Last year, in efforts to engage with the Voice Referendum, CSSV found strong relationships with a variety of organisations committed to reconciliation. This year, CSSV has established a Reconciliation Working Group.
On Sunday 2nd April, hundreds of people gathered on the steps of the State Library of Victoria for the 2023 Walk for Justice for Refugees. Held on Palm Sunday, people walked in solidarity with people seeking asylum in Australia, coming together from a wide range of communities, organisations and faith backgrounds to show their support.
Catholic Social Services Victoria joins our members, the sector, and others of good will inurging attendance at the upcoming Walk for Justice and Freedom for Refugees. The gathering will start at 2pm on Palm Sunday - April 10th at State Library of Victoria and then walk to the Park Hotel Swanston Street where 8 refugees were held for two years.
Pastoral and spiritual care forms an important part of a holistic approach to accompanying people who face significant life challenges. Very little attention, however, is often paid to the spiritual needs of people with disability – despite this being a vitally important aspect of the lives and wellbeing of many people.
The First General Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia commenced on Sunday 3 October, with the Opening Mass broadcast from St Mary’s Cathedral in Perth. Led by president of the Plenary Council and Archbishop of Perth, Timothy Costelloe SDB.
Over the last few months, the Mercy Action and Spirituality Hub in North Carlton has offered free art and drawing classes. Facilitated by local artist, Phil Kreveld, the weekly art classes have provided a space for community engagement and to learn skills in pencil and watercolour painting.
Catholic Social Service Australia had condemned the Government's decision to set the JobSeeker payment at just $44 per day, as hundreds of thousands of people prepare to move from JobKeeper to JobSeeker payments in the coming days. CEO Dr Ursula Stephens explains that despite widespread support for higher payment levels for JobSeeker, those calls have been ignored.
World Social Justice Day offers an opportunity for broader reflection. As with other events, we normally think locally about social justice. The issues on which we focus and the terms in which we discuss them are those that concern Australia: inequality, the treatment of people who seek protection, the adequacy of support for those who are unemployed, people who are elderly, suffer from mental illness, and discrimination against Indigenous Australians, for example.