Sacramental Policy For School Aged Children
The Sacramental Policy was launched by Archbishop Timothy Costelloe on Thursday 20 March 2014. The launch was attended by representative members from both St Emilie’s parish and school.
The key points were:
The emphasis on a Family Focused – School Supported and Parish Based approach.
‘The family which has the primary duty of imparting education needs the help of the whole community’ They are the first and irreplaceable source of faith.
The parish should be the community in which our families find the support they need – ‘the visible Church constituted throughout the world’.
The school’s role is to support parish with their responsibility of supporting parents as the first educators of their children.
All children preparing for sacraments are parish children, they are accepted to receive sacraments by the parish priest. It is the Parish Priest’s role to ensure the children are adequately prepared.
The role of the school is to teach the mandated RE program, provide an environment that witnesses to and teaches gospel values and respects the primary role of parents in the faith education of their children.
The school has much to offer as a resource for the parish in relation to the sacramental program – this relationship is a partnership – the school is part of the parish and should work closely with the parish.