You are warmly welcomed to join us for an interactive forum on integral human development in Catholic social teaching: looking back to 1967, and looking forward in Australia today, within the context of the Australian Bishops' 2017 Social Justice Statement Everyone's Business, on Thursday 19 October, from 12pm - 2pm at Cardinal Knox Centre. Click here for the flyer. 

Fifty four people seeking asylum have left Manus Island and Nauru for the US. We don’t know how many will be accepted into the US, but it is likely that many hundreds will be left behind in Manus and Nauru in danger, with no hope and no future. Come to hear and discuss how parishes and communities can support asylum seekers already in our midst, and change our political parties’ policies towards asylum seekers.

Mental Health Week is celebrated nationally from 8 - 14 October 2017. Catholic Social Services Victoria, in collaboration with the St Pius X Parish West Heidelberg, is marking the occasion across the Catholic community with a Mass for all those touched by mental health issues on Saturday 14 October at St Pius X Church, 491 Waterdale Rd, West Heidelberg, at 11am.
 

Catholic Social Services Australia and Catholic Social Services Victoria are hosting the National Catholic Social Services Conference, Hearing Healing Hope - Enlivening the Church to respond humbly, which will be held at the Catholic Leadership Centre Melbourne from 21 - 23 February 2018.The conference will bring those working in Catholic social services, from across the country, and provides a fantastic opportunity to share resources, to increase knowledge and best-place practice, and to continue our work in solidarity and co-operation.

As we approach national Social Justice Sunday later in September, on Sunday 17 September let us pause to reflect on how Catholic parishes and organisations are responding to the Gospel call to loving service to those among us who are vulnerable or marginalised. Click here for flyer.

Amid the bombardment of information and sometimes-polarizing effect of social media, Fr Frank Brennan SJ AO, Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Social Services Australia invited participants at a recent workshop to use technology “to help break down silos, to provide links to where you can find the space for silence, and for the deep and considered thinking.”

Our inaugural Social Media for Advancing Mission workshop being held this Wednesday 26 July is booked out! The good news is that we'll be live streaming the speakers' presentations via Catholic Social Services Victoria's Facebook page here (make sure you 'Like' the page to ensure you get the notification and tune in at the various times between 9am and 1pm). You can also follow the conversation on Twitter at #SocialMedia4Mission.

Key messages from our forum on 12 July on ‘Responding to sexual abuse and its aftermath’ included that we need to ‘build a culture that is healthy, engaged and relevant, that sends signals that the overall human project is that one of promotion of human flourishing’.

The next step from Catholic Social Services Victoria is a training session for members on building a Child Safe Environment, on the morning of Thursday 24 August.