The Archbishop for Canberra and Goulburn has stood by his decision to turn down a proposal for a new Catholic secondary college in Yass, while acknowledging some people would be bitterly disappointed.
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Archbishop Christopher Prowse announced his decision in a public letter on Wednesday, saying he couldn't endorse the current model of an "independent Catholic college" for Years 7-12.
His letter infuriated parents and members of the Mount Carmel steering committee, who said they felt 'incredibly disappointed, let down and abandoned'.
The archbishop said while he regretted his decision had hurt people, eventually they would see it was for the best as the new secondary school couldn't be rushed.
He said a new school usually took up to five or six years to get up and running.
"I think people will come back and say it was a great disappointment, but in the long term it was probably for the better and now we can move on," he said.
He said although he wanted to continue discussions about the possibility of a new Catholic secondary college in Yass, he had needed to make an intermediate decision based on the current proposal.
"I had to make a decision now because people were asking me, 'Bishop, I need to make a choice, it's June, should I look for somewhere else to enroll my children?'," he said.
"There was an urgency of time and having thought sincerely about it I couldn't give it my approval, because it is a great idea that hasn't progressed enough."
On Wednesday, Mt Carmel College steering committee chair Kirsty Dwyer said she thought the bishop's rejection had been due to a fundamental misunderstanding of the term "independent".
The archbishop said he had questioned what the word meant, and part of his reason for turning down the proposal had been a lack of clarity around what an independent school would look like.
"In what way is it dependent on the bishop and his unifying role, what way is it dependent or independent from the local parish, in what way is it independent from my agency, the catholic agencies and the commission," he said. "These require further clarity."
In response to the steering committee saying they would go ahead with the new school, regardless of his decision, the archbishop said he hoped everyone could respond to the situation rather than react to it.
"All these issues are the fruit of dialogue and talking to each other and I'm hoping that's what will happen," he said.
"I understand in the first instance people are bitterly disappointed but I hope they will see the wisdom in what I've done over a period of time."