The dual State-Catholic education model that secured the existence of many Catholic schools, especially after the Second Vatican Council, has made the role of principals more complex as they endeavour to balance their religious and educational leadership responsibilities. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the provisions of the Private Schools Conditional Integration (PSCI) Act of 1975, safeguarded Catholic schools from an imminent financial collapse in the early 1970s. This Act however requires that the Catholic schools' must be preserved in return for financial state-aid. This has made the role of the principal increasingly complex as it endeavours to balance the tension between the neoliberal, secular education agenda of the state and the aims of Catholic education. This article posits that distributive leadership is imperative in harmonising the demands of one of the most secular societies in the world and the requirements imposed by the PSCI 1975 Act.