Principal Message

Hello everyone,

Attached to this page is a pastoral message from Archbishop Christopher Prowse regarding the conviction of Cardinal George Pell. Archbishop Prowse is Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn Diocese, and Apostolic Administrator of Wagga Wagga Diocese (which means he is responsible for the administration of our Diocese while we await the appointment of a new Bishop).

In messages to staff and students I have emphasised that concern and support for survivors of sexual assault and of other crimes committed by members of the Church is our first focus. The second important responsibility for us is to continue working to ensure that Kildare Catholic College is an extraordinarily safe and welcoming place for all to be. This includes the imperative to understand that future generations may look back with a critical eye on elements of education that we accept today, or accepted recently. These elements do not compare with the horrific crimes of sex offenders but we should be alert and remain on the guard for inappropriate assumptions, protocols, procedures and behaviours.

It is not so long ago that schools allowed physical punishment of students and failed to work to provide full opportunity for students with disability. The same thinking applies to students: hopefully some of the hurtful online behaviours that we see from some people today will be viewed with horror by a greater percentage of the population in the future.

For a significant number of our students the Kildare community is the face of the Church. Our staff, Catholic, and those of other faith and life philosophies, work for and promote the College and its wider purpose relentlessly. I can imagine some of them deeply resenting failures of individuals and of the Church diminishing their work. As Fr Paddy stated in his letter to parishioners this week, he has encountered reactions of shame, anger, hurt, disillusionment and frustration from members of the Catholic community, directed variously at the media, Cardinal Pell, the Australian Catholic Bishops and the Catholic church in general. I know that many of our staff, parents and students feel one or more of these emotions, and feel for each of them as they experience this.

While Cardinal Pell is appealing his conviction, as Archbishop Prowse reminds us, there is no doubt that these events further diminish the Church and its work in Australia and the world.

Please keep faith in our local Church community and in Kildare Catholic College as an arm of that Church. Thank you to Fr Paddy for his gentle and informed pastoral guidance. Our collective responsibility is to be an authentic and caring Catholic community: one that does what it says it is going to do, acknowledges when it gets it wrong and works to fix things when they need fixing.