Our thinking Archives - Page 21 of 36 - Jesuit Social Services

Reflection on Universal Apostolic Preferences
- 19 June 2019
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the Apostolic Preferences announced by Jesuit Superior General Arturo Sosa, and the opportunity to strengthen our commitments in their light. The four Apostolic Preferences are: To show the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises and Discernment. To walk with the poor, outcasts and victims of violence in mission of justice…
Refugee Week 2019 - if we fail to stand by refugees, who will?
- 17 June 2019
Refugees are not a number nor a problem but are people, each of whom is precious, each of whom has a story, each of whom makes a claim on us as fellow human beings. As political parties that exclude or expel refugees continue to rise around the world, Refugee Week (June 16 - 23) is…
Advocacy on the agenda at Annual Dinner
- 14 June 2019
On Saturday 16th March around 400 guests joined Jesuit Social Services for our Annual Dinner, held in the Members Dining Room at the MCG. Victoria’s Principal Commissioner for Children and Young People Liana Buchanan delivered the annual Frank Costigan QC Address, calling on community organisations to advocate more forcefully for the rights of young people.…
Change begins in relationship
- 14 June 2019
ANDREW HAMILTON SJ reflects on the importance of keeping our children safe. The old saying goes that children should be seen and not heard. But few of us follow it in practice. We spend endless hours talking with children, ensuring that they feel loved, and answering their thousands of questions. We do this because we…
Making youth justice a national priority
- 13 June 2019
Across Australia, youth justice systems are failing some of the most vulnerable young people in our communities. Recently, in Queensland, the ABC’s Four Corners program exposed the scandal of hundreds of children and young people aged between 10 and 17 being held in adult watch houses across the state each year. In the Brisbane City…
Statement regarding June 4 attack in Darwin
- 5 June 2019
All of us at Jesuit Social Services are shocked and saddened by the attack which has killed four people and left others injured in Darwin’s central business district on Tuesday, June 4. We share the grief of families and friends of the victims and also extend our sympathy to everybody who was directly affected including…
"The beginning of reconciliation is to take time for Sorry business"
- 23 May 2019
Indigenous Australians are at the heart of our vision of Australia as a network of relationships between people and with our environment which are marked by respect. Sorry Day is an invitation to the whole Australian community to do Sorry Business for the death and diminishment that Government policies brought to the Stolen Generations, writes…
Open Courts and Other Amendments Act at odds with goal of rehabilitation of young people
- 23 May 2019
The Victorian Government’s passing of the Open Courts and Other Amendments Act 2019 is at odds with the goal of rehabilitating young people who have contact with the youth justice system, writes Jesuit Social Services’ Policy and Advocacy volunteer TONY SANTOSPIRITO. The Open Courts and Other Acts Amendment Act 2019 was passed on 2 May…
The (restricted) right of people in prison to vote
- 15 May 2019
People sentenced to prison are deprived of their liberty, but they shouldn’t be deprived of their right to have a voice as part of a society. We must ensure that all people in prison retain the right to vote, writes Jesuit Social Services' Policy, Research and Advocacy Officer DAVID HOPKINS. A record 96.8 per cent…
Mother's Day reflection - Andrew Hamilton SJ
- 8 May 2019
Mother's Day is a day to thank our own mothers and to acknowledge the debt we all owe to people who accept the responsibility of mothering, reflects ANDREW HAMILTON SJ. When I was a child, we did not celebrate Mother's Day. My mother, who believed strongly in Saints Days, thought Mother's Day a new-fangled trick…