Information for Applicants seeking
Principal and Assistant Principal Positions
in Systemic Schools
in the Archdiocese of Sydney
Re: The Theological and Scriptural Underpinnings
of the Catholic School
Dear Applicants
In the preparation of your application and should you be successful after short-listing
to be invited to interview for a Principal/ Assistant Principal position, I strongly
recommend the following documents for your study and in-depth reflection in the
area of the Theology of the Catholic School. The following two (2) documents will be
of initial assistance in this reflection:
 “What do the Church Documents tell us?” Catholic Education Office,
Sydney (copy follows).
 “Let Your Light Shine – The Principal in the Catholic School” Catholic
Education Office, Sydney, current edition September 2006 (available from the
Publications Section, CEO Sydney). This document is of specific and
immediate relevance to applicants for principalships, but is also relevant to
Assistant Principals who assist the principal in the leadership of the school
and who, from time-to-time, are required to act in his/her role.
It is expected of all applicants for a Principal or Assistant Principal position that they
will be able to articulate clearly and authentically the great Truths of our Catholic
Faith that specifically differentiate us from other Christian Traditions and the
Theological and Scriptural underpinnings of the Catholic School.
With my very best wishes,
Yours sincerely
Dr Dan White
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
Encl
The Theological and Scriptural Underpinnings of
the Catholic Schools
What do the Church Documents tell us?
1965 BAPTISM
“It [the Catholic School] enables young people, while developing their own personality, to grow at
the same time in that new life which has been given them in baptism….. it so orients the whole of
human culture to the message of salvation that the knowledge which the students acquire of the
world, of life and of the [human family] is illuminated by Faith.”
(Declaration on Christian Education para 8)
1976 EVANGELISATION
“There is no true evangelisation if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the Kingdom and
the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, are not proclaimed.”
(Evangelii Nuntiandi para 2)
1977 THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
“The Catholic School forms part of the saving mission of the Church, especially for education in
Faith.”
(The Catholic School para. 9)
1978 THE CREED(S)
“an exceptionally important expression of the living heritage placed in [our] custody is found in the
Creed or to put it more concretely, in the Creeds that at crucial moments have summed up the
Church’s Faith…….”
(Catechesi Tradendae para.28)
1982 THE IDENTITY OF THE TEACHER
“…. the first indispensable necessity in one who is going to live the identity of a lay Catholic
educator is to sincerely share in, and make one’s own, the statements that the Church, illuminated
by Divine Revelation, has made about the identity of an educator. The strength needed to do this
is found through a personal identification with Christ.”
(Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith para. 26)
1987 MARY’S ROLE IN THE CHURCH
Now, at the first dawn of the Church, at the beginning of the long journey through faith which began
at Pentecost in Jerusalem, Mary was with all those who were the seed of the “new Israel”. She
was present among them as an exceptional witness to the mystery of Christ. And the Church was
assiduous in prayer together with her, and at the same time “contemplated her in the light of the
Word made man”. It was always to be so. For when the Church enters more intimately into the
supreme mystery of the Incarnation, she thinks of the Mother of Christ with profound reverence
and devotion. Mary belongs indissolubly to the mystery of Christ, and she belongs also to the
mystery of the Church from the beginning, from the day of the Church’s birth.
(Redemptoris Mater para 27)
1988 THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER
“Prime responsibility for creating [a] unique Christian school climate rests with the teachers, as
individuals and as a community. The religious dimension of the school climate is expressed
through the celebration of Christian Values in Word and Sacrament, in individual behaviour, in
friendly and harmonious interpersonal relationships and in a ready availability.”
(The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School para. 26)
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The Theological and Scriptural Underpinnings of
the Catholic Schools
What do the Church Documents tell us?
1997 THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGIOUS CATECHESIS
Indeed the primordial mission of the Church, is to proclaim God and to be his witness before the
world. This involves making known the true face of God and his loving plan of salvation for man, as
it has been revealed in Jesus Christ. To prepare such witnesses, it is necessary for the church to
develop a profoundly religious catechesis, nourished on the Gospel, which will deepen man’s
encounter with God and forge a bond of permanent communion with Him.
(General Directory for Catechesis para 23)
1998 THE IMPORTANT PLACE OF THE SCHOOL IN THE CHURCH
“The complexity of the modern world makes it all the more necessary to increase awareness of the
ecclesial identity of the Catholic school. It is from its Catholic identity that the school derives its
original characteristics and its “structure” as a genuine instrument of the Church, a place of real
and specific pastoral ministry. The Catholic school participates in the evangelising mission of the
Church and is the privileged environment in which Christian education is carried out.
(The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium para. 11.)
1999 KEEPING UP-TO-DATE
“To help all involved in evangelisation to hand on this ‘renewal of thought, action, practice and
moral virtue’, the Pope promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This enables
evangelisers to assess how contemporary are their theology, ideas and practices, and to
evaluate the quality of the content they are offering to those they are evangelising. In the words of
the Directory, the Catechism presents (GDC 124):
… an updated synthesis of the faith which incorporates the doctrine of the Second
Vatican Council, as well as the religious and moral concerns of our time.
(Australian Religious Education: Facing the Challenges p.48)
2001 THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM
“The coincidence of [the] Jubilee with the opening of a new millennium has certainly helped people
to become more aware of the mystery of Christ within the great horizon of the history of salvation,
without any concession to millenarian fantasies. Christianity is a religion rooted in history! It was
in the soil of history that God chose to establish a covenant with Israel and so prepare the birth of
the Son from the womb of Mary “in the fullness of time” (Gal 4:4). Understood in his divine and
human mystery, Christ is the foundation and centre of history, he is its meaning and ultimate goal.
It is in fact through him, the Word and image of the Father, that “all things were made” (John 1:3; cf.
Col. 1:15). His incarnation, culminating in the Paschal Mystery and the gift of the Spirit, is the
pulsating heart of time, the mysterious hour in which the Kingdom of God came to us (cf. Mark
1:15), indeed took root in our history, as the seed destined to become a great tree (cf. Mark 4:30-32).
(At the Beginning of the New Millennium para. 5)
2003 THE EUCHARIST IN ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE CHURCH
“Every commitment to holiness, every activity aimed at carrying out the Church’s mission, every
work of pastoral planning, must draw the strength it needs from the Eucharistic mystery and in
turn be directed to that mystery as its culmination. In the Eucharist we have Jesus, we have his
redemptive sacrifice, we have his resurrection, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit, we have
adoration, obedience and love of the Father. Were we to disregard the Eucharist, how could we
overcome our own deficiency”
(Ecclesia de Eucharista Chpt 2, para 60)
“…Inspired by love, the Church is anxious to hand on to future generations of Christians, without
loss, her faith and teaching with regard to the mystery of the Eucharist. There can be no danger of
excess in our care for this mystery, for “in this sacrament is recapitulated the whole mystery of
our salvation”
(Ecclesia de Eucharista Chpt 2, para 61)
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The Theological and Scriptural Underpinnings of
the Catholic Schools
What do the Church Documents tell us?
2006 THE CHURCH’S THREE FOLD RESPONSIBILITY
“The Church’s deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the
word of God (kerygma-martyria), celebrating the sacraments (leitourgia), and exercising the
ministry of charity (diakonia).”
(Deus Caritas Est, n.25)
2006 THE CENTRALITY OF CHRISTIAN LOVE
Faith, which sees the love of God revealed in the pierced heart of Jesus on the Cross, gives rise to
love. Love is the light – and in the end, the only light – that can always illuminate a world grown
dim and give us the courage needed to keep living and working.
(Deus Caritas Est, n.39)
2007 THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN AUTHENTIC CATHOLIC SCHOOL
Certain characteristics need to be present for a school to be considered authentically Catholic.
The school must be

inspired by a supernatural vision

founded on Christian anthropology

animated by communion and community

imbued by a Catholic worldview throughout its curriculum

sustained by Gospel witness.
(The Holy See’s Teaching on Catholic Schools, p.17)
2007 READING THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES
The Catholic Bishops of NSW-ACT invite all those involved in Catholic education – our educational
leaders and staff, clergy and religious, parents and parish communities – to dedicate themselves to
ensuring that our schools:

are truly Catholic in their identity and life

are centres of ‘the new evangelisation’

enable our students to achieve high levels of ‘Catholic religious literacy’

are led and staffed by people who will contribute to these goals.
(Catholic Schools at a Crossroads, p.5)
2008 THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
“Empowered by the Spirit, and drawing upon faith’s rich vision, a new generation of Christians is
being called to help build a world in which God’s gift of life is welcomed, respected and cherished –
not rejected, feared as a threat and destroyed. A new age in which love is not greedy or selfseeking, but pure, faithful and genuinely free, open to others, respectful of their dignity, seeking
their good, radiating joy and beauty. A new age in which hope liberates us from the shallowness,
apathy and self-absorption which deaden our souls and poison our relationships. Dear young
friends, the Lord is asking you to be prophets of this new age, messengers of his love, drawing
people to the Father and building a future of hope for all humanity.”
“For those who have received this gift, nothing can ever be the same! Being “baptized” in the one
Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 12:13) means being set on fire with the love of God. Being “given to drink” of the
Spirit means being refreshed by the beauty of the Lord’s plan for us and for the world, and
becoming in turn a source of spiritual refreshment for others. Being “sealed with the Spirit” means
not being afraid to stand up for Christ, letting the truth of the Gospel permeate the way we see,
think and act, as we work for the triumph of the civilization of love”.
(Homily Benedict XVI, Eucharistic Celebration 23rd World Youth Day, p3)
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The Theological and Scriptural Underpinnings of
the Catholic Schools
What do the Church Documents tell us?
Reference list
Bishops of NSW and ACT, Pastoral Letter: Catholic Schools at a Crossroads, published with
assistance from the Catholic Education Office, Sydney, August 2007
J. Michael Miller CSB, The Holy See’s Teaching on Catholic Schools. St Pauls Publications:
Sydney, 2007.
Benedict XVI. Deus Caritas Est (On Christian Love). St Pauls Publications: Sydney, 2006.
Benedict XVI Homily: Eucharistic Celebration on the Occasion of the 23rd World Youth Day.
Sydney 20 July 2008
Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, Declaration on Christian Education: Gravissimum
Educationis', in Church documents on Catholic Education 1965-2002. St Pauls Publications:
Sydney, 2004.
John Paul II. Ecclesia de Eucharistia: On the Eucharist in relationship to the Church. St Pauls
Publications: Sydney, 2003.
John Paul II. Ecclesia in Oceania: The Church in Oceania. St Pauls Publications: Sydney, 2001.
John Paul II. Novo Millenium Inuente: At the Beginning of the New Millenium. St Pauls
Publications: Sydney, 2001.
Holohan, Gerard. Australian Religious Education - Facing the Challenges. National Catholic
Education Commission: 1999.
Congregation for Catholic Education, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third
Millennium. St Pauls Publications: Sydney, 1998.
Congregation for the Clergy. General Directory for Catechesis, (Australian Edition). St Pauls:
Sydney, 1997.
Congregation for Catholic Education. The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School,
(Australian Edition). St Pauls Publications: Sydney, 1988.
John Paul II. Redemptoris Mater: On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church, St
Pauls Publications: Sydney, 1987.
Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education. Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith. St
Pauls Publications: Sydney, 1982.
John Paul II. Catechesi Tradendae. St Pauls Publications: Sydney, 1979.
Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education. The Catholic School, (Australian Edition). St Pauls
Publications: Sydney, 1977.
Paul VI. Evanangelii Nuntiandi. St Pauls Publications: Sydney, 1976.
First published August 2006
Revised August 2007, February 2009
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