Uni Chaplaincy

Mass appeal to Catholics on campus
By Linda MorrisMay 31, 2005
SMH

The Catholic Church has moved to extend its reach into Sydney, planning to double its chaplaincy staff on at least three campuses and provide a daily Mass for students.
But TAFE, with about 500,000 students, has lost its two part-time chaplains under the restructure, which has begun at Sydney University and will extend to Macquarie University, then the universities of NSW and the Technology Sydney.
The Pentecostal Hillsong Church is seeking to start its first club at Sydney University.
The National Union of Students says the Protestant Evangelical Union and other religious clubs have become far more visible at Sydney University in recent times.
The restructure, outlined in the internet magazine Online Catholics, has been directed by the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell.
A convener responsible for all university chaplains and a school-to-university co-ordinator have been appointed to build a "Catholic culture" among tertiary students.
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The convener of Tertiary Chaplains, Stephen Lawrence, said the five-year aim was to have at least two chaplains at each large campus in the diocese and provide daily Mass.
One of the extra positions at Sydney University would be a general schools co-ordinator to bridge the gapbetween high school and university. TAFE was left out because of limited resources, Mr Lawrence said.
"The focus is primarily on larger universities which allow for a student life on campus; and once these priorities are established and maintained, the hope would be to extend back into TAFE and new universities like Notre Dame," he said.
"Part of the reason for the focus on universities is their leadership role. That's not to say people in trades are not important to the church - they are - but TAFE is populated by a lot of people coming in and out. There are a lot of part-timers."
Mr Lawrence denied an aim of the restructure was to replace chaplains with church conservatives, although each should be faithful to church teachings.
He said no university chaplain was a member of Opus Dei.
The president of Tertiary Campus Ministers Association, Erich von Dietze, said he regretted the loss of TAFE's two very competent student chaplains.
"It appears that, in Sydney, chaplains in at least some universities are being well supported and well funded while chaplaincies at some institutes are not in existence," he said.
"The question that should be asked is where the church should place their energies, given particularly the large and growing numbers of students at TAFE."
In its statement of aims provided to the Herald, the Catholic Church says the new chaplaincy strategy was to "enhance and strengthen the presence of Catholic leadership" at each campus to reach more students and "retain them".
It was also to make good contacts in the various faculties, engage university life and equip the students with the skills and character to shape the world of work and family into which they will move after university.
Catholic chaplains at all universities would focus on providing spiritual and liturgical activities to "nurture and deepen the spiritual life of students and staff" within the Catholic Church, offer activities and events to engage students and staff in the "Catholic intellectual tradition" and provide "leadership formation and development for promising students".