Catholic Identity

I read this chapter in light of my newest Masters unit. Our lecturer could not understand the discussion around Catholic Identity being a "thing;" an area of our vocation that had turned into something that required professional development, leaders and a budget.

Catholic Identity means different things to different people. In many schools, it has been lost to many of the prime stakeholders; the parents. It's evident when people are asked why they want to enrol their children at a Catholic school. Disciple? Academic results? How often is the mission of Jesus brought into this decision? How often is our Eucharistic mission a part of the decision?

We are living in times when the Catholic Church in Australia is at a crossroads, with an increasing number of people identifying as having no religion at all. With the social landscape changing, what are the implications on Catholic Identity? Can we preach the inclusiveness of Christ, yet still oppose gay marriage? This pull is typical of our "not either/or, but both" paradigm (Blackwell Companion to Catholicism) which even now, is hotly debated, even by Pope Francis himself!

Catholic Identity are stable, but they shouldn't be fixed. In Gravissimum Educationis, Catholic schools are urged to take different forms in order to 'keep up' with local circumstances.  Starkey  supports this by stating that "groups survive by adapting to changes in their environment." Does this dilute our Catholic identity? Or is the language and instruments we use during this shift exemplary of our Eucharistic promise of maintaining the memory of Christ?

At St Patrick's, I think we have a strong Catholic identity which can be further enhanced by making explicit links between our faith and our actions. Why are we restorative? Why do we give everyone a voice? Why do we pray the Angelus? How are we linking our every day occurrences to a Catholic identity? Within our context, I feel this is a very easy thing to shift.