The City of Melbourne has had a long history of responding compassionately to homelessness in the CBD. Along with many others in this sector, Catholic Social Services Victoria believes the best response to homelessness is housing and that a range of other responses exist to manage the crisis, which don't involve laws or bans. The Council to Homeless Persons has provided a variety of information and resources, including a video resource and list of “10 things Melbourne Council could do instead of homeless bans”. Click here to view these resources.

10 years since the Federal Government Intervention and everyone needs to remember that we experience the failings of that invasion every day."
Yingiya Mark Guylua MLA, Independent member of Nhulunbuy and Elder and spokesperson of the Yolŋu Nations Assembly 
From his recent Open Letter to the Northern Territory Government: Genuine outcomes for Yolngu communities, June 1st 2017.

Please find invitation attached to attend this important  forum in Melbourne on June 29th and consider passing this invitation on to friends and peers as requested below.

Anthony McCarthy’s moving presentation speaks from a personal perspective about the challenges and the imperatives of overcoming stigma of AIDS.

Anthony worked at Catholic HIV/AIDS Ministry with Marg Hayes for 10 years until late 2016, and did so without disclosing his HIV status in all that time.

Click here to watch Anthony's speech.
 

Friday 23 June: 5pm - 6.30pm
Listening to Pope Francis: Challenging Nationalism, Market Rule & Overconfidence in Technology. 

Freedom Stories provides a welcome respite from the hysteria surrounding asylum seekers, taking a considered and poignant approach to the lives and achievements of former ‘boat people’ who now call Australia home. Award-winning documentary maker Steve Thomas (Hope) explores the stories of people who arrived from the Middle East around 2001, some just children at the time. 

In this Eureka Street article by Frank Brennan SJ, CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia, he explains that Tuesday evening’s Budget announcement provides an opportunity for the government to “create a clear narrative as to how it will achieve equitable and sustainable growth”.

ARCIC (the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission) was established in 1967 and has just published five agreed statements with commentaries from ARCIC II (1983–2005). The lecture will review their significance in the light of ecumenical progress since Vatican II and propose future priorities for theology, dialogue, church leadership and local pastoral activity.

Denis Edwards is a Professorial Fellow in Theology at Australian Catholic University and a priest of the Archdiocese of Adelaide. He has served on the Roman Catholic dialogues with both the Anglican Church in Australia and the Lutheran Church of Australia and has conducted research in the Theology of Receptive Ecumenism.
 

In addition to the 17,000+ volunteers that contribute to the work of our member organisations, Catholic Social Services Victoria, as a peak body, relies on volunteers for some of our advocacy and organisational work. We would be much less productive, and less effective, without volunteer input on our committees and working groups, in organising our forums for parishes and agencies, in drafting our various advocacy papers, etc.  We are in their debt.
We currently have a vacancy for a volunteer to assist with our parish support work.