NSW Catholic school principals' 'pilgrimage' to Europe for Jubilee criticised
Catholic Schools Broken Bay is footing the bill for a 10-day European trip. (ABC Central Coast: Shauna Foley)
In short:
A group of NSW Catholic school principals will travel to Europe later this year on a pilgrimage to be funded by the local Catholic schools office.
A parent has described it as "gobsmacking", and wants full disclosure about how the trip is being funded and its cost.
What's next?
Catholic Schools Broken Bay says it is part of its new approach to professional development.
A European "pilgrimage" by dozens of New South Wales Catholic school principals later this year has come under criticism for being "tone deaf" to parents' cost-of-living struggles
Principals across Sydney's north and Central Coast will take part in the 10-day trip, part of the church's Jubilee celebrations.
It will see up to 44 primary and secondary school principals, along with senior staff from Catholic Schools Broken Bay (CSBB), tour Rome and Poland in the October school holidays.
"I think [parents will] be gobsmacked,"school parent Amanda Parvey said.
Pilgrimage unjustified, parent says
Ms Parvey, who has two teenagers at MacKillop College at Warnervale on the NSW Central Coast, said the head office was "tone deaf" to the pressures facing families.
Parent Amanda Parvey says funding a trip to Europe sends a bad message to school communities. (Supplied: Amanda Parvey)
She said the timing came after parents at her school faced a 5.5 per cent tuition fee increase this year.
"At a time when families are struggling with rising school fees, when some schools are lacking basic resources … and we're facing ongoing shortages of teaching staff," Ms Parvey said.
"It's hard to understand how this sort of expenditure can be justified."
Catholic Schools Broken Bay confirmed in a statement that it was paying for the trip but would not disclose where the money was coming from or how much it would cost.
The statement from CSBB director Danny Casey described the Jubilee "pilgrimage" as a "rare and profound opportunity", which was part of a "new and innovative" professional and spiritual development program.
"The learnings and teachings gathered during this pilgrimage will … have enormous benefit when our principals return to our schools and classrooms,"Mr Casey said.
In the same statement, principal of Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School at Mona Vale, Jamie Wahab, said the trip reflected CSBB's commitment "to nurturing faith-filled communities".
"I am sure we will all return better equipped to inspire our colleagues, students, and families," Mr Wahab said.
A parent is concerned the trip will come at a cost to diocesan schools. (ABC News: Mary-Louise Vince)
Mr Casey was appointed CSBB Director in 2020, overseeing its schools across Sydney's Northern Beaches, North Shore and on the Central Coast, and tasked to turn around the budget and boost enrolments.
He previously worked alongside Cardinal George Pell in Rome to reform Vatican finances.
Danny Casey has worked alongside the late Cardinal George Pell at the Archdiocese of Sydney and in the Vatican. (Supplied)
In its most recent publicly available financial statement, CSBB, which relies on state and federal grants, recorded a $4.7 million deficit in 2023.
A CSBB spokesperson had said more than $25 million in repairs and maintenance and a further $300 million for capital works would be spent on diocesan schools over the next five years, with a main focus on the improving schools on the Central Coast.
'Full disclosure'
While Ms Parvey acknowledged professional development was important, she believed there were "more effective ways to achieve that."
"People will question who truly benefits from this because right now, it doesn't seem like it's any student, any teacher or the parents who are working hard to keep up with ever-increasing costs," she said.
Ms Parvey said parents deserved "full disclosure" about how much the trip was going to cost.
A former school leader, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the overseas trip was "obviously a major financial outlay for the diocese" and "would come at a cost to schools."
They highlighted concerns about "school budgets being cut", saying funding for things like casual relief was now "limited or non-existent."
CSBB maintained its schools "were experiencing strong enrolment growth and had low teacher vacancy rates."
Priorities questioned
It is not the first time Catholic Schools Broken Bay has come under fire for its decisions.
CSBB was at the centre of a backlash from parents and students last year when it organised in-person presentations by conservative American "chastity speaker" Jason Evert at several local high schools.
The diocese was forced to cancel Evert's "Love and Lust" talks on the Central Coast and instead downgrade them to an "opt-in" live stream due to pushback from school communities.
"Priorities are definitely not in the right place,"Ms Parvey said.
Jubilee pilgrims
More than 32 million pilgrims are expected to flock to Rome for the Vatican Jubilee, considered a significant Catholic event that happens every 25 years.
The opening of the Holy Doors at St Peter's Basilica by Pope Francis on Christmas Eve marked the beginning of this year's Jubilee celebrations. (Facebook)
Catholic Schools Broken Bay confirmed more than 90 per cent of its school leaders would attend the pilgrimage, which included visits to Wadowice in Poland, the birthplace of St John Paul II, Auschwitz concentration camp, and St Peter's Basilica and other holy sites in Rome.