Bishop's Message - Catholic Education

Bishop’s Message

A message from the Bishop of Cairns, Joe Caddy

It is more than 200 years since the first Catholic school in Australia was established. In those days, the Church saw the importance of providing a good education to the children of former convicts and new settlers, as a way of both spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and providing a foundation in literacy and numeracy that would lift the children – and their families – out of poverty and prepare them to become contributing members of society.

The early bishops and priests sought support from religious orders to send committed religious men and women – teaching nuns and brothers – to open Catholic schools in regional and country areas and to reach out to the First Nations peoples of the land. It is a mission which continues today and one to which the Catholic Church is fully committed.

Those religious men and women – often from far-off lands – would devote their lives to the education and support of children and their families, through times of wars and civil unrest and economic hardship. Their methods were not always perfect, but they understood that God had entrusted to them a great responsibility. They were joined by more and more lay people and sought support and funding from government to ensure that students in Catholic schools were offered the best holistic education – academically, vocationally , personally, socially and spiritually.

Today, education is one of the greatest ministries of the Catholic Church in Australia. In the Diocese of Cairns, around one-third of all primary and secondary students attend Catholic schools. It is both a privilege and a great responsibility, but it is one which our Catholic schools embrace wholeheartedly. We work in partnership with parents to provide a faith and values-based education which is welcoming and inclusive, guiding young people to become constructive and compassionate members of society.

I invite you to learn more about Catholic Education, as we continue to put into practice the philosophy of Australia’s Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, who urged us to “never see a need without doing something about it.”  We continue to serve the needs of the young people and  families of Far North Queensland as we work together to contribute to a successful, inclusive and caring Australia.        

Most Rev Joe Caddy AM
Bishop of Cairns

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