Threat to the integrity of our Catholic schools

As the school year recommenced there were a number of media reports on the growth in enrolments in the private school sector.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that from 2018 to 2022 enrolments in private schools jumped by 12.5 per cent.

During this period there was an increase in enrolments of 3.9 percent in Catholic schools across the nation. Last year enrolments in government schools actually fell by nearly 17,000 students, a drop of 0.6 percent. In Tasmania the number of students in Catholic education has grown by 3.9 percent over this period, matching the national increase.

This increase in enrolments shows that parents increasingly believe private education, like that offered by Catholic schools, provides the kind of learning environment where their children do best.

The Catholic Church, and, in particular, religious orders, sought to establish primary and secondary schools to provide not just ‘education’ but holistic formation of the person according to the Catholic faith.

Central to this mission was the commitment to provide affordable education open to all. Catholic education for the most part is made up of low-fee schools that are accessible to lower- and middle-income families. Parents are choosing faith-based schools because they reflect the type of virtues and beliefs that they want their children to embrace.

At the instigation of the Commonwealth Attorney General, Mark Dreyfuss, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) has developed and released a Consultation Paper entitled, “Religious educational institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws”. In essence this paper proposes changes to Commonwealth law which would severely impact the ability of Catholic schools to provide the kind of education which parents are seeking.

It would do this in a couple of crucial ways. First, it would limit the freedom of the school to give preference to hiring staff who are committed to the Catholic faith, or, at the very least, are respectful and committed to upholding Catholic teaching in the school environment.  

Second, the changes would permit teachers to promote views contrary to Catholic teaching and culture of the school. In other words, Catholic schools would be prevented from maintaining the integrity of their culture and mission in educating young people. This strikes at the very heart of the founding reason for Catholic education.  

The Church has consistently maintained that parents, who are the first and primary teachers of their children, have the right to choose a school which accords with their beliefs and values.

Our Catholic schools need to be able to teach and fully embody the Catholic faith and employ staff that are committed to respect and uphold the faith in the classroom.

Not long after the consultation paper was released 30 religious leaders across all major faiths in Australia wrote to the Attorney General to express their deep concern about the proposals and the threat they posed to continued existence of faith-based schools.

Recently, at a conference on Religious Freedom organised by the University of Notre Dame at its Sydney campus, Justice Rothman, the chair of the ALRC committee, said that he was unmoved by the concern expressed by the religious leaders.

What this reveals is that many in our society, including those in high legal office, have a different understanding of the right to religious freedom and its relationship to other so-called competing rights, from those who belong to the various faith traditions.

It is crucially important for our society that we address this apparent difference in understanding on the legal meaning and significance of religious freedom through a reasoned and frank public dialogue. 

We constantly hear that we need to embrace ‘diversity’, yet religious diversity is denied. Our nation has long promoted its rich multi-culturalism. We rejoice in the contribution of various ethnic communities. They have enriched our culture. So too, our nation benefits from the contribution of various faiths.

Christianity, in particular, has helped shape the culture and has contributed greatly the quality of life we enjoy in Australia.

The Christian faith has much to offer our nation. Increasingly parents are choosing to send their children to our schools because of what they offer. 

The proposed ALRC changes constitute a most serious threat to the existence of our schools and our ability to provide such education. Our Catholic schools must be able to remain Catholic.

It is vital that the Albanese Government reject this attack on the freedom of our schools to fully embody their Catholic faith and fully commit to the protection of religious freedom for all Australians and the right of faith-based organisations to maintain the integrity of their beliefs in carrying out their mission of service to the Australian community.