is place where they can examine who they are, what they believe and how they want to live. It is a place

where they can learn and grow in their humanity. For ‘The integration of faith and reason is a distinctive mark of a Catholic school/college. At its best it is a dialogue – a search for truth. Dialogue combines attention to one’s own identity with the understanding of others and respect for diversity’. [The Identity of the Catholic School for a Culture of Dialogue 29.3.22 20. p. 5 30 p. 7 Pope Francis, Address to the Participants in the International Peace Conference, Al-Azhar Conference Centre, Cairo, 28 April 2017

In addition, Article 2 of the Religious Education Directory states that one of the aims of religious education is to develop the critical faculties, to understand the relationship between faith and life, between faith and culture and most important; relevance; to relate knowledge gained to their understanding of other subjects in the curriculum. Core RE is the hinge that links the mission of a Catholic sixth form to all its other subjects and can often help link it to real life. It will help them examine not only what they learn in their other subjects from a different perspective but also to respond and reflect on what it all means to them. Free will, determinism, evil, goodness, love and ethics are all linked and relevant to their other subjects and in fact to their lives.

This is why, ultimately, these young people need a religious education programme at KS5 almost as much, if not more than when they were in primary or secondary school, they need to be able to see themselves as more than a set of exam results or an economic unit, they need the challenge of a counter narrative or at least an alternative worldview to the siren voices of our society especially in social media, which has as much if not more influence on them than family or church. They need to be able to understand themselves and others in the light of faith, to engage their critical faculties and develop their religious imagination for to understand that what people believe and to reflect on one’s own beliefs should be at the heart of every human. For without it comes a warning from history, at

the Wannsee Conference in January 1942, eight out of the fifteen people who planned the Final Solution had higher degrees, somehow in all their academic learning, they had forgotten to be human. True education aims at the formation of the human person in the pursuit of his ultimate end and the good of the societies of which ..he is a member, and in whose obligations as an adult he will share. Gravissimum Educationis

Simon Sinek in both his book and TED talk, ‘Start with the Why’, is the inspiration to one approach, that is to provide a coherent narrative for the students, – to start with the why, why Core RE is a vital part of their educational and personal development which in turn will help student ‘buy in’. For more than ever in an increasingly polarized world it is vital that students who are growing into the next generation of adults are able to encounter and dialogue with worldviews that differ from their own as well as critically reflect on their own beliefs.

One final challenge - is it possible to write a KS5 model curriculum similar to the new Religious Education Directory, that will meet the needs of the different settings? How do Catholic schools and colleges meet the needs of the students as well as the demands of the new inspection framework when developing a curriculum and assessment intent for KS5 RE? For what might work in one setting may not work in another. Therefore, we have a golden opportunity to apply the principle of subsidiarity from Catholic social teaching, that is to provide a new framework that allows for sufficient flexibility, that allows Catholic sixth forms to meet the needs of the actual students they teach and so provide an authentic Catholic world view. Have no doubt though, Core RE must be seen as a crucial part of the curriculum offer in our sixth forms, it must be promoted, funded and staffed so that an engaging programme can be developed and so have the desired impact, after all it is our mission

Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School - Social Justice Conference

Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Bournemouth, recently hosted a Social Justice Conference for Pupils, which involved participation from a total of fifteen Catholic and Christian schools within the Diocese of Portsmouth and beyond, including over one hundred Year 6 pupils and over fifty other attendees and guests, including Headteachers and school senior leaders.

This event was organised by Simon Lennon, Headteacher and Kerry Macfarlane, Assistant Headteacher, as part of their commitment to promoting social justice both within and beyond their school community. The conference was facilitated by Raymond Friel OBE, CEO of Caritas and Mugeni Sumba, Oscar Romero Award Coordinator. Other guests included Robert Dare, CASO Schools Support Officer and Judith Hoar, Oscar Romero Award Lead Validator.

Simon Lennon, Headteacher of Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School said: ‘It was a pleasure and privilege to invite fourteen schools from the Plymouth and Portsmouth diocese to Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School to our Social Justice Pupil Conference. Each generation of Christians is called to spread hope through loving concern and to work for social justice for those who are treated unfairly or disadvantaged in our world. It was powerful to witness the enthusiasm, knowledge and desire in the children who demonstrated such passion

to make a positive difference globally. I truly believe that providing a platform for pupils to understand and promote social justice is vital for our next generation.’

Kerry Macfarlane, Assistant Headteacher, said: ‘We are very proud to have hosted this special event for schools promoting understanding and action for social justice, which involved pupils at the very heart of the mission.’ In addition to her senior leadership role, Kerry is also a third year PhD student, researching Catholic character education as part of her doctoral study at St Mary’s University, Twickenham.

The theme of the Social Justice Conference focused on ‘Loving the Stranger’, exploring ways in which schools foster a culture of welcome and inclusion in their school and parish community, promoting the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Following opportunities to engage in school self-evaluation, pupils were invited to discuss and reflect in mixed school groups, which involved an action planning task for individual schools. This culminated in pupil presentations as part of the conference forum - a powerful and poignant sharing opportunity for schools to engage and share ideas, projects and practices which promote the Christian mission of social justice.

The Social Justice Conference for Pupils provided a unique opportunity for children across a range of primary schools to interact with each other to discuss and share ideas and opinions on the significant topic of social justice in a contemporary context. As part of the day, schools were invited to review and evaluate their current provision for social justice, particularly in the context of welcoming ‘the stranger. Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School also hosted a follow up online Evaluation Conference as an opportunity to share and discuss the effectiveness of the impact on participating schools. The school was delighted with the variety of

by Kerry Macfarlane

Assistant Headteacher

Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Bournemouth.

outcomes shared by the pupils which involved social action to support the disadvantaged across both local and global communities.

As part of the distinctive Catholic approach to the curriculum at Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, the school has adopted a See-Choose-Act methodology to actively engage with and promote social justice within the school community and in the wider world.

Through fundraising, the school’s Oscar Romero Faith in Action Committee is committed to the mission of Christian service, raising in excess of £1000 last year, for Mary’s Meals, a charity dedicated to providing a meal for hungry children across the globe at their place of education, in the fight against world poverty.

Corpus Christi Primary School was awarded the Oscar Romero Award Developer Level in 2020 in recognition of its commitment to social justice across the whole school community. The school is now aspiring to achieve the Innovator Level Award in recognition of its missionary outreach beyond the school community and its impact on social justice in other schools. Corpus Christi is also preparing for the Schools of Sanctuary Award this year in recognition of its commitment to promote a culture of welcome and inclusion for refugees and those seeking asylum.

Mugeni Sumba, Oscar Romero Award Coordinator, said:

‘This Conference was a wonderful opportunity for pupils to meet pupils from other schools and share ideas on how they can put the principles of Catholic Social Teaching into practice in their schools. It was wonderful to see pupils from 15 schools interact with each other and the keynote speaker, responding to the questions he raised with them but also responding to those raised by other pupils. Hearing what other schools were doing or going to do, gave the schools things to think about for their own schools. One of the aims of the Oscar Romero Award is to help schools engage with each other at pupil level and to achieve our

Innovator Level, a school needs to demonstrate that it is an ‘evangelising’ centre – it enables those within its community to experience God’s love by putting CST principles into practice. The school must also demonstrate that it is ‘missionary’ to other school communities; this means that a school will reach out to other schools, supporting them to embed CST in their everyday life. By organising and hosting this conference for pupils, Corpus Christi was meeting both expectations of the Oscar Romero Award.’

Raymond Friel, CEO of Caritas wrote:

On 22 September, I visited Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School in Bournemouth to lead their Social Justice Conference for Year 6 pupils. I was impressed by the ambition of the day: fourteen primary schools from the area each sent a group of pupils with a teacher. The school hall was set up in a very professional ‘cabaret’ style with tables to facilitate discussion.

My first input began with the question, What is a just society? In an activity with two pupils who joined me at the front, I gave one girl ten pound coins and a boy no coins. The girl had the option to give the boy any number of the coins from 0-10. She chose to give him five. Why? “Because that’s fair.” When everybody did the exercise, although some gave less than three and some gave all their coins, the majority gave between four and six. This was a helpful way into the definition of justice in the Catechism (1807), that justice is a moral virtue, a firm determination to give to God and our neighbour what is their “due”. This led to a very interesting group discussion about what was needed to live a truly human life, in other words, what is due to everybody. The answers were thought-provoking: from what you might expect, like food, shelter, family and friends, to sleep and oxygen.

We explored the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching, rooted in the Gospel, in the proclamation of Jesus that he had come to bring good news to the poor, in the story of the Good Samaritan and the injunction to be a

neighbour to the wounded one, in the parable in Matthew’s Gospel (25: 31-46) in which Christ identifies himself with the most vulnerable ones in society.

Our next task was to look at how to apply the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. With some fun with optical illusions, we got to the point that it is all about ‘seeing’ with the compassionate and just gaze of God. We looked at the See-Discern-Act method which is part of the teaching of the Church (see: John XXIII’s encyclical Mater et Magistra). It’s about seeing what is going on in the world, discerning what the Gospel tells us about it, and then deciding what we can do to build a better world. In the afternoon, the pupils worked in their school groups to share what they had learned, what it meant for their communities and what they intended to do to build a more loving and just world. Each school fed back what they had discussed, with many inspiring ideas shared with confidence by the spokespersons from each school. We’ll be meeting up in a few weeks on Zoom to follow up with the pupils on how their ideas have worked out in their schools.

It was a pleasure for us to be joined at the Conference by Mugeni Sumba and Judith Hoar from the Oscar Romero Award. Corpus Christi is one of the few schools to have achieved the Developer Level Award and are working towards the highest level, the Innovator Level. For this level, the school has to be fully alive to Catholic Social Teaching, with a commitment throughout to tackling inequality and poverty. The school will be a ‘missionary centre’ for Catholic Social Teaching, with an impact beyond the school.

I’ve had the pleasure to work with Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School for a number of years. It is a school that ‘gets’ the mission of the Catholic school, rooted in the Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching. With Gospelinspired leadership, the school shows what it’s like when Catholic Social Teaching is everywhere within the school and indeed, beyond the school.

A Few Thoughts On Ianus, the Magi and New Year’s Resolutions

The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul…Unless a man be born again, he shall by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. [1]

Ianua is a Latin word for ‘door’ or ‘gateway’ and Ianus was the Roman god of doorways and gateways. January - the gateway to a new year - is named after Ianus who, with his two bearded faces, looked both backwards to the year just gone and forward to the year just beginning. For millennia many cultures viewed New Year as a moment for looking in both directions, a threshold of new possibility and an appropriate time to make resolutions that actualise potential and necessary change. The pagans of Rome made vows to the divinities in January to reform behaviour, keep pledges, pay off debts and renew loyalty to their leaders. If our own New Year’s resolutions today are more secular in character - loosely made and easily broken verbal deals made with ourselves, rather than solemn and binding pledges to supernatural forces sealed by solemn sacrifice - and tied to some programme of individual self-improvement rather than the common good - there is also a more explicitly religious and communitarian phenomenon that takes place in the new year. The celebration of the Solemnity of the Epiphany, towards the end of the first week of January, is when Christians recall the revelation of the infant Jesus to all peoples via the Magi of the East. The Journey of the Wise Men (or Magoi, as they are called in Matthew 2’s Koine Greek) is among the most enduring of images in Western art and literature. Pondering that timeless tale, are there any New Year’s resolutions to be teased out to be of some use to us and those we love and serve?

Resolution 1: Follow Lights As Far As They Go - and Be Light

The Magi started out on their journey because they saw a star. Seeking out light is, for believer and unbeliever, a very basic image for a journey of discovery. “God is light” says 1 John 1:5; and the period of history characterised by atheists as the time when human beings came of age, casting off religion to place humans at the centre of things, is known as ‘the Enlightenment’. So ‘light’ is a popular image for capturing being faithful to conscience and our lived experience - we are encouraged to follow our lights as best we can. But the challenge,as it was for the Magi who followed the star all the way to Christ, is to follow our lights as far as they go.

A few years ago a school I know became a UNICEF Rights Respecting School. Children’s rights are founded on the cherished western value that all human beings, irrespective of age (skin colour, sexual orientation, financial status, or any other accidental feature of human existence) have equal rights because they are equal in dignity. From conversations I had at the time, however, I suspect that few people had much idea where that value ultimately came from. As Tom Holland [2] reminds us in his excellent (albeit, from a Christian perspective, frustratingly incomplete) work, Western culture is saturated in the influence and values of a worldview that it is often embarrassed by today. Thus we live in a world in which the origins of children’s rights (enshrined

by Paul Rowan

Paul was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Liverpool in 1995. He has been on the academic and formation staff of 3 seminaries, in Rome and the U.K. He has taught and been involved in pastoral and chaplaincy work in primary, secondary and tertiary education, which has included pontifical and secular institutions. He is currently an Assistant Head (Director of Catholic Life and Formation) at Beaulieu Convent School Jersey in the Channel Islands.

in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948) are seldom voiced and are culturally forgottenthey are rooted in the belief that all human beings are created equal. If we do have inalienable rights, it is not because they are provided by nature - let’s be frank, nature makes us very unequal in looks, strength, genetics, geographical location of birth and circumstances of upbringing, etc. Two and a half millennia ago, intelligent men like Plato and Aristotle would have thought it crazy and irresponsible to claim that humans are all equal. But between those brilliant Ancients and the Western mind today stands a Jewish-Christian legacy in which so many of our contemporary values are rooted. That legacy contends that nothing within nature grants fundamental equality to people. Remove the supernatural if you insist, but it is not then even remotely evident that we have a foundation for the conviction that all humans are equal. People can only be equal because of something shared beyond nature - the same supernatural Creator who has stamped them all with an inviolable human nature, as created in God’s image.

So a first New Year’s resolution for us and our students/colleagues could be: To list our guiding principles and research their origins, following our light as far as it goes. And to embody our light each day in a world that badly needs it.

Resolution 2: Thank Our Camels and Be a Camel!

It is possible that the Magi were scholars from Zoroastrianism or another Eastern tradition. On their journey to the Kingdom of Judah, therefore, they would have travelled across deserts, presumably by camel. Horses are not much use on desert journeys but camels have evolved perfectly for the task. They set off and, even without food, water, reins and directions, they just stick at it, steadily, faithfully and reliably, crossing the desert, saving themselves and their rider.

So here’s a question: do we have a camel in our life? Perhaps there’s a camel in our character, some stubborn inner resource which helps us to negotiate the dry, arid spells of our journey? We all need a camel in life, some inner motivation that keeps us surmounting obstacles and difficulties in the deserts of life. Perhaps there’s a person who calls out those inner resources and gives us a reason to keep going when times get tough and we are sinking underfoot on the soft sands of existence. The Magi faced plenty of obstacles and difficulties. What kept them going on their journey was the camel under them and the camel within them.

As we look back with Ianus over the past year, can we see moments where we got lost? Remember the Magi got lost - with disastrous consequences. Looking back even further into our past, did the star that guided the earlier stages of the journey disappear in the clouds of daily living, in disappointments and heartache, or in the folly of our own mistakes and the hurt these caused? What kept us going? Who kept us going? Who in our life today loves us simply because we are there in their life? Who loves us for our faithfulness to the journey, for the fact that we have kept on going with them? Those who really love us know that there is much more to us than our mistakes. They are the camels in our life. Perhaps we can resolve this year to thank them more often, to stay close to them and to reciprocate. We can resolve this year to be a camel for somebody else.

Resolution 3: Acknowledge that X is Not Perfect - but Neither Are We!

At one point the Magi go to Jerusalem to speak with King Herod. Faking holiness, Herod says that he, too, wants to pay homage to Jesus, but in reality he just feels threatened and massacres others to protect his own patch.

Many play the game of holiness. Pope Francis calls it spiritual worldliness: people hiding behind piety and love for God and the

Church, when it’s little to do with the glory of God and more to do with self-glorification. The Pope sees it especially among the clergy. He’s right, but wrong if he thinks it stops there. I once had several colleagues who had either left or been forced to leave seminary. Some had got on with their lives quite happily; others remained forever prêtres manqués, wannabe clergy, desperate for the powerful status which the poison of clericalism gives to some. Now, as senior or aspirant senior laymen in the Church, they are a danger to all who cross them. We may know personally or hear of Herods in leadership positions in the Church: who tell lies and do deals to protect their own threadbare patches of power, sacrificing God’s little ones to do so; who apologise only when exposed; and who live life desperately hoping that nothing else comes out before they die (or at least retire from office).

It’s a sign of the times that the fact that there are Herods in the Church no longer shocks us, even if it can still disappoint. It shouldn’t. The Magi finally found Christ in a place that was, at one and the same time, both beautiful and messy - a stable where God lay amidst animal dung, blood, sweat, tears, an umbilical cord, and a mother and father’s love. The Church - like any staffroom, common room, marriage, friendship, family or priesthood - is always a dysfunctional family and a graced mess. The world is not neatly divided into saints and sinners - it is a world of people (like me and you) who are now saints, now sinners. We should not be surprised, still less sanctimonious, when the battles and compromises of our own heart are somehow reflected in the lives of others in more or less serious ways. That’s why G K Chesterton once said, “The answer to the question, ‘What is Wrong?’ is, or should be, ‘I am wrong.’ Until a man can give that answer, his idealism is only a hobby.” [3]

So another resolution could be: I will seek to live with greater integrity.. If love demands it, I will shine a light on darkness; but I will seek to improve

the world from a starting point much closer to home than the lives of others. I will acknowledge: “Yes! X [please insert here the appropriate name of person or collectives in your life that irritate you - the Church, my workplace, my family, my spouse, my mother-in-law, my line manager, my bishop] is a **** [please insert appropriate cuss word]! But so am I from time to time!”

Resolution 4: Wrestle with Experience to See the Hidden Grace

The Wise Men fall to their knees before the infant lying in a trough. It is a physical act of reverence before something small and ordinary, yet also a moment in which they are part of something much bigger, a mystery both hidden, yet hinted at, in the scene before them. The Magi thought they were bringing gifts to some new human king; but they were themselves receiving THE gift, a glimpse of God in the most unexpected of places.

The great Protestant theologian Paul Tillich said somewhere that if the word ‘God’ has no meaning for me, then I need to look at the world in front of me and ask myself what does make sense, what is meaningful in my life. (A useful little thing to remember when dealing with the sceptical and the cynical in classrooms, lecture halls and workplaces.) Tillich says that whatever I care about, whatever it is that is my ‘ultimate concern’, whatever gets me out of bed in the morning, that thing God will use to begin to make my life livable. That is God’s support, challenge and invitation into a richer, more meaningful life beyond me. The Journey of the Magi speaks of the extraordinary found in the ordinary, the depths found in the everyday.

So: could I resolve this year to open my eyes and heart to see the deeper treasure in my ordinary, everyday life? What will I learn through: A new friendship or intimate relationship? A serious illness? The painful mystery of death? A new job opportunity? A

glimpse of love, beauty or goodness? Someone confiding in me their hopes or fears? A moment when I feel my life is a mess and going nowhere? When a relationship falls apart? When I loathe the Church or even God? What will the experience of forgiving someone bring me? Receiving forgiveness from someone? Feeling lonely, misunderstood, rejected or cancelled? Feeling joyful, respected and good about myself?

Resolve to wrestle with experiences this coming year. They bear the gift of a grace from the God who hides in troughs (as well as wafers, cups of wine and messy human situations).

Resolution 5: Choose to Be Less Herod and More Magi

Having presented their treasures, the Magi returned home by a different route and we never hear of them again. Having done what had been asked by God, they rode off into the sunset of anonymity. Whether we are a believer or an atheist, being prepared to do what life demands, especially slipping away into an unremarkable life, is absolutely critical to our sanity and our peace.

Christians believe that the infant in the stable is the Logos made flesh, God in human form, God who came to show us how to be fully human and flourish. But remember - God lived an unnoticed human life for 30 out of 33 years on a remote and insignificant edge of the Roman Empire. God didn’t seek centre stage. He sought only to share his life in love. Human flourishing involves placing anything we have and are at the feet of this anonymous God, as did the Magi. All is to be handed over to his agenda of making our corner of the world a better, more loving place. We leave it all at his feet and then do whatever life asks of us next if we wish to be happy. (“[I]n his will is our peace” said Dante Alighieri [4])

In this world, being happy can never depend on us, or our plans, or our agenda, because we can never have ultimate control over such things. If

control is our focus, we will always be anxious and fretful, like Herod. The news that a new king had been born threatened him to his rotten core. People obsessed with power and control are a danger to all around them. Those for whom life is all about them always see others as competition and as an object to be eliminated - they are the Herods of this world and you will see them in education, in the Church and in all walks of life. Those for whom life is a gift to be shared in love with others always see others and what they bring as a gift to them and to the world; they view them as fellow travellers, part of the same story and persons to be encouraged. The wise of our world, the Magi, share that perspective. You will also find them (albeit not quite so readily) in education, in the Church and in all walks of life.

A final New Year’s resolution then: to ask myself at the end of each day, “Was I more Herod or more Magi today?” (I can take my answer and go back for another go at it tomorrow.)

Happy 2024 and God’s blessings on you and those you love!

End Notes

[1] G. K. Chesterton, The Daily News G. K. Chesterton Calendar (Entry for 1st January 1911), London: 1911. https://blogs.shu. edu/chesterton/2023/01/02/gk-chesterton-on-the-new-year/ [accessed 29 November 2023

[2] Tom Holland, Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind. New York (Little, Brown), 2019.

[3] G. K. Chesterton, Daily News, 16th August 1905, personal collection of D. Ahlquist, President of The American Chesterton Society.

[4] Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, Paradiso: Canto III, https://www.infoplease.com/ primary-sources/poetry/dante/divinecomedy-60 [accessed 29 November 2023]

News from CATSC

CATSC/NfRCE JOINT CONFERENCE 2023, MARY IMMACULATE COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK, OCTOBER 2023

Following on from the first very successful Joint Conference held at St Mary’s University in May 2023, the second Joint Conference of the Catholic Association of Teachers, Schools and Colleges (CATSC)/ Network for Researchers in Catholic Education (NfRCE) took place on Thursday 19th – Friday 20th October 2023 at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland. The theme was Fluidly Faithful Catholic Education and the Institutional Church.

Those offering papers were invited to ponder the nature of the relationship between Catholic education and the wider Catholic Church. Special consideration was given to what is, and what ought to be, the relationship between the Church and Catholic universities and researchers. There were also opportunities to tease out the ways in which Catholic schools and places of education embody and remain faithful in these times of fluidity and flux.

Papers were given by three members of the CATSC Executive Council. Professor Lydon spoke on ‘The Maintenance of Catholic Identity in a University Context in a Time of Fluidity and Flux’. The presentation began by reflecting on the nature of a “time of fluidity and flux”, signposting the changing nature of Catholicism demographically in Europe. It then focused briefly on Pope Francis’ Global Compact on Catholic Education, concentrating especially on the two commitments of particular relevance to higher education, ‘to make human persons the centre’ and ‘to listen to the voices of students and young people in order to build together a future of justice, peace and a dignified life’. The concepts of a holistic vision and

dignity, among others, were explored in the context of a 21st century Catholic University, mindful of Pope Francis’ aspiration Catholic institutions of higher education to shine as world universities that, by offering their educational services, are in a capacity to “pass on a system of values based on the recognition of the dignity of each person”. Practical strategies for realising this aspiration were navigated, centring on the building of a Catholic University community marked by relationships of trust between tutors and staff, alongside a commitment to social justice.

Dr Mary Mihovilović delivered a paper on ‘Continuity or Discontinuity in the English Catholic School System: Positioning for a Catholic Multi Academy Trust (CMAT) led system’. In the changing landscape of state funded Catholic education in England, CMATs are taking up a central place within the system. The paper explored the opportunities for and challenges to mission integrity that this poses through a documentary analysis of Church teaching on Catholic education from 1965 to 2022. For the most part, the magisterium focuses on the Catholic school as an entity in itself. The findings suggest that at this early stage in their development a fresh reading of Church teaching through the lens of a CMAT is apposite. The documents both challenge those involved in the development and leadership of CMATS to ensure their authenticity within the mission of the Church and provide an impetus to consider creatively the possibilities their distinctive status accords them to provide Catholic education in all its richness.

Dr Caroline Healy presented on the topic of ‘The Catholic Church and

Teacher Formation: Contemporary participant voices from the MA in Catholic School Leadership, St Mary’s University, Twickenham’. In the Vatican document from the Congregation for Catholic Education, Lay Catholics in Schools: witnesses to faith (1982) it states: ‘the teacher under discussion here is not simply a professional person who systematically transmits a body of knowledge in the context of a school; ‘teacher’ is to be understood as ‘educator’ – one who helps to form human persons. The task of the teacher goes well beyond transmission of knowledge, although that is not excluded (n. 16). The 1980s marked the beginning of a significant transition from religious to lay teachers in need of formation. In 1997, the unique MA in Catholic School Leadership at St Mary’s University was established to provide such formation. Its longevity over the past quarter of a century is testament to its founder Professor John Sullivan’s vision and subsequent programme directors including Professor John Lydon. The paper considered why this programme is needed more than ever before in a period of increasing fluidity of Catholicism. The contemporary voices of participants on the programme will be shared and what they say about its Catholic distinctiveness, how it enhances their knowledge and confidence around articulating the faith, assisting with upholding integrity to the Church’s mission in education. Finally, shared student experiences of studying with other practitioners and school leaders to enhance Catholic schools as significant communities in service to the most vulnerable.

Professor Lydon and Dr Healy’s doctoral student, Nicholas Sutton and assistant principal in Bristol presented on the theme of ‘Clashing

Symbols: Seeking compatibility between postmodern culture and faith within the context of Post-16 Catholic education’.

(Grace in Whittle, 2018:19). Ultimately, his research seeks to determine whether the characteristics of postmodern culture are presenting barriers or opportunities in the communication of Catholic Christian faith.

Teacher Formation with inputs from members of the Council based on experiences in their member countries on the sub-themes of:

In 2020, Pope Francis reminded an audience who were gripped by the perils of a global pandemic, of the virtues emulating from faith, such as the elevation of human dignity and value. In stark contrast to faith however, the Pope references a ‘culture of indifference’. Such phrases resemble key characteristics that have been ascribed to postmodern culture. The late Jesuit scholar, Michael Paul Gallagher described a characteristic postmodern culture as ‘passive’ (2003:127) driven by a market-style model and resulting in a dissociation of meaningful narrative. Building upon current research within the field of Catholic education, the paper presented on the literature review of for doctoral research, which is focused the research question, how do we communicate Catholic Christian faith to those who feel happy to live without it in post-16 Catholic education? This is because the implications of culture have significantly impacted upon Catholic schools in their mission of faith formation. Ann Casson’s research into The Loss of Thick Catholic Culture (Casson in Whittle, 2018) for example, presented a changing nature of the family and its influences upon the transmission of faith, ‘the Catholic identity of the family is no longer thick, but becoming increasing thin, or non-existent’ (Casson in Whittle, 2018:59). Additionally, Gerald Grace drew upon the challenges associated in maintaining a Catholic identity following the decline in numbers of clergy and religious, whilst secularism and relativism continue to increase

Delegates were drawn from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Canada. A special lifetime achievement award was presented by Professor John Lydon (CATSC) to Emeritus Professor John Sullivan on his retirement, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to service in Catholic education, formation of Catholic school leaders and scholarship in Catholic education research.

CATSC also contributed to the success of the Conference by sponsoring the Conference Dinner, a gesture that was appreciated universally.

WORLD UNION OF CATHOLIC TEACHERS

COUNCIL 2023,

ROME,

FRI. 16TH

NOVEMBER

2022 – SUN. 19TH

NOVEMBER 2023

• The Catholic teacher, a resource for the school and the community (Prof. Cheryl Peralta, Vice Rector of Santo Tomas University, Manila)

• Values-based education and the role of teachers (Prof. Roisin Coll, St Andrew’s Foundation, University of Glasgow)

• Catholic school leadership and formation: opportunities and challenges (Prof. John Lydon, St Mary’s University, Twickenham)

• Effectiveness of the leadership of the Catholic teacher in relation to his mission to generate justice, inclusion and solidarity (Prof. Angelo Paletta, University of Bologna)

• Teacher shortages and retention, Dr Danielle Woestenberg (CNV, The Netherlands).

This was organised by the new WUCT Executive Committee, Dr Caroline Healy, CATSC and St Mary’s University, Twickenham now holds the role of Treasurer alongside new President Jan de Groof, Emeritus Professor at the University of Antwerp, Belgium and the General Secretary, Dr Giuseppe Desideri, AIMC’s National President, Italy. The Ecclesiastical Advisor remains the Archbishop of Cambrai, France, Vincent Dollmann. CATSC’s Professor John Lydon will lead on WUCT’s Research Strategy.

Three members of the CATSC Executive Council attended the World Union of Catholic Teachers Council held in Rome: President John P. Nish, Treasurer Professor John Lydon and General Secretary Dr Caroline Healy. The theme of the conference was

The Secretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, Archbishop Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi also addressed the Council on ‘Journeying Towards Hope: the gestures of Encounter and Rev. Giovanni Buontempo, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life on ‘Associations of the Faithful in the Church Today’. Rev. Francesco Scalzotto from the Dicastery for Evangelisation presented on the On the Way to the Jubilee 2025 and its

Professor John Lydon and Dr Caroline Healy with two of their doctoral students, Julie-Anne Tallon and Nicholas Sutton at the conference, Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick

WUCT Council Delegates 2023 in Rome, enjoying the sun setting on St Peter’s Basilica

theme Pilgrims of Hope which CATSC hopes to send teachers to Rome. The next General Assembly is expected to take place in Chile in November 2024 and preparations are underway for the 60th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s document on education Gravissimum Educationis/Declaration on Christian Education, in 2025.

INAUGURAL PROFESSORIAL LECTURE OF PROFESSOR JOHN LYDON, ST MARY’S UNIVERSITY

Dr Caroline Healy reports

significant as it is the first one in Catholic education, as the university prepares to celebrate its long-standing Catholic identity as it approaches its 175th anniversary in 2025.

Professor Lydon’s lecture was entitled The Perennial Influence of the Salesian Style of Accompaniment in Catholic Education Settings – The Legacy of St John Bosco. He began by emphasising the centrality of accompaniment in a Christian context:

"Accompaniment constitutes a perennial theme in a Christian context, best encapsulated in the Emmaus story (Luke 22:1335) when Jesus accompanies the two disciples on what could be described as a journey of discovery. This journey paradigm, which underpins many Religious Education programmes, constitutes a central feature of the Salesian education vision known as the Preventive System. "

He then proceeded to speak to accompaniment more specifically in a Salesian context:

"St John Bosco (1815-1888), the founder of the Salesians, was concerned with the transformation of the lives of every young person with whom he came into contact, resonating with ‘the uniqueness of the individual’, one of the key principles of Catholic education elucidated by the English and Welsh Bishops Conference (CBCEW, 1996, p. 1). According to one of his first Salesians, Bosco encouraged them to ‘go to the pump’, to meet young people where they had gathered and to engage in a genuine encounter. "

accompaniment in a contemporary context, alongside research evidence spanning a decade, which constitutes evidential support for the perennial impact of the Salesian education vision.

The lecture was particularly well attended, with over 120 people present, apparently the highest number in St Mary’s history in terms of attendance at an Inaugural Professorial Lecture. Attendees included members of the university, including Chaplains, Professors, Deans and members of the Senior Leadership Team, alumni and current students of the MA in Catholic School Leadership and PhD programmes, eminent scholars in Catholic education, including Emeritus Professor Gerald Grace, and several members of the Salesians of Don Bosco including Very Rev. James Gerard Briody, Provincial of the Salesians Don Bosco in Great Britain. The Director of the Scottish Catholic Education Service, Barbara Coupar, was also present alongside Julie Oldroyd, Director of the Education Service of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. His Lordship Bishop Richard Moth, Chair of Governors at St Mary’s University, introduced the lecture which was followed by a reception hosted in the beautiful Waldegrave Drawing Room. A recording is available of the lecture. Please email: john.lydon@stmarys.ac.uk.

The Salesian Provincial responded to Professor Lydon’s lecture in the following terms: The apostolic exhortation Christus Vivit states that:

"The Church’s educational institutions are undoubtedly a communal setting for accompaniment."

The Inaugural Professorial Lecture of Professor John Lydon KC*HS, CATSC Treasurer, took place on Tuesday 26th September 2023 at St Mary’s University. This Professorial Chair is particularly

The inaugural professorial lecture continued to explore the extent to which this model of effective presence and encounter reflects the vision of St John Bosco. Recent scholarship was reviewed to facilitate the breaking open of the concept of Salesian

Accompaniment, alongside listening and discernment, are the themes, Pope Francis has set out in the apostolic exhortation on young people, as guidelines for the church in its work with young people, that group St. John Bosco described as ‘so rich in promise, yet so fraught with danger’. At the recent World Youth Day meeting in Lisbon, the Holy

The Secretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, Monsignor Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi, addressing the WUCT Council

Professor John Lydon delivering his inaugural professorial Lecture on the legacy of St John Bosco

Father repeatedly exhorted more than a million young people ‘Do not be afraid’.

In his address this evening, Professor Lydon has described a methodology which empowers young people, through active and participative education and sets out to make them protagonists in deciding their own destiny and influencing that of society. This methodology is deeply rooted in religious faith and is driven by reason and loving kindness, not of the soft variety but more akin to the tough love

we often hear referred to. Love, that while supportive, is also demanding, while enabling is also challenging, while protective and safe is also emboldening.

Indicating developments

In his presentation, Professor Lydon draws our attention to the perennial influence of Salesian accompaniment in Catholic Educational settings in the UK. This is against a background of increasing accountability and managerialism in education, alongside what is termed the decline in numbers of religious participating in active education since Vatican II.

Whilst the decline in the numbers of religious is a fact, it does not mean that Religious and their respective charisms, can no longer play an impactful role in education. Smaller numbers of well placed, well trained and highly committed religious, can have an impact disproportionate to their foot fall.

The charisms of religious congregations, which are a gift to the church, continue to be relevant in Catholic schools, where they can play a key role in building up and maintaining, what Professor Gerald Grace refers to as, the spiritual capital of each institution. More than that, however, the presence of religious in schools brings these charisms to life, allowing them to be modelled by religious alongside committed lay staff. This is facilitated by the building up of trust through regular and meaningful dialogue.

Competing metaphors

long involvement with organisations such as CATSC.

The Salesian model, referred to by Professor Lydon as the Preventive System, sets out to engage young people as active agents of change. by encouraging them to step out of themselves and of their comfort zones, not to be sat on the sofa, as Pope Francis counsels them, but to be engaged as animators, to use a Salesian term; this is one of the steps to initiating transformation both personally and collectively.

The year 2024 marks the 200th anniversary of a point of revelation for St. John Bosco, which he cited as having a considerable impact on his educational vision. In a dream sequence, he saw himself seeking to bring to heel a blasphemous rabble by using his fists, as a tough farm boy might. He described how he was then approached by the figure of a resplendent lady who advised him, not by blows but by meekness and humility, would he be able to win over these feral young people. These are the sorts of young people Bosco met later in the prisons of Turin when their condition literally turned his stomach.

We might ask how this dynamic can be maintained in an educational world that is constantly under pressure to produce results? A point highlighted by Professor Lydon is the need for an active and ongoing partnership between schools and religious congregations regarding maintaining authentic charismatic identity, not simply through dialogue, but also through active engagement, the sharing of knowledge and training opportunities, the circulation of relevant literature and the sharing of best practice alongside lived example. This becomes ever more important as school structures continue to evolve. This is something Professor Lydon has championed through his membership of the Salesian schools’ team and his

Professor Lydon has set out for us a compelling vision of how the relationship between educators and pupils can be built in and through the relating of the educator to the young in the classroom, but also beyond, through participation in theatre, music and sport as well as in extracurricular involvement. Through these activities the medium becomes very much the message and mutual respect, rather than a superior inferior relationship, becomes the norm. It is this that allows the dynamic of accompaniment, in the educational setting, to grow and flourish.

Returning to Pope Francis, he is very clear about the need young people have for adults and institutions who are prepared to listen to them, offering them time and space as well as support and advice, allowing them the freedom to make choices their own. These are vital steps in empowering

Professor and Mrs Lydon with Rt. Rev. Richard Moth, Bishop of Arundel & Brighton and Salesians of Don Bosco of the Great Britain Province.

Professor John Lydon with Emeritus Professor Gerald Grace on the occasion of his inaugural professorial lecture

the young to take their place in society as ‘good Christians and honest citizens’. This must be one of the ongoing goals of education that, as we seek to equip young people with the skills and qualifications to move forward in their lives, we also equip them with the values and the tools they need.

Professor Lydon has pursued this approach in the thirty or so years he has spent in mainstream education, from accompanying young people to sporting events to involving them in training to become protagonists amongst their peers and in teaching religious education at GCSE and A level for so many years.

He has continued this mission at the level of tertiary education through the promotion and development of leaders in Catholic education. He has helped to widen the parameters of this discussion through his research, writing and lecturing, his membership of academic and trust boards, his editing of academic publications and by his personal example with the support of his wife Marguerite and his colleagues. Through all of this he has become a leading academic and a sought after speaker in his field.

This evening he has presented us with evidence that the Salesian style of accompaniment remains relevant and impactful today, in encouraging the ongoing development of education as a partnership between church, family and school. Professor Lydon embodies this partnership in his work with and for students and in his advocacy of the efficacy of Catholic and Salesian Education, as well as in his support for diocesan and tertiary education structures. In all of this he retains a wonderful generosity of spirit and cheerfulness.

It is both an honour and a privilege for me to answer Professor Lydon’s inaugural lecture. I trust that he will continue to use this position to promote faith-based education in its widest sense.

PROFESSOR JOHN LYDON & DOCTOR

CAROLINE

HEALY RECEIVE MARIST MEDAL

FOLLOWING THE GRADUATION CEREMONY OF REV DR CAROS DO PRADO FMS

Brother Carlos Do Prado FMS, a General Councillor of the Marist Brothers, was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of St Mary’s University at the Graduation Ceremony which took place at Westminster Cathedral in July 2023. Bro. Carlos’ thesis was entitled Revitalizing the Prophetic and Collaborative Global Leadership and the Charism of the Institute of the Marist Brothers: Challenges and Opportunities and represents an exploration of the constituent elements for the Institute of the Marist Brothers to be able to form prophetic and collaborative leaders who contribute to the vitality and continuity of the Marist charism.

The thesis considers the essential elements of the formation of prophetic and collaborative global leaders who can contribute to the vitality and continuity of the charism of the Institute of the Marist Brothers. The study aims to examine the global leadership role that the General Council of the Institute of the Marist Brothers plays in ensuring the formation of prophetic and collaborative leaders. At the same time, the study identifies current strengths, challenges and opportunities in Marist leaders’ formation processes that enable those leaders to contribute to the Institute’s capacity to ensure the continuity and vitality of the Marist charism in the contemporary world.

Three members of the General Council of the Marist Brothers accompanied Bro. Carlos:

• Br. Antonio Benedito de Oliveira FMS, Provincial of Brazil CentreSouth Marist Province, Curitiba, Brazil,

• Br. Ernesto Sánchez Barbar FMS (General Superior)

• Br. Benjamin Lance Consigli FMS (General Councillor)

Following the Graduation Ceremony, Bro. Carlos and the General Councillors were guests of the Vice Chancellor of St Mary’s University, Anthony McLaran, at a Lunch in a Restaurant close to Westminster Cathedral. On 20th July the General Superior, Bro. Ernesto Sánchez Barbar hosted a Lunch in celebration of Bro. Carlos’ achievement. During the meal he presented the Marist medal to Dr Healy in recognition of her outstanding supervisory support. He also presented the Marist medal to Professor Lydon for his “outstanding support for the Marist mission internationally”, having presented a keynote address at the Potnifical University of Curitiba in March 2023 alongside his supervision of Bro. Carlos. This medal sits alongside the Salesian Medal, presented to Professor Lydon by the Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco in 2013 for his contribution to the Salesian mission nationally and internationally.

Bro. Carlos do Prado with Professor Lydon, the General Superior and Councillors and Bro. Carlos’ sister

Religious Education, Catholic Schools and the 2023 Primary Curriculum Framework: Navigating New Roles and Relationships

Introduction and Context

2023 was a landmark year for Religious Education in Irish primary schools. It saw the launch of a new Primary Curriculum Framework. New and redeveloped curricular frameworks are part and parcel of the educational landscape. Those who have witnessed a few of these changes may be sceptical as to their true impact, while others may see potential for radical reform. This recently launched Framework, however, is particularly significant for the subject area of Religious Education (RE) in Catholic schools at Primary Level. The paper offers a brief reflection on the context, opportunities and priorities for Religious Education in Catholic schools at a time of critical change.

For the past decade, the provision of primary schooling (the vast majority at Primary Level are under the Patronage of the Catholic Church), and the nature of Religious Education in such schools has been an area of intense debate in the Irish context. Despite numerous efforts to address divestment and the provision of greater diversity of school type through educational policy and reports, there has been limited change to the overall school system at Primary Level. Consequently, attention turned the subject area of Religious Education in Catholic schools. Sharpening focus on this area was a perceived conduit of potential systematic change by the State, resulting in immense divergence of perspectives and concerns from various stakeholders about the implications of some of the

proposed approaches for Religious Education. Indeed, it should be noted that many of the challenges and criticisms faced by Catholic schools in the Irish context are well versed and similar to the challenges faced by Catholic education globally: questions of value in a State system, time and place of Religious Education on the curriculum, teacher identity, and the appropriateness of school-based sacramental preparation etc.

Given this backdrop of intense debate and speculation, the publication of the 2023 Primary Curriculum Framework finally provides some clarity about the reconceptualising of Religious Education and its future on the State Curriculum. While there had been much uncertainty about the extent to which Religious Education might be diminished with regard to allocated time on the Curriculum, the time was reduced by 30 minutes to a 2-hour allocation per week. Furthermore, the title of the subject area has been represented as ‘The Patron’s Programme: Religious/ Ethical/Multi-belief and Values Education.’ The wordy conflation of titles reflects the contested nature of subject area at Primary Level, with Religious Education too closely associated with Catholic schools that other education providers will not share this nomenclature for their programmes. The general outcome for Religious Education in Catholic schools was broadly welcomed. It could also be argued, however, that what may be seen by some as an almost imperceptible change of understanding could lead to a

by Dr Fiona Dineen

deeper fragmentation of this contested area.

Why does this matter?

The response of all stakeholders with a concern for Catholic education to this curricular reform provides a particular opportunity to reinvigorate Religious Education in Catholic schools at Primary Level, and avoid further fragmentation. It is a critical time, where decisions need to be navigated on how best to embrace this changing reality and chart future directions for Religious Education, with a hope of revitalising the area after a decade of debate. It could be claimed that the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Religious Education, until the launch of the Primary Curriculum Framework, has a twofold impact on both the educator and the subject.

Educators negotiate, on a daily basis, the challenges and issues that confront Religious Education. This is not an easy task when ‘buffeted simultaneously by contradictory currents which encourage a type of double think on the relevance and importance of religion in contemporary society.’ (Coll, 2019: 248) The unrelenting mixed messaging about the value of Religious Education in Catholic schools may lead to a reticent engagement with the area. Indeed, recent studies have demonstrated this impact of teaching in a pedagogically and politically contested space. (Conroy, Lundie et al. 2011-2017, Kuusisto & Gearon,

Lecturer in Religious Education at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick

2017). A notable challenge for educators, particularly at Primary Level, is navigating the perspective that seeks a requirement for the explanation of religious commitment, but not its absence. (Pring, 2023) This is a reminder of the need for ongoing and sustained reflection on how teachers are supported and nurtured across the journey and continuum of their professional lives in the area of Religious Education.

Sullivan reflects that Religious Education in Catholic schools operates at the crossroads of Church, home and educational communities. The teacher endeavours a balancing act of bridge-building, ‘mediating between persons and traditions, between classrooms and faith cultures, between the school and the Church.’ Further, he argues that the ministry of teaching has been somewhat insufficiently recognised in the mission of the Church. (2018:30) This assertion raises question about roles, responsibilities and accountability in relation to the educator and the subject of Religious Education. At this time of change, consideration needs to be given to how moments of renewal are/will be met by the Patron, and reflect honestly on whether all opportunities for development are encouraged.

Future Directions: Reframing Approaches

While Religious Education is emerging from a contested space, this time of transition proffered by the new Primary Curriculum Framework presents a unique opportunity to revive Religious Education. Firstly, it will be necessary to identify key priorities for Religious Education. An initial step, in supporting its continued relevancy, will be mapping the place of Religious Education within the vision, principles and competencies of the 2023 Primary Curriculum Framework.

Secondly, the Primary Curriculum Framework gives prominence to

particular areas such as Wellbeing, Global Citizenship Education, Education for Sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals, and Digital Literacy. Religious Education has much to contribute, and adds a valuable perspective, to all these areas. Educators need to be supported in making connections that lead to authentic integration and interconnectedness. There is an urgent need, however, to create space for educators to encounter, dialogue and reflect, so that they can engage with Religious Education in a creative, flexible and diverse way. Such space should enable them to incorporate, integrate, and make connections between these new perspectives and priorities for education in a meaningful way.

(Dineen, 2023)

Thirdly, while it is necessary to position Religious Education in a way that demonstrates its contribution to contemporary educational developments, it is also important to integrate the rich resources that Catholic education can more broadly bring to the contemporary educational priorities and debates. How are the commitments of the Global Compact on Education and Laudate Deum explored and addressed at all levels of Catholic education? Furthermore, how is research in the field informing and contributing to developing understanding of contemporary issues and reading the signs of the times? McKinney’s (2022, 2023) research on Catholic schooling and social justice highlights the impact of taking a universal view when engaging the potential of Religious Education.

Fourthly, there is a necessity to consider the role of the Patron in supporting Religious Education in the context of this new Primary Curriculum Framework. There is an opportunity to develop new ways of working with other Patron providers to augment the place of ‘The Patron’s Programme/Religious Education’ in a

way that is mutually beneficial to all. Finally, there is an opportunity to reflect on the suitability and sustainability of current models of provision of continuous professional development of Religious Education in Catholic schools. Along with navigating the contested space of Religious Education, the role of the educator has changed profoundly, both socially and technically, over the years and calls for robust CPD that can address the needs of this time, mindful of the synthesis between faith, culture and life. To support educators to engage positively in this context, it is proposed that there should be consideration of opportunities for deeper dialogue about their practice and to build dynamic relationships that may sustain both themselves and their educational communities.

It is a time of reframing of approaches for Religious Education, navigating and responding to the opportunities and priorities presented by this moment necessitates an active and creative response. It calls for the consideration of new roles, relationships and reframing of approaches in the context of Religious Education, this is a shared responsibility by all involved in Catholic education at this time.

References

Coll, N. (2019) Interreligious education and the contemporary school: Contexts, challenges and theologies: An Irish Perspective. International Studies in Catholic Education 11(2). 247-257.

Conroy, J., Lundie, D., & Baumfield, V. (2012) Failures of Meaning in Religious Education, Journal of Beliefs and Values: Studies in Education and Religion, 33 (3) (309-323), London: Routledge.

Dineen, F. (2023) Seeking to Sustain the Educator in a time of Reform? Intercom,Vol. 53:5, Dublin: Veritas.

Pring, R. (2023) Faith, reason and religious education: an essay for teachers of religions in a sceptical age, International Studies in Catholic Education, 15(2) 117-129.

Sullivan, J. (2018) The Role of Religious Education Teachers: Between Pedagogy and Ecclesiology, in Whittle, S. (ed.) (2018) Religious Education in Catholic Schools: Perspectives from Ireland and the UK, Oxford: Peter Lang.

Catholic Education Service News

As 2023 becomes 2024, Catholic schools and universities continue to forge ahead with the culmination of several initiatives.

The new Prayer and Liturgy Directory for Catholic schools, colleges and academies in England and Wales was published in October by the Catholic Education Service and Bishops’ Conference.

Titled To love You more dearly, it is the first such document to support prayer and liturgy coordinators, senior leadership teams and governors and others in implementing the understanding of the Catholic Church in prayer and liturgy.

In preparation it was subject to several consultations with practitioners to help shape the text, and includes a preface by the Most Revd George Stack, Emeritus Archbishop of Cardiff and Chairman of the Department for Christian Life and Worship, and the Rt Revd Marcus Stock, Bishop of Leeds and Chairman of the Department for Education and Formation.

The directory is available to download, or to order a printed copy, from the CES website at www.catholiceducation. org.uk

Dioceses have also been devising innovative ways to respond to challenges within a changing education sector.

Seventy Catholic schools in the Archdioceses of Birmingham and Westminster saved more than £500,000 - enough to employ 30 teaching assistants - by clubbing together to commission reviews of how their premises use energy.

Known as Heat Decarbonisation Plans (HDPs), these detailed assessments,

commissioned by the Archdioceses’ education services, revealed that upgrading building management systems could make big savings through more efficient energy use.

The schools then put in place measures including improved metering for gas and electricity monitoring, and for schools installing solar panels these then provided up to half of their electricity.

The Archdioceses used Churchmarketplace, a not-for-profit procurement service set up by the Bishops’ Conference to help Catholic schools and parishes bulk-buy collectively to save on costs.

Many of the 2,169 Catholic schools, colleges and academies in England and Wales employ lay chaplains to address the social, emotional and spiritual needs of students and staff. However, lack of career progression and limited pay can result in low numbers of applicants for school chaplain vacancies, stretched between multiple sites, and who then move on to jobs with better prospects.

Tom Baptist, in collaboration with the Diocese of Nottingham Education Service, highlighted the issue in establishing a career pathway from apprentice level up to a regional chaplaincy director. Within this a lay chaplain support staff post has been created to avoid teaching assistants taking on pastoral duties beyond their role. It provides formal recognition for their work, improved salary, and potential career progression into chaplaincy.

The lay chaplains are supported by the education structure in Nottingham Diocese, with all of its state-funded Catholic schools within three multi-

by James Willsher CES Partnership and Communications Manager

academy trusts (MATs). Consistent pay and conditions are ensured by the diocesan Human Resources Director who oversees all three MATs.

Also working to solve the problem is Susan Elderfield, Chaplaincy Adviser for the Archdiocese of Southwark. At the beginning of the pandemic she approached St Mary’s University to set up a Chaplaincy and Youth Ministry Apprenticeship. This resulted in the Education Skills Funding Agency awarding the university training provider status.

The Level 4 apprenticeship promotes a vocational pathway to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours of chaplains and youth ministers. It pays particular attention to their formation, which has historically suffered due to an overreliance on informal on-the-job training with some support.

The apprenticeship covers a range of topics, including safeguarding, special education needs and disabilities, bereavement, mental health, behaviour management and the skills to support and lead the spiritual, religious and liturgical life of a school. During the programme each apprentice qualifies as a Youth Mental Health First Aider and achieves a Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies.

The first 15 apprentices are currently on placements in schools and retreat centres across the dioceses of Southwark, Westminster, Nottingham and Birmingham. They come from a range of backgrounds and ages, some straight from school, others graduates and youth workers, and one a former managing director.

by Patricia Kieran

Patricia Kieran is Associate Professor of Religious Education and Director of the Irish Institute for Catholic Studies (IICS). She lectures in Religious Education in the Faculty of Education at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick and she has published books and articles in the area of Catholic education, interreligious dialogue, theology and education. In the past she has been involved in organising international conferences on religion and education including: ‘Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Catholicism in Ireland and Beyond’ (2021); Inter-belief dialogue in Contemporary Ireland (2016); Understanding Islam in Irish Education (2013) and Religious Pluralism in Educational Practice in Ireland (2012).

Network of Researchers in Catholic Education Conference

‘Latest

trends in innovative and vital Catholic Educational Research’

At the end of October, a lively gathering of teachers, academics and researchers came together for the annual international conference of the Network for Researchers in Catholic Education (NfRCE). This two-day event took place on October 19th and 20th in Limerick city in Mary Immaculate College. The event was hosted jointly by the Catholic Association of Teachers Schools and Colleges (CATSC), NfRCE and the Irish Institute for Catholic Studies. The conference adopted as its theme ‘Fluidly Faithful? Catholic Education and the Institutional Church’ and it hosted delegates from Canada, Australia, USA, Europe, UK and Ireland. Attendees were given the opportunity to participate in four keynote sessions with speakers from England, Scotland, Ireland and one keynote based in Africa. In addition to two expert panels featuring leading thinkers on Catholic education, there were forty-four papers delivered by academics from across the globe. Each session focused on different aspects of the complex and dynamic relationship between Catholic education and the Institutional Church. As with all NfRCE conferences, there was a deliberate emphasis on showcasing and analysing critically, the latest international and practitionerbased research on the opportunities and challenges Catholic educators face in schools, universities and colleges across the globe. There was also a strong emphasis on the exciting intersection between the teacher as researcher and the researcher as teacher.

Professor Quentin Wodon, from UNESCO and formerly lead economist and lead poverty specialist with the World Bank, keynoted on Catholic Leadership in schools in Africa. Wodon is a founding member of the volunteer-led Global Catholic Education (GCE) Project. He manages this project which publishes statistics and research through its annual report on Global Catholic Education. His fascinating keynote outlined that while most research on Catholic education comes from the Northern hemisphere, paradoxically the vast majority of the world’s Catholics live in the Global South. The 2022 GCE Report states that since 1980, the number of Catholic schools in Europe declined by fifteen per cent yet it grew dramatically in other parts of the world and doubled in Asia and trebled in Africa during this time. The report notes that ‘Globally, the number of preschools, primary schools, and secondary schools managed by the Church increased by 54 percent from 1980 to 2019, from 143,574 to 221,144. The increase was largest for preschools (89 percent), followed by secondary schools (67 percent) and primary schools (31 percent)’ (GCE Report 2022, 1). He highlighted the need to focus on improving the quality of education in Catholic schools so that children may thrive. He outlined that in sub-Saharan Africa, nine out of ten children aged ten years old are learning poor. In other words, they are unable to read and understand an age-appropriate text. He emphasised greater solidarity

and partnership in Catholic education and in research between the global South and the North.

Above keynote speakers from right to left: Professor Roisin Coll, Professor John Sullivan, Dr Aiveen Mullally, Associate Professor Patricia Kieran

In another excellent keynote, Professor Roisin Coll, Director of the St Andrew’s Foundation for Catholic Teachers in the University of Glasgow, focused on Catholic teacher education in Scotland. Roisin identified Scotland as one of the few countries in the world where denominational education is both supported and funded by the state. She outlined the national policy shift toward teaching as a Masters-level profession and the tensions of maintaining a critical mass of committed and highly qualified teachers for Catholic schools. Emeritus Professor John Sullivan’s (Liverpool Hope) keynote was also a significant milestone in the conference schedule. He spoke on ‘Why the Church and the University need each other’ and argued that Catholic colleges and universities operate on the front-line where the wider culture and Church’s life intersect. He suggested that, while they are distinct, the Church and the University need each other as each provides resources and perspectives that enhances the other.

An undoubted highlight of the conference involved the presentation of the inaugural NfRCE Lifetime

Catholic Research Achievement Award to Professor John Sullivan for his outstanding and distinguished international publication and research output on Catholic education. Associate Professor Maurice Harmon from Mary Immaculate College officiated at this presentation and Professor John Lydon of St Mary’s University, spoke of John’s academic and teaching excellence allied to his integrity and commitment to nurturing students. The presentation took place during an evening reception where harpist Dr Teresa O’Donnell played.

A final keynote from Dr Aiveen Mullally from Marino Institute of Education (MIE) and Associate Professor Patricia Kieran from Mary Immaculate College (MIC) outlined their research on belief fluidity among four hundred initial teacher education students in Ireland. MIE and MIC are the last two remaining Catholic Third Level Colleges in the Republic of Ireland, other Colleges having closed or amalgamated with secular universities. Their research reveals a high level of disaffiliation from the Catholic Church and institutional religion and practice among student teachers. Despite the fact that 99% of their research participants had attended Catholic primary schools and had received the sacraments of initiation, there were low percentage rates of commitment to and practice within the Catholic tradition. Indeed, 10% of these post-graduate Professional Masters in Education students

were uncertain of their level of commitment and 31% were attached to their tradition moderately, rather weakly and very weakly. Mullally and Kieran’s paper explored the changes impacting on Catholic schools in Ireland where latest census figures show that numbers of Catholics have declined dramatically, falling by ten percentage points in just six years, from 2016 to 2022. In their research sample, a high percentage of teacher-education students also identified personally with a range of non-traditional practices such as chakras, chi, belief in gods, energy, predestination, etc. The research findings indicate a fluidity of belief as many of these student teachers blend an eclectic range of beliefs coming from other traditions with traditional Catholic beliefs.

The conference hosted papers from distinguished academics on a range of innovative, inclusive, vibrant educational practices and exciting research taking place in Canada, Australia, America, the UK and Ireland. Archbishop Michael Jackson and Professor Anne Lodge presented a fascinating paper on the University-Church link in the Church of Ireland’s United Dioceses of Dublin & Glendalough. At the CATSC conference dinner, Professor John Lydon and Dr Caroline Healy from St Mary’s spoke about the work of CATSC.

Numerous excellent papers were delivered by experienced researchers in Catholic education. Dr Louise

Mary Immaculate College, Limerick

Mc Gowan from London spoke about what it means to be a school leader in a Catholic School while Dr Mary Mihovilović from St Mary’s University, London presented on the English Catholic School System and the positioning for a Catholic Multi Academy Trust (CMAT) led system. Dr Catherine Stapleton (MIC) and Dr James Nelson (QUB) presented a timely paper on Employment Equality and Non-Religious Teachers in Religious Schools. This theme was also revisited by Dr Eamonn Elliott from Newman University. His presentation disseminated some of the recent findings of his EdD research on the lived experiences of non-Catholic teachers working in Catholic primary schools. With a focus on the latest research and the current situation of Catholic schools, Claire O’Neil, RE Advisor for the Archdiocese of Westminster, spoke of the crisis that many schools face when it comes to recruiting RE teachers.

A paper by Professor Stephen McKinney, Clare Foley, Christopher Hand and Mary Lappin from the University of Glasgow focused on the emotionally intelligent leader in Catholic schools. The research explored how Jesus, as represented in John’s Gospel, embodied the traits of an emotionally intelligent leader exemplifying Jesus’ self-control, his self and social awareness as well as his understanding of relationships.

The two-day event offered ample opportunities to find out the current situation in Catholic schools and among Catholic educators in other parts of the globe both formally and informally. Whatever part of the world delegates came from, they shared much in common. Dr Jill Goudie, Director in Catholic Education in South Australia, spoke in her paper of the challenges Catholic schools face while trying to provide an education that is personally meaningful, faithful to the Church and strategically effective. It was exciting to learn of the ground-breaking high-quality

research work of Dr Daniel O’Connell, Dr Catherine Stapleton and Dr Donna Doherty from the Global Researchers Advancing Catholic Education (G.R.A.C.E.) programme. This has resulted in the first national research into identity and ethos in Catholic primary and post-primary schools in Ireland.

Dr Teresa O’Donnell, an Irish harpist, professional musician, educator and musicologist, presented a paper on the doctoral research which she is undertaking in the Irish Institute for Catholic Studies, in Mary Immaculate College. Her vibrant paper outlined her investigation of Filipino and Polish liturgical musical practices in Ireland and the rich musical heritages migrant communities bring to communities, parishes and schools. During the conference she also played the harp and sang during a beautiful Taize-style evening prayer and during morning prayer each day. These prayer moments were a highlight of the conference and were organised by Mary Immaculate College students and lay Chaplains along with the college Chaplain Fr Michael Wall who teaches theology in MIC.

Dr Matt Hoven, the Chief School Superintendent of Western Canadian Catholic Schools outlined the issues facing schools in this part of the world. His paper drew from interviews with ten chief school superintendents in Canada. His research findings pointed to a lack of “consistency” within the Church’s pastoral ministry, and that faithfulness to the Catholic tradition in a socially complex and diverse society, even among supporters of Catholic education, was difficult to assess. Associate Professor Max Engel from Creighton University, USA spoke of the Revised National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in Catholic schools in the United States. He provided background to the National Standards and Benchmarks which were first published in 2012

and revised slightly in 2023. The paper introduced the recently revised NSBECS and commented on the reception, implementation, and impact of the standards and benchmarks on Catholic school education in the past ten years. This conference would not have come to fruition without the work of the Steering Group of NfRCE and in particular, the amazing work of Dr Sean Whittle. Sean presented a paper on the new Religious Education Directory (RED) which will guide and underpin the rationale and content of Religious Education in all Catholic schools in England and Wales from September 2025. Papers from Theresa Ferry and Lizzie Rea from the Derry Diocesan Catechetical Centre focused on the impact that the COVID Pandemic has had on the Centre’s ministry. They explored how it influenced the practical living out of their Vision Statement at a challenging time. They sought to continue to maintain strong relationships and provide initiatives which would allow them to continue to enable young people, families, schools and parish communities to grow in their relationship with Jesus and the Church.

The quality of research, across a wide range of topics was so impressive and was indicative of a real energy and multidisciplinary expertise within the field. It is clear that research in Catholic education is in a vibrant and healthy space.

The conference was attended by many young, beginning and highly capable teachers and researchers, many of whom are linked to the multiple new professional doctoral programmes in the UK and Ireland. The atmosphere was, characteristically, for NfRCE events, warm, collegiate, goodhumoured and very welcoming. Surely an inviting recommendation to next year’s NfRCE conference at St Andrew’s College in Glasgow University.

SYNODALITY: WHAT’S

IN IT FOR ME?

The experience of writing his autobiography recently made Chris Harris more vividly aware of how much the Church has changed and continues to change in light of the Roman Synod on Synodality. In this article he looks at some of the possible implications for teachers.

Throughout the various stages of bringing my book to publication, I became more vividly aware than ever before of the enormity of the theological and pastoral change that has occurred in our Church since the Second World War.

For example, as a teenager I took it for granted that we layfolk played no part in any decision-making affecting the Church or parish. We simply obeyed the orders handed down from the Pope, the Roman Curia, the Bishops and our parish priest. There was a top-down pyramid pattern of authority. The pyramid had worked well over the centuries. It reflected in many ways the pyramid-structure of feudalism: at the top was the King who issued orders to the Dukes, the Lords, the Barons, the Lords of the Manor and (last and definitely least) the Surfs and Villeins.at the very bottom.

The Roman Synod on Synodality

Five papacies and a Vatican Council later, much has changed both in society as a whole and in the Church in particular. The latest indication of this change must surely be the publication last Autumn of the Synthesis Report of the first session of the 16th Roman Synod of Bishops.

The 16th Roman Synod of Bishops is markedly different from any of the previous fifteen Synods held since Paul VI set them up after the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council. Of the 364 delegates taking part, about a quarter were for the first time in history clergy and laity, including around 50 women. Cardinals, Bishops and laypersons discussed issues in 35 small round table groups – strikingly different from the participation-inhibiting theatre-style format of previous synods. The issues under discussion were the various areas of consensus which had emerged from the church-wide period of consultation of 2021-2022 –another new feature of the Bishops’ Synod. These consensus-points were identified in the agenda-document, called the Instrumentum Laboris which was published in June 2023.

From the outset of the Synodical process there was an insistence on the need to listen to what others were saying, to observe a period of silent prayer and

reflection on what was said, before proceeding to open and sincere dialogue. This “conversation in the Spirit” is described as proceeding synodically.

What is synodality?

The term is composed of two Greek elements: ϭυν syn (together) and ὁδος hodos (road). It relates to the experience of people walking together on a road. In the present context it refers to people travelling together on a road whose destination is decision-making. As they walk they listen to one another, let the other person have their say before making a response. The aim of the exercise is to reach an eventual consensus.

This synodical method of reaching consensus is therefore distinguishable from other forms of reaching conclusions, such as the adversarial model of the House of Commons, where polarisation of opinions is common and can lead to stalemate. Christopher Lamb in his 2020 book The Outsider reported instances of polarisation within the Church itself.

Throughout his pontificate Pope Francis has patiently but consistently advocated synodical procedures at all levels in the Church, but especially on his own doorstep within the Vatican Curia. This has led to the wide acceptance of a new vision: the members of the pilgrim People of God walking together, conscious of the holy Spirit guiding us on our way, and communicating with us through our insight-sharing.

What was discussed?

Among the areas of consensus discussed at the Roman Synod in October 2023 were the following which are listed below. The official Synthesis Report presents them as proposals, together with “matters requiring further reflection”. (In this summary, the latter are asterisked.) The references after each item relate to the chapter number, followed by a letter which indicates the relevant paragraph. The whole 40-page document can be downloaded by browsing www.vatican.va in search of www.synod. com

Synodality was itself put into practice

by Chris Harris

during the first session of the Synod and was accounted a success. The Synod therefore proposed that:

• Synodical Conversation in the Spirit be promoted at all levels in the Church (2 j-l).

• To help eliminate clericalism, synodality should be better understood, and put into practice, by members of the clergy (1 m-r).

• The Church should encourage this synodical practice of listening especially to those unused to sharing their opinions – particularly those who have been marginalized from the Church (16 l-m).*

• Areas of controversy should be discussed synodically in the light of Scripture and Church teaching –with the involvement of all parties who have an interest, expertise and experience in particular issues (15 k).

• Diocesan and Parish Councils should be made obligatory (18 h-i)

• The Church should show greater solidarity, by word and deeds, with the poor and people in need (4 i-m).*

• Migrants and refugees are to be welcomed and integrated into host communities (5 p).

One of the most significant areas of consensus which emerged from the Church-wide consultation of 2021-2023 was the call for a greater role of women in the Church. This fed into the Synod conversations and proposals.

• Women should be valued as active contributors in all areas of the Church’s life and mission (9 i).*

• Arrangements should be put in place to enable women to have a greater participation in decision-making, pastoral ministry and theological teaching posts (including seminaries) and even become canonical judges –all with equitable remuneration (9 l-r).

• Women should be considered for admission to the order of deacon (9 j)*

• Liturgical texts are to use inclusive language (9 q).

More generally, there is to be an enhanced role for layfolk.

• Lay ministries should be recognised and encouraged within the structures of the Church (8: i-l). *

• The ministry of lector could be extended to include preaching (8 n)

• A ministry which supports marriage and the family could be created (8 n).

With regard to the clergy and their training:

• The theology and practice of the permanent diaconate should be revisited (11 g-i).

• The continuation of mandatory clerical celibacy is to be discussed further (11 f)*

• Former priests should be re-inserted into appropriate pastoral ministries (11 l).

• Programmes of seminary formation should make provision for input from the laity, especially of women, and include sex-education (14 g-j) and Catholic Social Teaching (4 n-p).

• Laity, Religious and candidates for the priesthood should be educated together (14 k).

• There should be an ongoing connection with everyday life (11 e),*

Consensus-areas relating to Bishops.

• The standing and importance of the Bishops’ Conference is to be affirmed as a feature of Church synodality (19 e-f)

• Further study is needed to decide whether its competence should be extended to include matters of doctrine that arise within their territories (19 g).*

• The process for the selection of bishops should be extended to include input from the Bishops’ Conference, Religious and the laity (12 l)

• The bishop should be accountable to the members of his diocese as regards the performance of his various duties (12 j).

• Systems of accountability of priests and deacons should also be set up (11 k).

• The Roman Curia should be at the service of the Pope and the Bishops around the world and should not stand between them (13 c-f).*

With regard to the ecumenical dimension of synodality:

• There should be a re-reading of history, a re-evaluation of the Petrine Ministry (pertaining to church unity) and also of Eucharistic hospitality (7 h-i).*

• Delegates from non-Catholic Churches should be invited to join the Synod’s second session in 2024. (7 m). The Church should work towards agreeing a common date for the celebration of Easter from 2025 (7 l).

• The Synod recognised that many young people have abandoned the physical space of the Church in favour of the virtual space of Internet Technology (17 k). This presents a challenge, but also an opportunity for faith formation (17 f-j). IT networks of influencers should be set up to promote human dignity, justice and ecology. They need not necessarily be Catholics (17 l-m)

The Synthesis Report gives the theology and reasoning behind all these proposals and issues, insisting at various points that these changes are rooted in Scripture, Tradition and the earliest practice of the Church.

What next? The expectation is that between now and the opening of the second session of the Synod in October 2024 the Church at large will discuss these points as well as others that may emerge. After the second session a report will be handed to Pope Francis. It will then be up to him to make final judgements in the shape of new legislation and guidance.

Implications for teachers

As you read through these points of consensus, you probably wondered if any of them will affect what you do in your Catholic school or college. For example, Chapter 7, paragraph i opens up the possibility of Eucharistic hospitality. In time this could have practical implications for school liturgies, especially in interdenominational schools, and make them easier to organise. The extension of the ministry of lector (8 n) to include preaching homilies could introduce a significant change in the school Eucharist. A teacher who is a lector could her/himself deliver the homily after the Liturgy of the Word. This could enable a closer and more credible interface with any cross-curricular teaching leading up to the celebration of the Eucharist. You may have spotted other examples.

More generally, the consultations of the past two years and the experience of the first session of the Synod give much evidence that a deep change is currently happening throughout our Church. The transition from the top-bottom structures of the pyramid to the proposed bottomtop processes of decision-making, accountability, office-selection, etc relate only to possible visible features of the future. More important is the call to be

a different kind of Church – a synodical Church, in which we all, clergy and laity, walk together in progressing the mission of the Church given to all of us by Jesus himself. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20: 21). Each in our own way, we all influence the world at large by word and example. We no longer will simply “leave it to Father”. Hence the call for Bishops and clergy to bring the laity into decision-making. They are to discern what the Spirit is telling the Church through the intermediary of what ordinary people are saying. Parish Councils may become compulsory (18 h).

We are talking about a new culture. Compliance with what the Church asks of us has always been a virtue: in the new culture it has to be complemented by another aspect of this virtue – that of openly sharing one’s opinions. After a period of reflection we should not be afraid to speak out, honestly, respectfully – and consider this as something positive, indeed a virtue. Thereafter we should listen to any reactions. We should listen with a sincere interest to what is being said, open to the possibility of a change of mind if what we hear motivates us to do so. In the spirit of synodality we should at every stage be on the lookout for consensus.

As Catholic teachers, we will have to face the challenge of educating our pupils towards the new culture - in accordance, of course, with their stages of development. The 4th knowledge lens - “Live” – of the RE Directory, To know you more clearly, will be helpful here.

Whatever the outcome of the 2021-2024 Roman Synod, the direction of travel is becoming ever clearer, as are the dimensions of further possible changes. We seem to be on the verge of removing mandatory clerical celibacy and taking the first steps towards women clergy. Here in the UK our various denominations are moving ever closer to one another. No Pope has ever been so close and friendly to an Archbishop of Canterbury as are Francis and Justin Welby. Chapter 7 of the Synthesis Report refers to a “re-reading” of ecumenical history. This could well include revisiting the circumstances of the issuance of Apostolicae Curae of 1896 and hence a possible reassessment of the validity of Anglican Orders.

Of course, none of this may happen! But if you are minded to approve of what is happening, be on the lookout in the runup to the second session of the Roman Synod for opportunities to say so publicly. And if you are finding all this difficult, you also should feel free to say so publicly. In both cases, try to do so synodically! It’s now old fashioned to fall out because of disagreement. We listen to one another with interest and empathy. If we disagree, we continue walking together.

The age of the synodical staffroom is here!

What are we to make of the ‘Prayer and liturgy Directory’ for Catholic schools?

In the middle of 2023, under the auspices of the Catholic Education Service (CES), a guidance document on Prayer and liturgy was published with very little fanfare. It is less than eighty pages long and written in an accessible way. You can navigate your way through this document in just a couple of hours. It advocates for the importance of good quality liturgies and appropriate opportunities for prayer in all types of Catholic educational settings, and as such addressed to all English and Welsh Catholic schools, colleges, Academies and sixth form colleges. As a ‘directory’ it is intended to be the ‘go to’ guidance that those who are planning liturgies and prayer times in school settings can use. On first impressions all this sounds like welcome news. Whether you are a Governor/MAT director or hard pressed school liturgy co-ordinator, having a sources of official sounding guidance might well be a welcome development. There might even be a sense of surprise that this is the first ever such Prayer and Liturgy Directory. Whilst there is much to commend in even the very idea of offering to our Catholic schools a Directory with guidance on how to promote prayerful liturgies, there are some issues that quickly bubble up on a closer examination.

Why now?

When it comes to making sense of documents published by Church agencies such as the CES it is often helpful to take a step back to take note of the context. The Prayer and Liturgy Directory (PLD) was not

the only guidance to be offered by the CES in recent times. It might well be that 2023 will go down as a pivotal year for Catholic Education in England and Wales precisely because it is the year in which the ‘Section 48’ got transformed into the Catholic School Inspection frame work, and the Religious Education Directory was published. There is now a new national Inspection framework, and a new national RE curriculum guidance document, and these sit alongside a brand new national guidance on Liturgy and Prayer. This alignment of three documents from the CES, who represent the interests and wishes of the Bishops of England and Wales is in many respects intriguing and impressive. The flexibility built into the diocesan structures of the Church means that each bishop can respond as they see fit to the needs of Catholic education in their diocese. There has been some variation, but now it would appear that the bishops, through these three CES documents have made a decisive step of operating together, to implement a national stance when it comes to the centrally important areas of Religious Education and the Liturgical and Prayer life of Catholic schools. Whilst this demonstration of both a united vision and standardised protocols coheres well with the theological desire to be ‘one’ Church, there is always a shadow side to a centralised unity – the danger of conformity. The developments which came to pass in 2023 might eventually come to be seen as an example of centrally imposed conformity, in which the

by Dr Sean Whittle

bishops are exerting control over key aspects of Catholic education. Whether or not this imposition of directories for RE and for Liturgy and Prayer is a benign nudge or a controlling hand is bound up in the Catholic School Inspection Framework. In the years to come the diocesan inspections will be looking for clear evidence that both PLD and RED are being used and properly implemented. Inevitably the risk is that the inspection framework will become the tool for driving a close adherence to these new directories.

What is in the PLD?

There are three parts to this document. Part One is primarily a summary of Church teaching on the importance of prayer and liturgy in relation to the whole Church. This part of the document provides a helpful explanation of the importance and role of liturgy and prayer for Catholic Christians. Part Two puts the spotlight on seeing the school as a community that prays and actively participates in liturgies. Readers of the PLD will be relieved to see that this is framed in an inclusive way, with sections that are inclusive of members of other religions and all people of good will. In Part Three there is a more practical feel to the PLD as it addresses various models pf prayer and liturgy. This is usefully extended to offer guidance on how to plan a prayer service or liturgy. There are is a useful checklist for what

Senior Lecturer in Catholic Education, St Mary's University

physically needed for a school mass. All of this would be very helpful to those charged with planning school masses.

It could be claimed that most of the PLD is non-controversial in that it is opening up the standard Catholic teaching on prayer and liturgy and doing so with a recognition of what things are like in our Catholic schools. Perhaps the more pertinent question is actually about what is not in the PLD.

What might be problematic about the PLD?

Almost inevitably discussions of prayer and liturgy run the risk of triggering controversy. This is because liturgy goes to the heart of Catholic practice and belief. This is summed up in the Latin saying lex orandi lex credandi, which typically gets translated as ‘the laws (rules) of prayer are the laws (rules) of belief’. In essence this means how we pray expresses or embodies what it is we actually believe. It is well known that in events of Vatican II it was the promulgation of the document on the liturgy (Sacrosanctum Councillium) which paved the way for the rest of the updating (aggornamento) that flowed from Second Vatican Council. What was pivotal was changing the way Catholics prayed, ditching the fossilised Tridentine rite with its theologically impoverished ecclesiology, and fully embracing the Liturgical Movements during the first half of the twentieth century. By changing the liturgy, as the first act of the Council, the bishops made way for much of the richness of the rest of Vatican II. Thus tampering with liturgy is an inherently risky endeavour. The PLD is reaffirming the official stance on liturgical practices. Anyone familiar with the General Instruction on the Roman Missel will immediately recognise that the PLD is in effect pointing

out the various liturgical rules and regulations that have been normative for the last five decades. The danger of pointing out rules and regulations is that it can needle and antagonise. However, in relation to Catholic schools in England and Wales it does more than merely be a source of irritation. Over the past thirty years, and no doubt linked to the presence of lay-chaplains, Catholic schools have become adept at creating joyful and inclusive liturgies that are highly flexible in how liturgical norms are enforced. As the number of baptised Catholic children in our schools have decreased in recent decades, schools have become very good at creating inclusive liturgies which seek to engage many of the students. There has been a deliberate policy to minimise the number of parents who withdraw from acts of worship in Catholic schools. This has been achieved by not being pre-occupied by all of the liturgical rules and norms. Schools which have low numbers of Catholic children (and not even all of these will be church attenders) have realised that a Eucharistic liturgy does not serve unity because most of the assembled school community are unable to receive communion. It has made good pastoral sense to minimise the number of times in which there will be school masses.

The PLD wants to characterise all Catholic schools in England and Wales as ‘liturgical assemblies’. It does this because it replaces the legal requirement for schools to offer daily collective worship with prayer and liturgy. What in other schools are assemblies characterised as worship become in Catholic schools ‘liturgies’. This is a crucial difference. There may well be a number of Catholic schools where being a liturgical assembly is an appropriate description, given that almost all students are baptised Catholic Christians. However, this is not the

reality for most Catholic schools. There may well be long established liturgical rules, however it is not clear as to how best Catholic schools in England and Wales should respond to them. There is perhaps a category mistake at play in the PLD which conflates the Catholic school with both the Catholic Church and the parish. Whilst the Catholic school exists in relation to the Catholic Church, the relationship between them requires some skilful and nuanced explanations. Similarly, whilst our Catholic schools are very much like parishes, there are some crucial differences and ways in which they are not synonymous. Fundamentally, children and young people are compelled to go to school (to be in full time education, even if this is via home schooling). This is a requirement of the state. In contrast belonging to the Church and a parish is different, because there is no compulsion to belong. Participation in liturgy requires a fundamental level of free determination, a reflection of our faith and choice to respond to the God who calls us (in Christ) to be part of his People and the body Christ. This makes compulsory liturgies and prayer services at school deeply problematic. Unfortunately the PLD made no attempt to justify or explain why ‘liturgy’ is appropriate or even justifiable in a school context. It assumes and reinforces Catholic schools as fundamentally confessional in nature.

In many respects the PLD can be classified as an example of church teaching. These teachings can be received in different ways, for example the teaching in Humane Vitea has been received as a decisive rejection by most Catholic Christians. However, given the Catholic School Inspection Framework it might be very hard for Catholic schools to either reject or simply ignore all of the teaching In the PLD.

Cheshire: Pupils to benefit from on-site forest school

A Catholic primary school in Runcorn is making strides to enhance its curriculum through an on-site forest school. Outdoor education, particularly the forest school, improves children's holistic development, health and fitness, communication skills, resilience, and individuality. It allows for links to be made to current topics being learnt too.

St Augustine's Catholic Primary School and Nursery in the Castlefields area is proud to offer this Scandinavian education-inspired experience to its very own pupils and is training its staff to be qualified in leading sessions. The forest school is based on the extensive school grounds which comprise an adventure centre, meadow, woodland area, and an allotment for growing fruit and vegetables in addition to a treehouse and bridge.

Earlier this month, teacher, Jessica Jones, became the school's first fully qualified forest school facilitator following the completion of a Level 3 qualification. Speaking about the provision, Jessica said: "The children at St Augustine's thoroughly enjoy their forest school sessions and we have already identified a number of benefits, including the mental wellbeing of those pupils who are engaged with it. It is great that we can now facilitate more broadly with myself in leading the sessions and using them to further enrich the school ethos.

Blackpool school wins LiveSimply award

Pupils and staff from Holy Family Catholic Primary (Blackpool) have been recognised for living simply, sustainably and in solidarity. Pupils and staff from Holy Family have achieved the LiveSimply Award after taking action to demonstrate they are living simply, sustainably and in solidarity with the world's poorest communities. Championed by CAFOD, the award was presented to pupils and staff on Tuesday, 17 October. Holy Family implemented a number of exceptional projects that highlighted the importance of caring for people and the planet. Their actions had a positive impact on their school community and also reached out to embrace the local community and our global community too.

Every member of our school was involved in the yearlong plan to live simply, sustainably and in solidarity. Highlights include raising over £600 for CAFOD with our six week-long 'BIG WALK' initiative. Each week our families and children dressed up in different ways before walking around our local area. It was a lot of fun. We also sold fairtrade goods in our school council treat shop.

A Year 6 student commented on why they took part in the LiveSimply Award: "Helping people who have less than me and seeing the difference it makes gives me joy in my heart'.

Interim headteacher of St Augustine's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, John Marciniak, commented: "We're absolutely thrilled to be able to deliver an exciting outdoor learning experience for our pupils.

"As we now have Jessica as our first fully qualified facilitator, we can implement forest school deeper into school life and we're looking forward to growing our ideas to provide even more unique opportunities for pupils in Runcorn."

Jessica Jones with three pupils at St Augustine's Cathiolic Primary School

By Willie Slavin MBE

Book&Media Review

Posting the Word Chris Harris and the Story of Life Light Home Study Courses

By Chris Harris

Published by Sacristy Press

ISBN: 9781789592047

Posting the Word tells the story of how Chris Harris managed against all the odds to set up a successful adult religious education course by distance learning.

Founded in 1974, Life Light Home Study Courses has enabled 14,000 mostly lay Catholic students to develop their biblical and theological literacy. A very large number of these have acquired their CCRS certificates through Life Light.

In the background lies a human story which unfolded in a succession of different settings: monastic, seminary, university, school, home and parish. The challenges confronted along this winding road are here described in some detail.

Of particular interest is the contribution made by Chris and his wife Heather to the spirituality of Christian married life. Both had a deep appreciation of religious life

and sought to lay the foundations of a complementary and equally rich spirituality for married people.

Posting the Word offers a fascinating insight into lived Catholicism before and after the Second Vatican Council and also into the history of adult theological education within the Catholic Church.

For details of how you may acquire your CCRS by distance learning, go to www. studylifelight.com

Catholic Social Teaching An Introduction for Schools, Parishes

and Charities

By Raymond Friel Redemptorist Publications

ISBN 9780852316405

Growing up in West Central Scotland in the post war years, I was made aware that Catholics had a duty to join trade unions. I was familiar with Rerum Novarum ‘the Workers’ Charter’, an encyclical by Pope Leo XIII published in 1891. When I found myself in London in the early 60s, in the Parish of St Mary of the Angels, Bayswater, I was informed that Cardinal Manning, based in that parish, was in some way instrumental

in the formation of the encyclical following on from his mediating role in settling a bitter London Dockers Strike in 1889.

These formative experiences offered a picture of a Church at its attentively active and vibrant best and begs the question as to why this branch of theology, referred to as Catholic Social Teaching (CST), is also its ‘best kept secret’; a question that Raymond Friel feels compelled to put to rest in this very accessible, readable and, no surprise from this experienced teacher/ author, timely publication. Timely, in that whatever way one chooses to look at the world we live in, local, national or international, the social and environmental devastation resulting from moral and spiritual bankruptcy are crying out for attentive remediation. Seeking a starting point to addressing seemingly insurmountable problems or manifestly impossible challenges, the author suggests that CST would ask: What is happening to people, especially those who are poor? What can be done to make this situation more in conformity with God’s vision of justice and peace for the whole human race? The central theme of Rerum Novarum, ‘the good ordering of society’ became a recurring and consistent theme of ensuing encyclicals.

In a masterly engaging and heartwarmingly appealing first chapter Raymond Friel, simply using the Church’s own words, paints a picture of a Church that one would want to belong to, engage with, listen to, learn from and be inspired by. Who wouldn’t wish to be part of a Church whose vocabulary emphasised words like: compassion, justice, dignity, solidarity, service, encounter, accompaniment and phrases like: a preferential option for the poor; a heart that sees where love is needed and acts; build a world based upon truth and love. CST challenges the reader to look at the world, and the Church, in a different way through the lens of a Gospel that compels a response in reflective action. While it is tempting to think that CST started in 1891 with Rerum Novarum, chapter two onwards of this book

delves back into the foundational scriptural principles, starting with Genesis as its bedrock and uncovers the richness of insightful biblical scholarship and reflective theological teaching that have sustained a constantly revivifying Church’s challenging message into the 21st Century. While the critical elements of CST are as old as recorded scripture, the value of these Papal teaching documents lies in their ability to exemplify and articulate an eternal truth in a contemporary and blisteringly insightful manner. Pope Francis’ take on original sin, quoted in chapter three, “Our sin lies in failing to recognise value, in wanting to possess and exploit that which we do not value as gift….at the expense of other people and creation itself” is just one example that resonates with an all too familiar picture of the state of our society. In the words of Pope John Paul II: “the desire for profit and thirst for power result in ‘structures of sin’: embedded practices…which undermine the dignity of the person, discriminate against certain groups and advance power and benefits of the few.” (p69)

In Chapter 4, in an examination of Jesus’ repeated references to liberation of the poor, starting with his powerful proclamation, referred to here as his ‘Nazareth Manifesto, to bring good news to the poor….’ The author, taking a lead for the papal expansion of understanding of sin, helpfully expands on the notion of salvation as ‘liberation from sin and all its social consequences. It concerns the human person in all their dimensions: personal and social, spiritual and physical.’

The calling is to ‘a new way of life in a renewed relationship with God (prayer), neighbour (almsgiving) and creation (fasting, consuming no more than we need).’

At the heart of CST are its key principles and concepts:

The Common Good in the words of Gaudium et Spes (Vatican II) is “the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfilment.” This requires ‘more humane and just conditions…promoting human

rights…defending dignity and building the human family.’

Solidarity is described as ‘stepping out of our safe place to help another in need because their need is our need. Pope John Paul II describes it as “a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good.”

The notion of Subsidiarity first emerged from Pope Pius XI as a concern that the breakup of patterns of work and community by industrialisation had resulted in top down decision making at the expense of community engagement. To deprive people of a say in decisions that affects their lives, threatens their dignity and the common good and is, in the Pope’s words: “a grave evil and disturbance of right order to assign to a greater and higher association what lesser and subordinate organisations can do.” Best practice in reviving a neglected community is to build upon the existing strengths and sense of self-awareness. The mantra adopted in many such ventures is “Don’t do things to us or for us but with us.”

Pope Paul VI envisages a world in which ‘all people become “artisans of their destiny” and play and equal and dignified part in constructing a better world.

Pope Francis has emerged as a strong promoter of the participation of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in decisions that affect the local community and economy. In his view, “The wisdom of the humbler groups cannot be set aside.” It can be of little surprise that he is the instigator of the process of Synodality as he challenges the Church to practice what it preaches about subsidiarity and become the Church envisioned by Gaudium et Spes

The book concludes with two additional parts spotlighting the role and value of CST on our schools and charities, citing some exemplary practice, and a final list of useful Resources and Signposts.

As readers familiar with Raymond Friel’s format will have come to expect, each chapter has both additional reading options and promptings to further discussion and understanding.

He proposes a programme of ten weeks each with a 30 minute session to reflect on each chapter. The further readings labelled ‘Quotations from sacred scripture and the teaching of the Church’ at the end of each chapter, are a constant reminder throughout this thought provoking consideration of CST of the richness of the wisdom at the Church’s disposal. These could just as easily become free standing sources of prayerful contemplation as a ‘thought for the day’ feature. There is a depth and an economy about Raymond Friel’s writing that offers further insightful gems of information or wisdom at each rewarding reading. The invitation to absorb it one chapter at a time is just one of those gems and very sound advice.

As indicated, I have waited a lifetime for this book. Need I say more?

Review by Willie Slavin, Chair of the West Cumbria Child Poverty Forum.

On the 8th Day: A Catholic Theology of Sport

By Matt Hoven, J.J. Carney and Max T. Engel.

Published by Cascade Books

ISBN: 9781666701142

This book is a must read for those working in Catholic institutions of education at primary, secondary, tertiary and Higher Education levels. Why I say this is because, in my

experience, very rarely do physical education/sports studies teachers/ tutors enter into fruitful dialogue with those working in RE and Theology/ Religious Studies/Philosophy departments. This book argues forcibly why they should and how both might be enriched. The text would also be invaluable for those leading assemblies and those in senior management positions.

After an explanatory Introduction on ‘Why a Catholic Theology of Sport? the three authors, over eight chapters, conduct a rigorous defence of the proposition that there are aspects of sport which can be made sense of and enriched by seeing it in Catholic theological terms. Chapter 1 gives a clear historical account of the relationship from Biblical times to Pope Francis. Chapter 2 offers an examination of the ‘spirit of play’ which informs both sports and religious faith. Chapter 3 focusses on the transcendental and sacramental dimensions of sport, while Chapter 4 offers a much-needed anthropological lens through which to view this issue. Entitled ‘The Human Team’ the authors make the claim that Catholic anthropology reflects a vision of ‘human dignity that is in stark contrast to what the contemporary world ... often says is valuable about a person’ (p.84). They comment ‘many people spend countless hours ... pursuing material success, including athletic achievements, to cover their fear ... that they are not worthy to be loved as they are...’ (p.84).

Chapter 5 takes an interesting turn demonstrating how sports, while creating experiences of joy can also ‘hurt physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and so raise profound questions about how one understands loss, suffering, disappointment and even death’ (p. 86). Chapter 6 deals with the question of ritual, superstition and prayer in sports followed by a chapter which discusses morality and human flourishing and finally chapter 8 interrogates sport and Catholic social teaching. The book ends facing the tricky question of sport and eschatology and with Pope Francis’

inspiring words to us all to ‘challenge yourself in the game of life like you are in the game of sport’ (176).

One aim of the book is to elucidate the meaning of sport for the non-religious reader. In an increasingly secular, nontraditionalized Western culture this is an important move. In light of this claim, more could have been offered on how the Catholic principles upon which the authors base their arguments contrast markedly with non-religious ones. This would have clarified more boldly those foundational Catholic principles the authors wish to elucidate and suggest to readers that their task was never going to be an easy one. For example, in chapter 4, 8 dimensions of a Catholic anthropology are named, some of which might be countered boldly by secular positions: human beings as imago dei is difficult to believe in any more, they are not restless and filled with yearning, they are autonomous and independent, some are not created good at all and in the fierce debate presently raging about transgender identity some might claim a number are not created definitively male and female. Having noted this, what I like about the book is that it does not give a ridiculous weight to the theological meaning of sport thus preventing it from making highly tenuous and exaggerated claims. They note that at several points in the book, there is a danger in our sport-obsessed society of asking sport to do too much, to bear more theological weight than it should. So, when referring to the use of religious language in sport, they sensibly comment how it ‘gestures at our finite experience of the infinite’ (p.170).

In a spirit of receptive ecumenism, the book’s exploration of Catholic theology might have been strengthened by referring to Protestant positions. They do write: ‘This Catholic perspective of uncertain hope contrasts with the salvific certitude that can emanate from some ... Protestant and Pentecostal circles ...’ (p. 168) but the section on embodiment would have been an opportunity to discuss different Christian approaches to corporeality,

perhaps drawing from Mellor and Shillings’ seminal text Re-Forming the Body (1997) which traces the more mentalist and cognitivist approach to faith in Protestantism after the Reformation and the shift away from Catholic emphases on somatic experience. A chance was also missed to draw from Eastern as well as Western Christian anthropologies maybe with some discussion of theosis and divinization. A reference to other world faiths in light of Vatican Council II’s 1965 document ‘Nostra Aetate –the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions’ - would also have made the text more attractive to readers outside the Christian tradition.

Other points are: The section on sexism and patriarchy might have referred to how some commentators regard Catholicism itself as adding to the problem with, for example its historical and contemporary malaise of male clericalism. Reference to Catholic feminist writings would have been helpful here. And although I was delighted with the inclusion of the word ‘contemplation’ (p. 2) to help define a theology of sport at the start of the book, this might have been more closely related to the suggestion that prayer includes a fundamental disposition of reception as God gives continually without abatement in His desire for us which sustains our desire for Him. In the illuminating section on personal and structural sin liberation theologians like Gustav Gutierrez might have been mentioned. And finally, in the authors’ incisive discussion about grace, mention of Michael Sandal’s powerful The Tyranny of Meritocracy would have been apposite, as would Baron Jonathan Sach’s Morality in their discussion about Western individualism. An index would have been helpful.

I also became engrossed in the authors’ discussion about yearning and desire allied to the notion of Augustinian restlessness. They reference Ronald Rolheiser who notes that what we do with our innate restlessness is deeply intertwined with our spiritual lives. The contention that

sports reflect an ‘innate human hunger for meaning and purpose’ (p.74) is of course, open for discussion, but I certainly agree with the authors’ and Max Weber’s insight that religious forms of life offer a liberative and teleological route out of a society trapped within an iron cage of rational control and manipulation and the same is surely true of sport.

In summary, this book encourages a much-needed conversation between religion and sport and the authors need to be congratulated on their incisive and engaging account of this important relationship. I now look forward to reading Matt Hoven’s new book The Hockey Priest published in Spring, 2024.

Review by Dr David Torevell (co-author with Palmer, C. & Rowan, P. of Training the Body. Perspectives from Religion, Physical Culture and Sport) Routledge, 2022

Questioning God: God Still Speaks

By Timothy Radcliffe & Lukasz Popko

Published by Bloomsbury

ISBN-13: 9781399409254

If you enjoy listening in on a sparkling discussion by a pair of experts in their respective fields and one that comes full of surprises this is the book for you. In ‘Questioning God’ two Dominican friars share commentary and anecdotes as they reflect on eighteen passages, nine from each of the Old and the New Testaments. The exchange between

Timothy Radcliffe, the former Master of the Order now based in Oxford, and Polish born Łucsz Popko who teaches at The École Biblique in Jerusalem, takes the form of a conversation with each contribution being a few paragraphs at most. They ask in their introduction how might we listen to the word of God in ways that will ‘make our ears tingle’. This book sets out to do that by matching Popko’s sometimes astonishingly fresh exegesis of original Ancient Hebrew and Greek texts with Radcliffe’s reflections which, with their references to films, novels, poetry, and some memorable personal experiences, are always firmly rooted in the human experience. Their themes are accompanied by striking colour plate reproductions by classical and modern artists.

In the first passages it is God who is doing the questioning: He asks: Adam, ‘Where are you?’; Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’; and Abraham, ‘Where is Sarah your wife?’. Then at times in the gospels it is Jesus’ turn to get challenged. Mary berates him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this?’, the Samaritan woman teases him, ‘How can you ask me?’, and Pilate wants from him the answer to ‘What is Truth?’. Jesus himself probes Peter, ‘Do you love me more than these?’ and is curious to learn what the disciples on the road to Emmaus are talking about. The reflections following each of these passages from scripture are intended ‘to open up their dynamism’ and sometimes even to ‘share a little of their fun’. I found them so rich in insights and new information that I followed the author’s recommendation that they are ‘best read slowly, meditatively’.

Thought and skill have gone into the structure of a book largely based on e-mail exchanges necessitated by Covid travel restrictions and in Timothy Radcliffe’s case, a period of illness. It is a fascinating example of how a flowing conversation - at one point Timothy Radcliffe writes, ‘I must stop because you’re obviously itching to have a word’ - has been brilliantly edited to ensure succinctness and continuity. The writers’ distinctive personalities

and areas of expertise shine through. Popko’s translations ‘evoke the gritty foreignness of the original texts’. We learn that what followed the phrase ‘and Cain said to Abel his brother’ [Gen. 4:8] was an ellipsis ‘like a nonconversation, like a torn-out page’ that was filled in inventively by later translators. Jeremiah did not respond to God with ‘Alas, alas, alas!’ [Jer. 32:17] but with a strangled stutter, ‘A A A’. We learn that Gabriel’s ‘Hail’ to Mary is better translated as ‘Rejoice’, and that Jesus wanted to know what words the Emmaus disciples were ‘hurling’ at each other. The authors also discuss how the passages they have selected are framed. For example, in St John’s account of the trial of Jesus the gospel narrator, like some privileged reporter, follows ‘the constant passage of Pilate from the inside to the outside and back again’ as if he had access to both public and private spaces. This was something I’d never really noticed before. ‘Every time I look at the gospels in preparation for preaching, I let myself be surprised’, Radcliffe writes, and this hermeneutical gift he has of constantly seeing and interpreting scripture in fresh ways is shared throughout this book. It is peppered with his quirkily delightful cultural and historical references. They provide a ‘ludic dimension’ to what was clearly an enjoyable joint endeavour. I doubt any other theologian than Radcliffe would

come up with the Inuit word, iksuarpok, meaning ‘a feeling of anticipation' as he imagines Abraham running to meet the three strangers approaching his tent. Nor would they know that a trace of the Medieval fascination for the Annunciation lingers in the handful of pubs called The Salutation.

There are striking overarching themes. God invests in ‘unlikely candidates’ who include ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’. We learn that Hebrew grammar allows Genesis 4:15 to be translated as God ‘placed YHWH on Cain as a sign’. This is Cain, the primordial murderer, who will be graced by God and then thrive and have children. The same trust would be given to Peter, Christ’s serial betrayer. Neither is there any requirement to have angelic tongues or physical perfection. Jacob ‘limped badly’, young Jeremiah stuttered, and Moses, the elderly nomadic outsider with a ‘slow tongue’ was a stammerer. Yet they were the ones chosen for the theophanies flowing from which their impact as prophets would be momentous. From these and other examples Radcliffe observes, ‘If we learn to see with the eyes of God, we get a glimpse of the loveliness of every human being, their hidden beauty’.

‘Questioning God’ explores in depth such themes as conversation, questioning, listening, identity, respect

for difference, and what you see in another person’s face. It reflects on how human interactions range from how vituperation so often sours online exchanges through to how companionable silence is itself a rich form of unspoken communication; about the value of being able, even willing, to listen to interlocutors whose political and religious views might be at complete variance with our own. This, Radcliffe writes, is especially incumbent on our Church ‘as we embark on what Pope Francis calls “the synodal way”’. These two extraordinary theologians, Popko, a Pole in his forties and Radcliffe based in Blackfriars, in his seventies, cross the generations ‘like Eli and Samuel’. Popko’s knowledge of Jerusalem and the Middle East and Radcliffe’s years of visiting his Dominican brethren in places as far away as Iraq and Rwanda also bring a global dimension to their conversation. This is a book that will fascinate and entertain readers while deepening their knowledge of and insights into scripture. It is the finest theological work I have read in years.

Review by Anthony McNamara who is a retired Catholic Secondary School Headteacher and Consultant

MISSION TOGETHER

In the Autumn edition of Networking, the Pope’s charity, Missio, outlined the support it provides to the Church’s educational mission overseas. We explained how Mission Together – the children’s branch of Missio – works through Priests and Religious Sisters who serve in 1,070 mission dioceses worldwide. Priests and Religious submit grant applications to Missio to help fund specific children’s projects within their faith community. Most of these projects support the Church’s educational mission.

Catholic schools worldwide

At present, there are 227,698 Catholic schools and colleges around the world, educating 63,781,611 children and young people. [1] As the largest non-governmental school network in the world, the Catholic Church plays a vital role in efforts to achieve quality education in low-income countries –many of which are home to mission dioceses.

‘Mission diocese’ is the term given to Catholic communities that are too young or poor to sustain themselves. Parishioners in developing countries are often unable to donate enough to the parish collection to keep the church running or support its outreach work. Missio is responsible for supporting these faith communities until they are strong enough to become self-sufficient.

Missio supports the educational mission of the Church in mission dioceses through the construction of classrooms, subsidising school fees, provision of free school meals,

uniforms, and equipment, and the maintenance of school hostels – the presence of which enables tens of thousands of young people from remote villages to continue with their secondary and tertiary education. In addition, Missio funds the training of future priests, religious, and lay catechists in mission dioceses, many of whom go on to support the educational mission of the Church through their varied ministries and services.

Schooling in areas of conflict

A recent example of a schools project supported by Missio England and Wales is that of St Kizito’s and St Jude’s Elementary Schools, located in Northwest Cameroon. In response to an influx of families fleeing conflictridden regions of the country, parish priest Fr Leon MHM requested support for the construction of new classrooms in two locations within the huge and remote mission station he serves.

In addition to compiling his application, Fr Leon involved the community in this ambitious project. The community worked together to prepare the foundations, make the bricks, construct the classrooms, and contribute, where possible, financially to the project. In recent correspondence Fr Leon relayed the news that, although delayed in opening due to threats from a rebel militia, St Kizito’s new elementary school now has 589 pupils on roll; most of whom would have missed out on education prior to the construction of these new classrooms.

St Jude’s and St Kizito’s illustrate the marked increase in enrolment within Catholic schools globally since 2017. Most of the growth in enrolment has taken place in Africa, where one in ten children enrolled at the primary level attends a Catholic school. The other continent with a large increase in enrolment is Asia. Indeed, India has the largest number of students enrolled in Catholic schools than any other country in the world [2]; this despite the fact that less than 2% of India’s population is Catholic.

Access to education is a right

Every year, Mission Together produces resources that highlight one of the many projects supported by the prayers and donations of children in England and Wales. This year we are highlighting an initiative by a community of Missionary Sisters in Chennai, India. Their project, based in a huge slum resettlement district, runs free street schools for children of homeless families who are not able to enrol in formal education.

The Sisters and their lay volunteers also provide free after-school tuition for 237 children who need supplementary educational support. The Sisters support the education of all children living in the district,

regardless of their background or belief. Although not affiliated with the official Catholic School network in Chennai, the Sisters’ projects nevertheless underscore one of the fundamental principles regarding Catholic education, as set out in the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Christian Education, Gravissimum Educationis:

‘All men of every race, condition and age, since they enjoy the dignity of a human being, have an inalienable right to an education that is in keeping with their ultimate goal, their ability, their sex, and the culture and tradition of their country, and also in harmony with their fraternal association with other peoples in the fostering of true unity and peace on earth. For a true education aims at the formation of the human person in the pursuit of his ultimate end and of the good of the societies of which, as man, he is a member, and in whose obligations, as an adult, he will share.’ [3]

Education combats poverty

Many of the largest Catholic school networks around the world are located in countries with substantial poverty, contributing to the mission of the Church and its preferential option to the poor. In the Global Catholic Education Report 2020, World Bank lead economist and author, Quentin Wodon, cites the significant economic, health and social benefits of Catholic schools and colleges in all countries, not least those located in mission dioceses.

‘Education is key to escaping poverty. Men and women with primary education (partial or completed) earn only 20-30 percent more on average than those with no education at all. But men and women with secondary education may expect to make almost twice as much as those with no education at all, and those with tertiary education may expect to make three times as much as those with no education. In addition, secondary and tertiary education are often associated with higher labour force participation (especially full-time work for women) and a lower likelihood of unemployment. Since labour earnings are key to avoid poverty, improving education outcomes – both in terms of educational attainment and learning –can reduce poverty dramatically.’ [4]

Education is key to fullness of life

Yet as admirable and important as these benefits are, the purpose of Catholic education goes further still, as referenced in the Catholic Congregation of Education’s instruction The Identity of the Catholic School for a Culture of Dialogue:

‘The characteristic element of the Catholic school, in addition to pursuing “cultural goals and the human formation of youth”, consists in creating “for the school community a special atmosphere animated by the

Gospel spirit of freedom and charity”. To this end, the Catholic school aims “to help youth grow according to the new creatures they were made through baptism as they develop their own personalities”, as well as “to order the whole of human culture to the news of salvation so that the knowledge the students gradually acquire of the world, life and man is illumined by faith”… In this sense, the education that the Church pursues is evangelisation and care for the growth of those who are already walking towards the fullness of Christ’s life.’ [5]

Catholic schools are vital to the evangelizing mission of the Church throughout the world. Thanks to the prayers and donations of pupils, staff, and school families, Mission Together is proud to share in the evangelizing and educational mission of the Church, most especially when financial crises affect school and domestic budgets in this country and around the world. Such generosity is felt especially in mission dioceses, as conveyed in the words of Fr Leon MHM:

‘We remain so grateful to Missio England & Wales. [The school] looks so beautiful and the pupils will certainly have a good and safe environment to study. Pastorally, there is an impact not only for our pupils but the entire community. May God bless Missio England & Wales as it continues proclaiming the joy of the Gospel to all in the world.’

[1] Vatican - Catholic Church Statistics 2023 (Agenzia Fides)

[2] Global Catholic Education Report 2020 (oiecinternational.com) (Quentin Wodon)

[3] Gravissimum Educationis, 1.

[4] Global Catholic Education Report 2020 (oiecinternational.com) (Quentin Wodon)

[5] The Identity of the Catholic School for a Culture of Dialogue (Congregation of Catholic Education)

Street School in Kannagi Nagar