A provocative discussion on Catholic Religious Education…

Dear friends,

In a Zenit news report on Wednesday, Pope Benedict urged Education as Top Priority to a group of new diplomats who presented their credentials at the Vatican. That news report is timely and might be read in conjunction with a wealth of reading we have for you today related to the challenges facing Catholic Religious Educators. Where to start is the question.

Well let's start with our lead commentary. At the heart of the commentary is a conversation I've been having in recent days with Peter Marendy, a teacher of RE in a Catholic Secondary College in Australia who has responded to a series of questions I put to him. There is also an editorial associated with the commentary where I endeavour to outline the thrust of the conversation we are seeking to generate on this important question which even His Holiness designates as a "top priority". I won't waste much more of your time here except to urge you to read the commentary and, if possible, pass it on to educators you might know who would be interested in the perspectives discussed and especially those who might be prepared to join an extended conversation. As explained at the end of the commentary, we are seeking responses from teachers and educational administrators and we will go out of our way to provide anonimity to anyone who wants to comment provided they can establish some bona fides with me, and with our readers regarding the level of authority from which their perspective is coming. <Read today's lead commentary>

A discussion I started a few days ago via our daily email, "What's your bet on the future of the Church?" has generated a big response on an email list in the United States, many of the readers of which are avid followers of the discussions here on Catholica Australia. Their discussions led to a number of fascinating perspectives on differences between the Church in Australia and in the United States and particularly in the area of Catholic education. I have received permission of some of the writers of those comments, some of whom are academics with extensive background knowledge, to publish their comments on Catholica. I'm sure some of the perspectives will be much appreciated by readers here in Australia. When I get a chance later today I will format those responses and post them in our forum. I would also urge weekly readers of Catholica to particular check out the forums this week as there have been a range of interesting and provocative conversations on a variety of subjects.

Best wishes for a great day wherever you happen to be ... in life, and in our world,

Brian Coyne
Editor and Publisher