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Dear friends,
I suppose the big news breaking today
is the announcement of the new leadership team for the Oceania Province
of the Christian Brothers. For those not in the know, the Christian
Brothers have been engaged in a long process internationally of
reassessing their mission in the wake of the profound changes that
have been taking place in the world, and in the Church over recent
decades.
As one of the major teaching orders of
the Church they played a profound part throughout the 19th and 20th
Centuries in educating Catholics and giving them "a fair go"
in important parts of the Western world, including the countries
that make up Oceania. Thanks to their work Catholics today largely
take their place as equals with all other citizens in the countries
where the Christian Brothers had influence. Their principal work
as teachers has today largely been taken over by lay people and
recently, in Oceania they handed over management of their remaining
schools to lay trustees.
The work of the brothers has not ceased
though. They have now refocused their attention to "being brother"
to the disadvantaged in less developed regions of the world and
to those who have "fallen between the cracks" in Western
countries such as our own.
With fewer vocations to the celibate
life, the Brothers have been engaged in a long process of discernment
over the last decade charting a new future. This has already led
to amalgamations of provinces in North America and other parts of
the world. Today the Brothers announced the new leadership team
which will take the Brothers forward in the new Province of Oceania.
On the Catholica website
I have prepared a special tribute to the Christian Brothers in acknowledgement
of the contribution they have made to this region and to the Church
over the last 200+ years. You will also find links there to the
documents which have been published today announcing these historic
changes in the story of the Christian Brothers and the Edmund Rice
Network.
Best wishes for a great day wherever you happen to be ... in life,
and in our world,
Brian Coyne
Editor and Publisher
Catholica Australia
Catholica Australia
34 Martin Place, LINDEN NSW 2778, Australia
tel: +612 4753 1226 | skype name: briancoyne | mobile: 0423 793
494
email: editor@catholica.com.au
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