‘Le Chéile’ – Issue 20• by identifying, exploring and promoting ways in which this vision can be lived in Catholic schools.
• by seeking to empower teachers with a renewed and revitalised sense of the spiritual and
vocational nature of teaching.
• by aiming to encourage and inform practitioners in Catholic education.
• by seeking to empower teachers with a renewed and revitalised sense of the spiritual and
vocational nature of teaching.
• by aiming to encourage and inform practitioners in Catholic education.
This edition’s editorial is entitled “Trócaire at Forty”.
It reads as follows:
When talking to first-year students at St Mary’s about the key dimensions of our Catholic faith, I try to get them to recognise three pillars: we are a people of the Word, of sacrament and of service. All good Catholic schools aim to help their pupils: first, to grow in their knowledge of the Scriptures and love for the Word of God; second, to deepen their sacramental sense, their appreciation of God’s presence in the “bits and pieces of life”, in the Church’s seven sacraments, especially the Eucharist; third, to grasp the importance of service to our neighbour and the call to work for social justice at home and abroad.
Assistance in developing our pupils’ and students’ appreciation of this third theme— the urgency of the work of justice—has come especially from Trócaire. As a first shoot of the renewal of the Church in Ireland following the Second Vatican Council, Trócaire was set up by the Irish Bishops’ Conference in 1973 to express concern for the suffering of the world’s poorest and most oppressed people. As it celebrates its fortieth birthday, we salute its work and the support and confidence it has drawn from the Catholics of Ireland over four decades. It has become a household name, and every child—thanks in no small way to our schools—knows what it is about and what a “Trócaire Box” is for.
In recent weeks parishes have been mobilised to collect money to support suffering peoples in the Philippines and Syria in the knowledge that Trócaire shares our values and has the know-how and local connections to ensure that these funds are well used. One way in which Trócaire fulfils its role and works to win our support is by providing teaching materials that are widely used in our schools every Lent. These resources are most useful when students are helped to see that caring for the poor and addressing the causes of poverty and injustice are integral parts of our Christian faith and a lifetime’s task. As Pope Francis has said in Evangelii Gaudium: “We are called to find Christ in [the poor], to lend our voice to their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them, to speak for them and to embrace the mysterious wisdom which God wishes to share with us through them.” In responding to this, we have much to do as Catholic educators.
The articles in this edition are as follows:
- Dr Anthony Towey (St Mary’s University College, Strawberry Hill, England) offers a refreshing perspective on
five key callings of the Catholic teacher.
- Dominic Donnelly, Principal of St Joseph’s Primary School, Carryduff, discusses the important role school
leadership plays in giving life and shape to the distinctive characteristics of the Catholic school.
- Declan O’Loan of the SDLP casts a perceptive eye over recent political comment and parental opinion-polls
on the desirability of more shared education locally and calls, in particular, for more engagement by the
Catholic laity on educational issues.
- Fr Paul Andrews SJ (Dublin) draws a compelling sketch of Pope Francis—a man of action more than
words—who has faced challenge and failure in the past, and, more importantly, learned from them.
- Eileen Gallagher (Clogher Diocese, Enniskillen) underlines the link between Christian faith and the work of
justice, praising good practice in schools.
- Aodán Ó Duibh (Christian Brothers Primary School, Armagh) gives a flavour of the characteristic spirit of
Edmund Rice Schools today, with their commitment to faith, academic excellence and service.
- Fidelma McKeever and Angeleen Boyle (St Patrick’s College, Banbridge) write about a recent conference for
RE teachers in the Diocese of Dromore which encouraged them in their work.
- Joshua Hall (a student from Bangor) draws on his rather unusual experience, at least in our local context, as
a student at a Bangor Catholic school where the majority of his peers were from Protestant backgrounds.
- Dr Brian Hanratty (St Mary’s University College Belfast) offers a reflection on a Christmas-themed poem by
the late Seamus Heaney which is apt for this time of year.
- Fr Declan O’Loughlin (Armagh Diocese) explains the background to icons and offers a prayerful reflection on
the revered Icon of Mount Sinai.
- Susan McCann, a teacher in Co. Armagh, reviews a new book designed to help with prayer assemblies in
primary schools.
- Sinead McGowan, a P6 pupil in Omagh, shares her excitement at Les Misérables.
Nollaig Shona Daoibh.
For further information please contact Rev Dr Niall Coll, Tel: 02890 268262.