CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AUSTRALIA |
Story Added : October 2006 |
An Announcement to Bishops, Brothers, members of the Edmund Rice Network, Board Chairs, Principals and School Communities Edmund Rice Education Australia As Christian Brothers in the tradition of Blessed Edmund Rice we have ministered in Catholic schools across Australia for well over a century. By 1900, the Brothers conducted 29 schools in the colonies of Australia and New Zealand, rising to 150 schools throughout Australasia and Papua New Guinea by 1974. The Brothers owned and operated some 50 of these schools and worked in partnership with other Church authorities in the others. Christian Brothers in Australia continue to reflect on the history
and foundations of their ministry in the light of the Gospel, their mandate
from the Church, the Charism of Blessed Edmund Rice, their Constitutions
and directions from their recent Congregation Chapters. While these foundations
will always be significant, future ministry is also reflected in movement
and reinterpretation through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In responding to the signs of the times the Brothers have come to understand that their role as Trustees of the schools could be furthered in closer collaboration and partnership with lay men and women who share an abiding commitment to the Gospel, to ministry in the Church and to the Charism of Edmund. We have decided it is time to invite others to share leadership. The call of Vatican II and teachings of the Church for the fuller apostolic engagement of laity can be realized by the steps we are taking to an even greater degree now than in the past. We are convinced that the heritage of Catholic Education in the Edmund Rice tradition will be thus assured. Brothers’ purpose in taking this step and the foundations that underpin it. Fundamental to the project, which has set as its vision the continuation of Edmund Rice’s Charism in School Ministry as Church Mission, has been the documentation of the is the articulation of the Identity of a Catholic School in the Edmund Rice tradition and the development of processes of Renewal and Formation which will ensure that the new venture -Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) -remains faithful to the intention and purpose of the Brothers. Everything we have done in our planning has had as its core focus the Identity of our schools as Catholic schools in the Edmund Rice Tradition. The direction of the Schools Governance project was endorsed by the General Chapter of the Brothers in 2002. The same Chapter also called for a radical reformation and restructuring of the Congregation. In Oceania this has led to a decision to dissolve the four Australian Provinces, the New Zealand Province and the Region of PNG and to form one new Oceania Province. In June this year in Sydney, significant groups assembled: Brothers in Leadership called the Inter-Province Leadership Committee [ILC], the members of the National Planning Committee for Schools Governance [NPCSG] who have conducted the governance project for the ILC; and members of groups that advise both of these Committees. As a result of this gathering, the ILC decided to formally create Edmund Rice Education Australia and have it fully operational by 1st October 2007. What the decision means is that the current practice of having four separate Province educational groups governed solely by Christian Brothers will be replaced by a single national group, Edmund Rice Education Australia, governed by lay people and Brothers. Brothers will also continue to teach, counsel, lead or otherwise be involved in schools. During the next few months, the Congregation will appoint the five members of a Council who will govern EREA on their behalf. Subsequently in consultation with the Congregation, this Council will appoint the EREA Board and the Executive Director. Three National Directorates will be established, the most significant focusing on Identity which remains the over-riding concern of EREA. The other Directorates will be Education and Corporate Services. There will also be a network of regional support for the schools. Since early April 2006, the ILC and NPCSG have been in dialogue with the individual Bishops of Australia within whose dioceses the Brothers’ schools operate. The schools are, and will remain, first and foremost Catholic schools.
The Brothers acknowledge and respect the role of the Local Church and
its Bishop as fundamental to that Catholic Identity. Without exception
the Bishops have encouraged the Brothers in this work and affirmed their
foresight in looking to The ILC and NPCSG acknowledge the extraordinary work and commitment by many people across the nation to reach this point in the development of EREA. As the Chairs of key committees in this enterprise, we invite all to pray that God will richly bless EREA and the many who will contribute to the effectiveness of this ministry. |