'austraLasia' #112

SYNOD: OCEANIA BISHOPS PRAISE CATHOLIC SCHOOL

Vatican Correspondent

VATICAN CITY: 24th November -- From many corners of the Pacific,

episcopal voices were raised in praise of the Catholic School in recent

synodal interventions in Rome. Bishop Jeremiah Coffey, an ardent

follower of things Salesian, used language which Salesians would readily

recognise: "The Catholic School is the point in which the Church touches

culture most intensely because in this setting the young are prepared

for life". He went on to point out that while many institutions are in

decline in our Western world, the institution of the Catholic School in

Australia is held in high esteem. From Fiji came words of similar

praise, especially of the missionaries who began the schools: "Catholic

education is a source of joy", said Archbishop Petero Mataca, of Suva.

"The Catholic schools are a tribute to missionaries. Their past

students are putting Christian values into public life, business, the

family". He then went on to note the growth in tertiary education

within Oceania, and the presence of a regional University in Suva,

serving twelve nations. His question - "Is it possible to have a

regional Catholic University?"

Meanwhile, the Bishop of Rarotnga, the Cook Islands, finds himself

struggling to maintain just three Catholic schools in a group of islands

covering two million square kilometres of ocean.

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