The Catholic Weekly 24 May 2020

18 24, May, 2020 C omment catholicweekly.com.au A bishop who has stood out I am usually the first person to criticise bishops. I don’t make a secret of it; it’s practically a hobby. I know they have a hard job, but they have extraordinary graces giv- en to them to help them do it. They also have to lie on the floor when they’re being con- secrated – as with their ordina- tion as a deacon, and later as a priest – to remind them that they are going to be walked all over by a lot of people in future. Metropolitan Archbishops wear the pallium – the black and white woollen stole be- stowed on themby the Holy Father as a sign of their au- thority derived from the Holy See. I’ve always been struck at howmuch like a noose it looks, and how it reminds me of John 21:18 – being girded and led where you would rather not go. I was reminded of this all over again by Archbishop Tim- othy Costelloe’s forceful and very timely Pastoral Letter to the people of his archdiocese of Perth this week on the seal of the confessional and proposed mandatory reporting laws. I also read his response to the Honourable Simone Mc- Gurk MLA and her use of par- liamentary privilege to try to force compliance from the lo- cal Catholic Church by sham- ing us with references to the Pell case. Archbishop Costelloe’s re- sponse toMs McGurk – which I suggest you also read – was courteous, but also more in Sydney priest Fr Janusz Bieniek CSMA listens to confessions while adhering to the required 1.5 metre social distancing regulations. Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB’s pastoral defending Confession inWA is outstanding sorrow than in anger that a government minister should be so ignorant of the local Catho- lic Church and its safeguarding program. He also rightly point- ed out that McGurk is stuck in a time warp, fighting the big bad Church of 40 years ago. That Church has gone, and good riddance. It’s now far smaller in numbers, far more humbled, and far more deter- mined to rebuild in spiritual stones, not bricks andmortar. But the real corker was his Pastoral Letter. I will be honest; I have rather dreaded pastoral letters in the past because it al- ways seemed to take whichever bishop was writing ages to get to the point, and then it would end just when it got interesting. But here Archbishop Costel- loe explains he’s going to take a while because this is complex – and then proceeds to give a first-rate catechesis on the Sac- rament of Penance, the like of which has not been heard inmost Catholic churches or schools in Australia for de- cades. Anyone who’s taken a child through formal sacramental preparation will know that it mostly consists of colouring in pictures of Jesus on a don- key andmaking sure the kids feel safe and not too bad about themselves. That’s fine, but it misses most of the point of the sacrament. There are so many good bits in the Pastoral Letter, but I will give you the bits that made me – yes, hard-hearted oldme – tear up: “The absolute freedom of people to access the Sacrament of Reconciliation to seek divine forgiveness of sins which have cut them off fromGod, call- ing into question their eternal salvation, is quite literally for Catholics a matter of life and death.” You’re not likely to hear that in your average sacramental preparation class, and that’s a crying shame. Or from those writer-priests, usually Amer- ican and well-fed, who make fun of frequent confessors and sometimes disclose in general terms what they’ve been told in order to make fun of them more hurtfully. Then there was this bit: “The Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation, Confession) is a personal and intimate en- counter between God and the individual penitent, which is mediated by the priest in his sacramental identity as one who acts ‘in the person of Jesus Christ’ … an encounter with God, the depths of which we have perhaps hardly begun to appreciate.” Yes. We have indeed hardly begun to appreciate it, which is why practically no one goes to Confession any more. In fact, the only thing missing from this excellent Pastoral Letter was a rousing call for Catholics to come back to this sacrament in droves. The Pastoral Letter also ex- plains in crystal-clear detail just how unlikely it is that a priest would hear from a sexual abuser, especially in sufficient detail to identify the offender and the victim. Our individual Australian bishops know and value the sacrament. If you go through all the diocesan public statements on COVID-19, you will find that only two dioceses suspended access to this sacrament com- pletely. Almost all the other dioces- es in Australia opted for con- tinuing the first rite (priest and penitent alone) with proper social distancing, at the dis- cretion of the individual priest who may have been vulnera- ble. And thank God for that – it shows that most of our bishops care about our spiritual life and death, as much as our physical. It’s been wonderful to be able to go to Confession during the COVID-19 lockdown, even when no other sacraments were available. I know bishops are treme- dously busy but I have a lot of time for those who take their turn hearing confessions in their cathedrals alongside their clergy, and I think it’s very grounding for them. I hope this Pastoral will inspire more of that wherever possible. So my heartfelt congratu- lations to Archbishop Costel- loe for both surprising and delighting me with his au- thority, charity, and courage. It’s the kind of first-rate local bishop-ing we need in Aus- tralia today, as we face such an uncertain and rapidly changing future. Bishops: summon your peo- ple back to this sacrament of healing, andmake sure you put in some hours helping out with this yourself. It will make a world of difference, both to you and to us. You have been too far apart fromus for too long. Archbishop’s Pastoral Letter Dr PhilippaMartyr is a Perth- based historian, lecturer and researcher. She can be con- tacted at: Philippa.martyr@ gmail.com Philippa Martyr There is also the concern, as research demonstrates, that too much screen time is coun- terproductive as it adverse- ly affects a student’s ability to complete more complex, diffi- cult learning tasks that require concentration and patience. Secondly, it’s obvious that learning fromhome is not a level playing field as not all students have the advantage of high speed internet, the most recent digital technology and a space where they can work un- Vital thing for students is being there G iven the consensus that the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic is over and Catholic, Independent and government schools around Australia are gradually reopening it’s timely to consider the lessons of the last couple of months. As a result of schools being closed except for students un- der exceptional circumstances the overwhelming majority of students have been forced to learn fromhome with parents taking responsibility. The first lesson is notwith- standing the benefits of digital technology, computers and the internet, students learning at home via virtual classrooms will never replace being physi- cally at school learning and in- teracting face-to-face and be- ing taught by committed and knowledgeable teachers. Education is an intensely human activity where teachers need to engage andmotivate their students and this kind of interaction cannot be found in a virtual classroom. Once the novelty and excitement wear off it’s only natural that stu- dents want human contact. In addition to their for- mal education, students from Prep to Year 12 also learn a good deal by interacting with their peers and being involved in extra-curricular activities whether sport, music, debat- ing or drama. Activities diffi- cult, if not impossible, for most parents to organise at home. interrupted and without being distracted. It’s equally true that not all schools and all teachers have the expertise and resources to set up andmanage virtual classrooms. A third lesson, as a result of families being made to iso- late and children not being at school, is that parents have been reminded how difficult and challenging it can be to manage and supervise chil- dren and adolescents. While teachers have always been held in high regard by their students’ parents the anec- dotal evidence is that parents having to take responsibility and ensure their children are not distracted and waste time has reaffirmed their belief that teachers should be admired and respected for the work they do. Fourthly, closing schools and learning fromhome has also raised concerns about whether students’ academ- ic ability has been adversely affected. In some states stu- dents have missed nearly two months of formal, structured teaching and learning and the challenge now is how best to make up for lost time. Especially concerning is the plight of Year 12 students across Australia as the final year of schooling culminates with each student receiving an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) that is used for tertiary entry. It’s important that schools provide extra resources and teaching time for senior school students in particular to ensure they are not disad- vantaged and that they have the required level of subject knowledge, understanding and skills to ensure success in their end-of-year exam- inations and after they leave school. Dr Kevin Donnelly is a Senior Research Fellow at the Aus- tralian Catholic University and author of A Politically Correct Dictionary and Guide (available at kevindon- nelly.com.au ) Education is an intensely human activity where teachers need to engage ... their students and this kind of interaction can’t be found in a virtual classroom.” Kevin Donnelly Kevin Donnelly Columnist