Sadly, abuse occurs in so many settings in Australia. But given the mandate Churches have from the Gospel, the lack of moral integrity displayed by Church workers and leaders over the years in this area, is unforgiveable.  We are working very hard through the processes we now implement to correct the failures of the past and to try to ensure those failings can’t occur again.  This whole issue was brought to the forefront of the community last week with the funeral service of Cardinal George Pell.  I never met Cardinal Pell but his interpretation of the Gospel message and mine were very different.  He was a man who elicited strong feelings from others.  He was jailed for a crime that the seven justices of the High Court of Australia unanimously found was a poor decision in law and he was immediately released.  I believe that his public responses to that injustice reflected an admirable humility and good grace. He deserved to be mourned by those who still held him in high regard last week in Sydney.  At the same time, I was very disappointed to learn of his disloyalty to Pope Francis in letters he wrote to Church leaders before his death.  I believe that Pope Francis is making  positive steps in reforming the Church and encouraging all of us to take up, in very real ways, the challenge of the Gospel - more so than did George Pell – just my opinion.  Those who chose to use the occasion of Cardinal Pell’s funeral to protest the poor treatment by the Catholic Church of sexual abuse victims and survivors, as well as those in the LGBTQI+ community, deserved to be there as well.  They have a voice that the Church certainly needs to listen to, respond better to and to respect. The Church I love is full of very fallible human beings.  We have made more than our fair share of mistakes and those need to be both acknowledged and repaired.  The Church also continues to do wonderful work for people in Australia and every corner of the world.  Creating the ‘Kingdom of God’ is a work in progress. 

Family Zone –  is an outstanding product that assists in protecting students online.  They are in the process of producing a new product but that won’t be available until the end of term.  For our new families, due to this upcoming change, we haven’t created Family Zone accounts for new families this year.  If there are any new families that would like to have a Family Zone setup for the use in Term 1, can they please contact the IT Department and they are happy to assist.  The IT Department can be emailed at ShalomIT@shalomcollege.com.