Life Week 2020

This week Sydney Catholic Schools celebrated the annual “Life Week” to raise awareness of the Catholic Church’s teachings about the dignity of human life. Considering that 2020 has been a year disrupted and impacted by a pandemic, there has perhaps been no better year to stop and reflect on the importance of every human individual in our world. Genesis 5:1-3 expresses that humankind was made in the image and likeness of God, and if we as Catholics are to believe this then we must endeavour to treat all people, regardless of colour, gender, or age, as being worthy of our love and support.

To recognise the week, the school participated in a number of activities which culminated in a special liturgy at lunch on Friday. An important addition to our celebration this year was the focus placed on St Maximilian Kolbe, patron saint of the pro-life movement. While his feast day occurred only a few weeks ago, this week provided us with the chance to truly consider how his example is one that guides us towards recognising the value of every human life. Encounter Youth will be releasing a special video about his life very soon, but for those unaware he was a Catholic Priest from Poland who was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust. It was there that he gave up his own life to save the life of a Jewish prisoner. To St Maximilian, race and religion did not change the value of a human life and his martyrdom is an endearing example of the type of compassion we are directed to follow as Good Samaritans.

On Wednesday, five of our Year 11 Encounter Youth members participated in a special Zoom event organised by Sydney Catholic Schools. As always, it was truly an honour to witness the way that our students engage with their faith and demonstrate the Good Samaritan way. The students watched a catechesis led by the Culture Project, who we often have run our own reflection days, before being involved in a Q&A panel. Our students appreciated the opportunity to ask questions and hear answers from the panel with regards to abortion and euthanasia. As part of the evening they also received a special pack featuring a “precious feet” pin in the shape of two feet the size of a ten-week baby as well as rosary beads and a prayer which has been included at the end of this article. The students themselves also wrote their own reflection which appears later in this newsletter. A big thank you to Mr Chircop and Miss Backhouse for supporting the evening as well as the students themselves: Damon Gambuti, Tiana Hazrat, Erin Muller, Alofaina Nickel, and Allison Vella.

The other exciting news was that our College Vice Captain and Catholic Life Leader, Robert Pittavino received the prestigious Archbishop’s Award last Friday. Due to the pandemic he received his award via a special zoom ceremony but it did not take away from the sense of achievement for Robert. In my time at the school I have not witnessed a worthier recipient of the award as Robert has dedicated countless hours to sharing his faith with the school community. He has been instrumental in establishing our new Encounter Youth Group and has in many ways been the face and voice of our regular videos. Robert came up with the idea for our weekly initiative Christ Chat, which will hopefully continue to thrive well after he graduates. I have personally seen Robert’s faith grow over the last two years. He was part of our victorious Senior CSDA Debating team last year and it was here that I feel he began to develop his confidence to use his oratory skills to spread the Word. Late last year he attended ACYF in Perth and it was no doubt this experience that truly cultivated a deep love of Catholic faith. Throughout this year, along with Melanie Capili and Allison Vella, has been one of the hardest working Catholic Life leaders ever to have held the position. It has been my privilege to have worked closely with him and support his faith development during his time at Good Samaritan. I pray that he continues to deepen his faith and never loses his strong desire to share God’s love with the community.

God Bless!

Mr Matthew Bradbury

Acting Religious Education Coordinator