All are welcome to join our members, staff, leaders, volunteers and friends of Catholic social service agencies as we gather to celebrate our mission of justice and service on Thursday 15th April, from 3pm, at John Pierce Centre, 25-35 High Street, Prahran. Bishop Shane Mackinlay of Sandhurst Diocese will lead the Commissioning Mass and blessing of our work, followed by the AGM and then refreshments. Due to COVID safety requirements places are limited. Please RSVP as early as possible to Lucia Brick by email. 

Join the Palm Sunday Walk for Justice for Refugees with individuals and groups who want to welcome people seeking refuge and to treat all those who have arrived with dignity and care. In walking, we show solidarity for the release of all refugees, the end of offshore processing, a call to ‘bring them here’ and grant permanent visas and income support, and to promote family reunion. Meet from 1:30pm (for music) on Sunday 28th March, at the Melbourne State Library, corner of Swanston and La Trobe Streets. Speeches start at 2pm.

Catholic Social Services Australia has 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. Millions of people, including one million children, will suffer as a result. Dr Stephens said Catholic social service providers are preparing for a spike in requests for assistance when the JobKeeper payment runs out next week.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and Australian Catholic University’s public policy think tank, the PM Glynn Institute, hosted an online roundtable this week to consider the Catholic policy response to COVID-19. The event drew together leaders from a range of ministries and fields, from within and beyond the Church. A discussion paper will be published after Easter summarising the key topics and themes addressed during the roundtable.