Session One: Vocation
Leaders in Catholic ministries are understood as being called to this work. The Catholic Social Tradition affirms that the essential dignity of people is experienced as a call to use and develop their interests, capabilities and talents, both for their own development and the good of others. We will reflect on how we strive to respond to this call in both ourselves as leaders and those we lead.
Session Two: Heritage
Our work is understood to be situated within a heritage that ultimately takes its inspiration and direction from the “healing and restorative mission of Jesus”. We will reflect on this primary heritage source as well as the heritage received from the founders of our organisations and that which we are called to carry forward into the future. This primary and secondary heritage serves as our inspiration and guide as we strive to maintain our identity while adapting to contemporary concerns and challenges. As leaders, we become the ‘heritage bearers’ for the next generation of staff and the communities which we serve.
Session Three: Spirituality
Leadership of a Catholic ministry invites commitment personally and professionally to a spiritually grounded leadership. This highlights the high value placed on spiritual perspectives and practices in the Catholic tradition, particularly in relation to the spiritual nature of human beings. We will examine the notion of spirituality in general and explore the ways in which spiritual practices and taking account of spirituality enables a more grounded leadership indicative of Catholic organisations.
Session Four: Responding to Suffering
Catholic ministries are concerned with responding in the most compassionate ways to the inevitable and universal character of human suffering. In this session, we will reflect on how we can work to identify, alleviate, accompany and transform the suffering of clients, patients, students and families as well as the suffering of ourselves and all who work within our organisations.
Session Five: Ethics
Leaders are required to develop and ensure accountability for ethical policies, practices and behaviours in our organisational relationships, and in our clinical, educational and service settings. We will focus on our responsibility to articulate and address the ethical issues of organisational decisions, policies, processes and practices, and mission situations by being both faithful to the Catholic tradition and sensitive to contemporary pluralist society. In doing so, we will also review some of the ethical challenges currently confronting Catholic organisations.
Session Six: Catholic Social Teaching
The principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) are central to the organisational life and mission of a Catholic organisation. We will firstly review the understanding of Catholic Social Teaching/Thought and its genesis. We will then examine how this social thought provides a distinctive model indicative of Catholic mission in our organisations. We will address our particular organisational mission to prioritise services to the poorest and most vulnerable members of society.
Session Seven: Discernment and Governance
Discernment is a key spiritual leadership practice and is a core element of effective strategic decision making in Catholic organisations. We will learn that discernment, drawing on the spiritual dimension of the Catholic tradition as well as the unique heritage from which our organisations are drawn, is both a disposition and a practice. This practice will enable leaders of Catholic contemporary organisations to respond to the decisions required of them from a spiritual and values perspective as well as from governance imperatives.
Strategic decision making is also the realm of effective governance practices. In this session we will explore and review the different responsibilities held by those with responsibilities for the governance of Catholic organisations with a particular focus on mission responsibilities.
Session Eight: Values Integration and Whole Person Care
A key feature of Catholic organisations is the effective integration of its values into the organisation’s culture through values-aligned organisational structures, policies and behaviours, and particularly leadership behaviour. This recognises the close relationship between mission, foundational values and Catholic identity for decision making and overall governance in Catholic ministries. A key value in all Catholic organisations is respect for and attention to the whole person as evidenced in the relationships and practices with clients, patients, clinicians, staff, students, families and volunteers.
We will draw the MLP sessions together in Whole Person Care as we examine the physical, mental, social and spiritual dynamics of our lives as leaders and those we lead. This examination will form the ground and support of our care for the whole person. We will examine how to bring this holistic perspective into organisational dynamics and the care we provide for those we serve.
Collaboration with Church
Each session includes an evening conversation exploring various dimensions of our context as ministries of the Catholic Church. In this program component, we examine our relationship to the Catholic Church and how we can work in collaboration with Church authorities and other Catholic agencies. We will reflect on our understanding of and commitment to nurturing these relationships, considering the responsibilities, opportunities and challenges that these relationships bring.