Charter Administration
Reflections of the Leader of the Christian Brothers in South Australia and Western Australia
I
n July of this year (2004) the Holy Spirit Province of the Christian Brothers launched a new Charter for its schools. The document is called ‘The Charter for Catholic Schools in the Edmund Rice Tradition’. This Charter is the key document for the operation of all Christian Brother schools (Br) Kevin P. Ryan in Australia and has also been launched in the other three Christian Brother Provinces in Australia. I share with you some of the key elements of my speeches to the board members, staff members and Christian Brothers at the various launch ceremonies. Thank you all for being here today. I acknowledge that all of you will have brought with you different experiences and feelings to this day. Some of you will have come with a sense of energy and excitement as you begin a new term. Some will have come with the experience of a wonderful holiday with family or friends. Others will not be feeling so fired up about returning to work, and some may even be dealing with unexpected disruption to their lives, personally, in a relationship or within their families. As you listen to what I have to say, and as you read the Charter which I am about to proclaim to you, DO NOT set these feelings and experiences aside. Let what I say speak to you as you are, let the Charter speak to you as you are, today, in this moment in time. That is where God is at work in your life. This is a very significant day in the life of any Christian Brother in this room. This occasion, and several more around Australia like this, is a momentous occasion for what is now coming to be known as Catholic Education in the Edmund Rice tradition, which operates in 38 schools around Australia. It is a significant moment of growth in the schools of Holy Spirit Province in South Australia and Western Australia. And it is a special day for your school. There is rightly and understandably a lot of discussion about the future governance of Christian Brother schools in Australia. Some of you have been, some of you are, and some in the future will be involved in discussions and planning about that matter. DO NOT LET THAT MATTER DISTRACT YOU! You have more important things to do! That more important thing to do is to be a very significant part of the living expression of this Charter today, tomorrow and in the months ahead.
Today I am joining with all the members of the Province Leadership Team in South and Western Australia, and joining with the three other Christian Brother Province Leaders in Australia. We are mandating Christian Brother Schools in Australia to express and develop their life and mission in the way that is described in this Charter. There will be one Charter but there will be a great diversity of expression due to local circumstances. Let us ponder that. In Australia there are thirty eight schools being formally committed to this Charter. Since 1868, the Gospel of Jesus has been shared in this country from a particular Edmund Rice perspective. We are building upon that work, with all its flaws and all its gifts. In 1993 this Province proclaimed its own perspective of Catholic education in the Edmund Rice tradition in the “Vision for the Future” document. Our boards and schools have courageously endeavoured to bring that Vision to life in our nine schools. This Charter does not set aside that document or that work; it tries to build upon it in the light of our experience, the current cultural and social realities in Australia, our deepening understanding of Edmund Rice, and our deepening understanding of the Gospel of Jesus and God’s dream for the world and for us. In four or five year’s time, this Charter too will be updated. While I am unlikely to be involved with that process, I would quite confidently predict that the Charter will express a sharper edge, a more Gospel edge, an even more challenging mission when that process comes to fruition. The Dangers! What are they? One danger is that you individually, or as schools, read through the Charter as if it was a skills check list to see what you are already doing or could do. That is not to say that we do not need to explore each of the cultural characteristics carefully and systematically and to see what we are,
7
