pathways, August 2009
The first Public Juridic Person of Pontifical Right granted to a religious congregation in Australia has come into effect, setting an important precedent for other religious congregations in this country.
A Public Juridic Person (PJP) is a Church body established to perform specific tasks entrusted to it in view of the common good and to perform these tasks on behalf of the Church.
Mary Aikenhead Ministries is a PJP whose task is to ensure the ministries established by the Sisters of Charity continue to flourish into the future - particularly in the context of changing realities for the congregation. It is a move towards lay governance and follows the incorporation of their major ministries under Boards of Directors in the 1990s.
Although canonical approval was received from the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL) last year, Mary Aikenhead Ministries legally came into effect on July 1, 2009, with the formal commissioning ritual held in Brisbane on July 21 and in Sydney and Melbourne on July 22, the 151st anniversary of Mary Aikenhead's death. After years of preparation, the then-Congregational Leader Sister Elizabeth Dodds RSC presented the documentation to CICLSAL in January 2008. Approval of the petition is dated April 25, 2008, and the Sisters learnt of its success on Wednesday, May 21, 2008.
Under Mary Aikenhead Ministries the Sisters of Charity-founded facilities in health, aged care and education will now be governed by a group of Trustees consisting initially of members of the congregation and lay colleagues. They are Richard Harpham (chairman), Elizabeth Dodds RSC, Linda Ferrington RSC, Rowena McNally and David Robinson.
The Trustees will ensure that the heritage, tradition and charism of the Sisters of Charity are taken purposefully into the future.
Congregational Leader Sister Annette Cunliffe RSC said that it was an exciting time for people involved with the varied ministries.
"While there will be little change to the daily management of our facilities, this change in governance will enable us to ensure that the work begun by the Sisters will continue, grow and flourish in the future through gifted and dedicated lay leadership, " she said.
"Our congregation's spirit and our inheritance is the gospel privilege of serving others, especially the poor.
"Our story is one of innovation, courage and conviction. It is our hope that this will continue through Mary Aikenhead Ministries and the spirit of service will evolve in new and radical ways, always alive to the needs of the times," said Sr Annette.
"We believe that now, while the ministries are so strong, is the time to ensure their future by placing them in the committed hands of these Trustees and those who will follow them."
Mary Aikenhead Ministries' inaugural chairman Richard Harpham said the ministries would continue to be operated in the tradition that the Sisters had built over many years.
"This tradition has many components, but there are three principles which I see as being extremely important and to which Mary Aikenhead Ministries will be fully committed," Mr Harpham said.
"First, our colleges, hospitals, research centres, aged care facilities and welfare programs are and will always be works of the church. Many may agree that they represent the church at its best and we will always be driven by these Gospel values.
"Second, in every part of our organisation, there is an over-riding dedication to the service of the poor and disadvantaged. Mary Aikenhead Ministries will constantly challenge everybody involved in our work to look for new and creative ways to meet this imperative, in the same way that the Sisters have done in the past.
"Third, we have the privilege of contributing to the common good through our service to the Australian community. Our responsibility is to ensure that the outcomes of our efforts continue to exude excellence as the hallmark of hospitals, research centres, aged care facilities, colleges and welfare programs that the Sisters have nurtured."
One of the major objectives of Mary Aikenhead Ministries is to continue to build on the charism and traditions of the Sisters of Charity of Australia to ensure that each of the works for which it is responsible operates in conformity with the teaching, discipline and law of the Roman Catholic Church.
The health ministries of Mary Aikenhead Ministries include St Vincents & Mater Health Sydney, St Vincent's Clinic Sydney, St Vincent's and Holy Spirit Health in Queensland, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne as well as St Vincent's & Mercy Private Hospital.
Its education ministries include St Vincent's College, Potts Point, New South Wales, Mt St Michael's College, Ashgrove, Queensland, St Columba's College, Essendon, Victoria and Catholic Ladies College, Eltham, Victoria.
Some of its welfare ministries include The Sisters of Charity Outreach in Sydney and Toowoomba.
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