Mandate
In the name of the Bishop of Christchurch (the Bishop), the Catholic Education Office provides “a living institutional witness to Christ and his message”1 and in this manner contributes to the Church's mission of building the Kingdom of God . The academic endeavours of the Catholic Education Office “are connected with and in harmony with the evangelising mission of the Church”1. This evangelising mission of the Church is concerned with offering to all people of good will the Gospel, the saving message of Jesus Christ, as expressed in the Catholic faith which comes to us from the apostles.
The education, formation and support services offered by the Catholic Education Office are provided to promote love for God and an understanding of the Catholic faith as expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is “a statement of the Church's faith and of Catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition, and the Church's Magisterium” 2 .
The Catholic Education Office primarily seeks to play its part in fulfilling this mission by offering, within a faith-context, education, formation and support services and opportunities designed to increase the knowledge, and nurture the spiritual growth of:
- principals, directors of religious studies, teachers, proprietor's appointees and elected members of Boards of Trustees working/governing in our Catholic schools; and
- parishioners, parish councils, pastoral workers and other adults serving in various paid and voluntary ministries in our Catholic parish faith communities.
Through its teaching and work the Catholic Education Office contributes to the Church's mission by preparing “men and women who, inspired by Christian principles and helped to live their Christian vocation in a mature and socially responsible manner, will be able to assume positions of responsibility in the Church”1 parish communities and Catholic schools within the Diocese of Christchurch.
Within the limits set by the Bishop, and any limits defined by Canon and Civil Law, the Catholic Education Office will:
- Observe all policies determined by the Bishop and make other policy recommendations necessary to carry out its responsibilities to the Bishop, through the Manager of the Catholic Education Office and after consultation with the Diocesan Education Council.
- Proactively discern, provide advice and recommend to the Bishop, through the Manager of the Catholic Education Office , broad educational priorities which pertain to Catholic schools and parishes, in the Diocese of Christchurch, and possibly beyond.
At a personal level, and within the limits set by the Bishop and any limits defined by Canon and Civil Law, each member of the Catholic Education Office team is mandated to “search [their educational] environment with purposeful, value-seeking imagination and … to act on any opportunity [they might] see through interactions with [their] political authorising environments and innovations within the organisation” 2.
In other words, each member of the Catholic Education Office team is called to provide visionary leadership and advocacy, and proactively make recommendations and deliver approved services that will enhance Catholic education throughout the Diocese of Christchurch, and beyond.
In this way each member of the Catholic Education Office team is “responding to the Church's call to be present, as signs of courage and intellectual creativity, in the privileged places of culture, that is, the world of education – school and university [or Catholic Institution of higher education]” 1 .
1 John Paul II. Ex Corde Ecclesiae – On Catholic Universities. Apostolic Constitution ( 15 August 1990 )
2 John Paul II (1994). Catechism of the Catholic Church. Homebush: St Pauls
3 Moore , M. (1995). Creating Public Value. Massachusetts : Harvard University Press