At this time of change in Australian politics, it’s time to change our approach to refugees and people seeking asylum.

This was a call from more than 60 people from 20 Melbourne Catholic parishes on Saturday 25 August.  They were gathered for the 14^th Welcome the Asylum Seeker Parish Support forum. 

With the 2018 Victorian general election scheduled for Saturday 24 November, this is a time to engage with parliamentary candidates on the kind of society we want to live in, today and in the future.  Members and friends are invited to join us on Monday 27 August for our pre-election forum. The Hon James Merlino MP, Deputy Premier, and The Hon David Hodgett MP, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party  will join us to engage on the issues that most impact on the wellbeing of Victorians, particularly those on the margins. Our 2018 Victorian Election brochure will be part of the agenda.

Mandatory sentencing, improving care for vulnerable children in Victoria, workplace spirituality and prayer, upcoming workshops for parish communities to help respond to family violence, and to assist asylum seekers. Find out about these news items, and more events from Catholic Social Services Victoria, and our members, here.

“Today, however, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. ” – Laudato Si #49

Sr Nicole Rotaru rsm has worked with women and children in many settings to build understanding of family violence, particularly as it affects children and their mothers. On Wednesday 25 July, from 1.30pm - 4.00pm, Nicole will lead a workshop for parishes at the Cardinal Knox Centre, East Melbourne. This workshop will help participants respond to people who have been affected, and to assist them in rebuilding their lives.

An expectant group of fourteen people gathered on a grey morning at the Flagstaff Gardens in the city of Melbourne on 16 May for the first Catholic Social Teaching Walking On The Land workshop for 2018. This workshop is another in the collaborative venture of CSSV with Edmund Rice Ministries and Kildare Ministries. Two further workshops are scheduled for later in 2018 - 29 August and 28 November.

Together with ThinkPrevent, Catholic Social Services Victoria is hosting a workshop on Bystander Intervention for parishes and those keen to respond, to the prevention of family violence and violence against women. The workshop will be held at the Cardinal Knox Centre, 383 Albert Street, East Melbourne, from 6pm (for 6.30pm start). Dr Ree Boddé, CEO of ThinkPrevent will speak.