Vaughan Publishing and The Educator’s Guide to Catholic Identity launched in Melbourne
Over 80 leaders in Catholic education attended the launch, including Mr Stephen Elder, Executive Director and Catholic Education Melbourne, who launched the book and gave the opening address.
The keynote speaker was Dr Paul Sharkey, Director of Catholic Education Services, Catholic Education Melbourne and author of Educator’s Guide to Catholic Identity, whose topic was ‘Religious Leadership and the Identity Project in Catholic Schools’. Dr Sharkey reflected on the factors that led him to write the book, including the importance of the collaboration with Professor Didier Pollefeyt from the Catholic University of Leuven.
Visiting from Belgium, Professor Pollefeyt, an internationally recognised academic in the field of Catholic Identity, spoke of the significance of Dr Sharkey’s book which is grounded in contemporary research and explores the term ‘Catholic’ through living examples of school life. Focusing on various aspects of Catholic identity, such as pastoral care, curriculum, pedagogy, disability, prayer and ecological sustainability, the book is designed to meet the day to day needs of teachers and parents.
The Commissioning Editor of the Mission and Education Series and Lecturer in Mission & Culture at BBI – The Australian Institute of Theological Education, Professor Therese D’Orsa, spoke of the inseparable relationship between mission and identity and provided the context in which this book was published. Educator’s Guide to Catholic Identity is the fifth book in the Mission and Education series and the first of the Educator’s Guide Series, published by Vaughan Publishing, a joint venture between BBI – TAITE and Garratt Publishing. Vaughan Publishing aims to enable aspiring Australian authors to publish work in the area of theology, religion, spirituality and leadership.