The new Oceania Province of the Christian Brothers will take further steps to affirm its future focus on social justice, advocacy and eco-spirituality issues at its first Oceania Province Chapter gathering in Brisbane from June 22 to July 2.
Province Leader Br Vince Duggan
(left) said that while some progress had been made since the establishment of the Oceania Province on October 1, the Chapter would be an opportunity to put further substance to the new directions.
"I and the Oceania Leadership Team recognise the establishment of our new structure is a dynamic process in which the Holy Spirit is active, unsettling yet also encouraging us, to leap further into the Mystery of God," Br Duggan said.
"We also believe that we need to be inspired by the spirit of our founder, Blessed Edmund Rice and recognise that our strength lies in complete trust and in recognition that providence is our inheritance.
"However we are aware of our responsibility to facilitate the planning of our Province directions to ensure that future generations of Edmund Rice's followers in our region can also participate in this rich inheritance," Br Duggan said.
The Chapter will consider five strategic directions for the Province from 2008 until the next Chapter, in 2014.
These key directions are set to see the Province
- engage more deeply in matters of spirituality and interfaith relations;
- commit to an authentic and evolving exploration of the charism of Edmund Rice;
- commit to a life-long formation process for those choosing to become Brothers;
- work more extensively with people marginalised and made vulnerable by society and supporting them further by advocating liberation and justice in all activities;
- recognise the urgent necessity for living sustainably and valuing the gift of creation.
The Chapter will also acknowledge the heritage of the Brothers in education, in particular its network of schools established throughout Australia, which are now under the auspices of a new lay-led model of school governance called Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA).
Congregational Leader of the Christian Brothers Br Phillip Pinto (left) will address the Chapter as will Br Duggan.
The Chapter is also expected to elect a new representative for the seven-member Oceania Leadership Team to replace Deputy Province Leader Br Peter Dowling who will join the Congregational Leadership Team based in Rome.
Oceania Province has about 440 Brothers and now includes Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, the Philippines and the Cook Islands.
Forty-eight elected Brothers and a number of invited guests from the wider support network will attend the Chapter at the Christian Brothers'-administered St Leo's College, at the University of Queensland.
The Christian Brothers is a Catholic religious congregation of lay men, founded in the city of Waterford, Ireland, by Edmund Ignatius Rice in 1802.
Edmund Rice was 40 years old when he founded his congregation in response to the needs of the children of his own city and indeed the whole of Ireland.
Over the past two centuries, the Christian Brothers have worked across the globe principally in education. In more recent times they have been involved in healthcare, community development, social justice and advocacy programs, and specialised ministries work with the poor and people living at the margins of society. They currently number about 1800 members, and undertake work in 26 countries.
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