Brisbane Archbishop Shane Mackinlay has encouraged leaders of Queensland’s new peak Catholic education body to keep the young people in their care at the centre of their policy and procedures. Source: The Catholic Leader.
Archbishop Mackinlay blessed and installed the members of the board for Catholic Education Queensland Limited at a Mass at St Stephen’s Chapel yesterday.
The Gospel of the day recounted the story of the disciples gleaning heads of corn on the Sabbath and how the Pharisees challenged Jesus for breaking the rules of the Sabbath.
Jesus responded: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).
In his homily, Archbishop Mackinlay said Jesus’s defence of the disciples was a reminder that we must never lose sight of the ultimate purpose of our actions.
He said as CEQL commences its first year, many discussions of the board would be spent clarifying policies, procedures and structures.
“They’re not the point; they’re important, but they’re not the point,” he said.
“What’s the key point of everything that we do? The key point obviously is the young people entrusted to our care.”
CEQL chair Madeline Brennan, who spoke before the Mass, said they were building on the foundations laid particularly by the women and men religious who had sacrificed much to build Catholic education in Australia.
Ms Brennan said a lot of work had gone into the creation of the new entity.
She thanked the bishops of Queensland as well as the many groups that had given input into the creation of CEQL, including former Brisbane Catholic Education executive director Pam Betts and her team, who led a significant amount of the groundwork, and BCE executive director Dr Sally Towns who “never failed to make the most incisive contributions to the development of CEQL”.
CEQL officially started operations on January 1, and replaces the Queensland Catholic Education Commission, which has served the sector since 1973.
It has been established as a company limited by guarantee following an extensive governance review and wide consultation across the Catholic education sector.
FULL STORY
Archbishop Mackinlay blesses and installs leaders for Queensland’s new peak Catholic education body (By Joe Higgins, The Catholic Leader)
New board: Eloise Atkinson, Peter Chapman, Alanna Jacoby, Mick Gooda, Archbishop Shane Mackinlay, Tim McGrath, Madeline Brennan, John Mula, Particia Alner. Absent Carmel Nash. Photo: Joe Higgins
