On 2 July Archbishop Phillip Wilson, Archbishop of Adelaide, was sentenced to 12 months detention for concealing child sexual abuse. Statements from Bishop Bill Wright, Bishop of Maitland-Newcastle, where the offence occurred, and Fr Frank Brennan SJ, CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia, reflect on the pastoral impact of the offences, and the Archbishop's future tenure. These developments are also a salutary reminder of the imperative of child safety in all parts of the Church today.

Catholic Social Services Victoria look forward to welcoming incoming Archbishop of Melbourne Peter Comensoli, as we thank Archbishop Denis Hart for his generous support for the social services work of the Church over his 17 years as Archbishop.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has supported new legislation to help eradicate the scourge of modern slavery. The Government introduced the Modern Slavery Bill 2018 into the Australian Parliament last week, which will require large organisations in Australia with annual revenue of at least $100 million to report annually on their efforts to detect and eliminate slavery from their supply chains. The bishops acknowledged the work of ACRATH and the Archdiocese of Sydney's Anti-Slavery Taskforce to achieve this outcome.

As leaders of Catholic Religious Australia gathered last month at their National Assembly, they continue to stand in strong solidarity with the many asylum seekers and refugees for whom this year’s World Refugee Week theme of ‘the need to belong’ is clearly under threat in the face of the most recent Government legislation. "To remain passive and silent in the face of the injustice we are witnessing at this time would be contrary to the values we hold as Australians, and as Christians", said Sr Ruth Durick, current president of Catholic Religious Australia.