Our thinking Archives - Page 12 of 32 - Jesuit Social Services

It all began with a ricocheting cannon ball
- 19 May 2021
From May 2021 until July 2022, the Jesuits and the Ignatian family, including Jesuit Social Services, celebrate an Ignatian Year. The Ignatian Year marks the 500th anniversary of the beginning of St. Ignatius’ transformation from Ignatius the soldier into Ignatius the pilgrim. ANDY HAMILTON SJ reflects on the events that led Ignatius to find the space…
World Health Day 2021
- 6 April 2021
Good health for the young, the old and the vulnerable must be built on respect for their humanity and on good relationships, writes ANDY HAMILTON SJ. Most Australians are fortunate enough to be able to take their health for granted for much of their lives. We have sufficient food to keep us strong; we have…
Palm Sunday
- 25 March 2021
Palm Sunday invites us to consider the price we put on humanity and compassion, writes ANDY HAMILTON SJ. Participants in the 2019 Walk for Justice for Refugees rally. This year we again celebrate Palm Sunday in the shadow of Coronavirus. As in previous years Palm Sunday is a day for remembering refugees. Marches take place…
Building a Just Society
- 25 March 2021
Back in 1977, Jesuit Social Services was born (as Four Flats) to respond to a real and important need. It was apparent that young men were exiting prison into homelessness with little support and no prospects of a job. A quote by then Pentridge Prison Chaplain, Fr John Brosnan, became a guiding principle for our…
Our recent policy work in gender justice: Advocating for interventions to address service gaps
- 21 March 2021
There is a growing awareness around the world that to prevent family violence we must shift the attitudes and behaviours of those already using, or at risk of using, violence. There has been some progress in this space but there is a long way to go and many opportunities for early intervention are currently being…
Closing the Gap
- 18 March 2021
Closing the gap in Indigenous inequality and health outcomes should be directed by the choices and needs of Indigenous Australians, not by the economic and political considerations of government, writes ANDY HAMILTON SJ. Close the Gap Day is a sobering occasion each year. It records the gap between promises and actions, between aspiration and outcome.…
World Day of Social Justice
- 19 February 2021
In Australia, World Day of Social Justice goes pretty much unnoticed. It is swamped by the start of the school year, the gathering speed and urgency in workplaces, and the last weeks of summer. These things leave little room for reflection. Catholics, too, may associate social justice with later months in the year when the…
Australia Day
- 25 January 2021
Australia Day offers an opportunity to reflect on the relationship between European settlers and our first peoples, and appreciate the lessons we can learn from honouring indigenous connection to land, culture and country, writes ANDY HAMILTON SJ. Australia Day recalls the arrival of the First Fleet under Governor Phillip in 1788. It marked the beginning…
New Years Day / World Day of Peace
- 30 December 2020
New Years Day is also the World Day of Peace. It presents an opportunity to reflect on where we stand at the beginning of the new year, and to attend to how we wish to live personally and as a society in the coming year, writes ANDY HAMILTON SJ. It can be hard to be…
Christmas
- 23 December 2020
Christmas is marketed in fluffy and tinselling ways – in pastel colours, lots of emphasis on here today and gone tomorrow presents, chocolate and bubbly, friendly faces and cute children. The domestic reality, of course, is more mixed than that. It is certainly about showing children love, celebrations, and families coming together. But it is…

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