Sandpiper: May - July 2020

SANDPIPER JULY 2020 New governance model for Catholic schools … 3 CatholicCare’s first financial counsellor … 4 Catholic Mission supports teachers in rural Ghana … 7 Three new episcopal colleagues for Bishop Shane … pp. 9-11 125 years ago, Mark Twain befriended a priest on the way to Bendigo … 12 New national office to safeguard children … 15 Column: Disruption reveals brokeness in ‘normality’ … 19 Seminarian in Rome, soon to return home … 22 The Sandpiper is the official publication of the Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst. It aims to develop a sense of community, linking faith and life through dialogue. To receive a hard copy for yourself or someone you know, please call the Chancery on 03 5445 3600. Contact details for the Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst can be found on the DiocesanWebsite: www. sandhurst.catholic.org. au Disclaimer: views respresented are not necessarily held by the CDS. Dreaming a better future for Indigenous Australians ON Sunday 5 July, we celebrated Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Sunday, when the Australian Catholic Bishops invited us to give thanks for the gifts that our First Nations peoples bring to our Church and our nation and to reflect on our journey together. This day also begins a week of celebrations (NAIDOC Week) throughout the nation where First Nations peoples celebrate their spirituality, identity, culture and survival. Here, Sherry Balcombe, Coordinator of Aboriginal Catholic Ministry Victoria, shares her heartfelt dreaming. “When I heard the news of George Floyd’s killing I was really sad, but not the least surprised. Now I am actually hopeful that something will be done to stop the ingrained racism in this country which most Australians choose not to see. I see Aboriginal deaths all the time in ‘The Koori Mail’ and the ‘National Indigenous Times’ as well as on Facebook. We, as a community, share the information in the hope that the wider community will see what we see and demand things change. The racism in this country is a disgrace and unless you’ve experienced it then you just don’t understand what it is like to be Aboriginal … We have to be tougher, more vigilant, second thinking about everything, always on time or we are judged. This is a fact. I have faced racism throughout my life from early primary school. My children have all faced racism, in schools and workplace just because they identify and are proud. They have called out racism as I have done and I am proud they have. For me, the judging is not for being Black, but for not being Black enough! I am constantly questioned on the percentage of my Aboriginality. I can be judged as being not ‘really Aboriginal’! We as Aboriginal people must be more diligent, more punctual, more professional… because we are not judged like everyone else. There is a double standard in this country. There was a push from government for the march to stop. The media used scare tactics, warnings it was going to be violent which, I think, is like trying to incite violence. When is a good time? In three months? Years from now when this is all over? When everyone has forgotten about George Floyd and gone back to their Sherry Balcombe from Aboriginal Catholic Ministry shares her passionate dream. Continued page 6... Kerry Stone, Sandhurst Justice/ Caritas Coordinator