When I read about the current ICAC investigations, I do so with vested interest. My husband and I sent our three children to Catholic schools. I have been a teacher, leader and administrator in Catholic systemic schools. I have been involved in teacher education and in postgraduate programs for Catholic school leaders. When I was director of Catholic schools in one of the larger dioceses in NSW, my peers were directors from other dioceses. Since concluding my service as director, I have been privileged to lead performance reviews of many directors, and organisational reviews of Catholic school systems across Australia and beyond.
These experiences have given me deep knowledge of the women and men who serve in Catholic education: teachers, school leaders, administrators and professional staff. As a parent, I know the hopes parents have for their children’s education. The teachers I know (and there are thousands) understand the trust that is involved when parents enrol a child; they also understand the societal implications of that trust as they prepare young people to be competent, contributing and community-minded citizens.
Trust, faithfulness and service are characteristics that describe the best of any educator. They also characterise the best kind of leadership and governance. They are not just a “Catholic” thing. They are alive and active across all education provisions in the state, whether in government schools, Catholic systemic schools or other private schools. That gives me great hope.
Allegations such as those currently being investigated by ICAC cast a shadow that reaches beyond those who are named and being called as witnesses. Parents, teachers and school leaders read that Catholic Schools NSW (CSNSW) is implicated. The shadow of those allegations reaches out and touches all who somehow come under the “Catholic school” umbrella. I am angry about the impact that these allegations might have upon faithful, hardworking educators and on the trust of parents in the governance of Catholic schools.
My knowledge of Catholic schools and educators gives me confidence that the overall culture is one of stewardship in which education is enacted as a service of trust and fidelity in every detail. Catholic education offices and school leaders understand very well their roles as stewards for the funds provided by parents and taxpayers for the education of young Australians. They know they must be used wisely to find the best educational return for every child.
Even so, no one is perfect. We all underperform at times and let each other down. No one is immune from scrutiny. Church entities, like any other, must govern effectively and with the highest standard and expectation.
It is probably helpful to clarify that Catholic Schools NSW does not operate schools. Catholic systemic school leaders and teachers do not report to Catholic Schools NSW but to their diocesan bishop and those he has appointed to carry responsibility for education. CSNSW is a mechanism for distributing government funding to the diocesan school systems and to liaise with federal and state governments on their behalf. Over many years, I have observed the diligence with which funds have been administered. We may not always get it right, but I want to assure parents and taxpayers generally that diocesan school systems have protocols of governance to respect and protect the responsible use of parents’ and taxpayers’ money.
In more recent years, I have been involved in two initiatives that are not unrelated. One is a collection of short biographies and videos that honour the many women and men who have taught in Catholic schools in Australia since the early 19th century to the present. The second promotes the best research about leadership, specifically as it pertains to leadership in a contemporary church; by this I mean a church that engages with society with humility, a sense of service and transparency.
Both these projects grew from my experience within Catholic schools in NSW and my conviction about the appropriateness of honouring the faithful women and men of Catholic education and the need for transparent, humble and service-oriented leadership and governance in the church.
Anne Benjamin is an honorary professor of Australian Catholic University and an honorary fellow of UWS. She was formerly executive director of schools in the Diocese of Parramatta. Her recent publications include the Biographical Dictionary of Australian Catholic Educators, Leadership in a Synodal Church and Leadership after the Synod.
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