Education and Training

We provide a wide range of education and training opportunities and resources. Some of these include

  • Conducting parish based workshops on forming and running a social justice groups, and introduction to Catholic Social Teaching
  • Publishing Act Justly our bi-monthly newsletter
  • Offering advice and workshops on specific social justice issues to groups, schools and parishes
  • Publicly available resources on specific social justice issues – click here
  • Creating opportunities for people to learn about and grow in their justice work through significant events and campaigns

Contact the Justice and Peace Office if you would like to have a workshop or any other advice or assistance.

Research and Advice

We research issues relating to justice and peace through the lens of the Catholic faith in order to provide insightful and informative resources as well as to advise leaders and agencies of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney on various issues and Catholic response.

Please see the Resources tab for a range of resources.

From time to time, the Justice and Peace Office also makes submissions into public inquiries. Submissions are based on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching and the experience of those Catholic agencies that work closely with those affected by particular public policies.

Submissions have been made to:

  • The Australian Human Rights Commission -Freedom of Religion and Belief in the 21st Century
  • National Human Rights Consultation
  • Fair Work Commission – Penalty Rates Case
  • Greater Sydney Commission – District Plans and Housing Affordability in Sydney

Collaboration

We work collaboratively with other Catholic organisations, and with people of all faiths and none, to address shared concerns in a range of social justice areas.

Current areas of collaboration include:

  • Various asylum seekers and refugee related issues
  • Caring for Creation
  • Building strong dynamic social justice ministries across the Archdiocese
  • Working conditions for poorer workers
  • Homelessness and housing affordability crisis
  • Quality of belonging for people living with disability in our parish communities

Sydney Alliance

The Sydney Alliance is a coalition of religious organisations, community groups and trade unions which aims to rebuild civil society and animate communities to advocate for fairness and justice for Sydney’s people. The Alliance is non-party political and consists of a broad range of religious and community organisations, and trade unions.

In November 2008, the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney became a member organisation of the Sydney Alliance and made a commitment to its growth. His Eminence Cardinal Pell  directed the Justice and Peace Office of the Archdiocese to take carriage of this project.

The Sydney Alliance uses a form of community organising called relational organising, which assists people to form genuine connections within and between communities, and to use these as the basis for social action. By becoming involved in the Sydney Alliance, parishes and other communities can:

  • access training opportunities to strengthen local leadership
  • build stronger relationships within their own community and with others
  • take action to address the concrete problems that confront their people

To see our 2019-2022 Strategic Plan click here.