Religious freedom ‘indispensable’ to conflict resolution
The Vatican foreign minister has affirmed the importance of religious freedom in promoting peace and resolving global conflicts, during an official visit to Australia.
Secretary for the Relations with States and International Organizations for the Holy See Archbishop Paul Gallagher gave a lecture on religious freedom at Australian Catholic University’s North Sydney campus on 6 November. Archbishop Gallagher was visiting Australia to mark the 50th year of diplomatic relations between Australia and the Holy See. It was also his first visit to ACU since receiving a Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) from ACU in Rome in 2019.
Call to widen Commonwealth scholarships criteria
The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) wants the Labor government to open its new teaching bursaries program to more than the government school sector.
‘The program will offer 5000 bursaries of up to $40,000 which will skew recruitment of teachers to public schools when there is need across Catholic and other non-government schools,’ NCEC executive director Jacinta Collins said. ‘There are critical teacher shortages in every sector, particularly in rural, regional and remote areas.’
Ms Collins said the Commonwealth was not the employer of teachers, like state and territory governments, and had a responsibility to remain sector-neutral in addressing national teacher workforce challenges.
Leadership changes in WA Catholic Education
Current Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA) executive director Dr Debra Sayce will be the inaugural Head of Mission Enhancement and Outreach – Archdiocese Agencies, for the Archdiocese of Perth from January next year. Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB said the head of mission role was an exciting new position created to enhance the effect and delivery of front-line services. In the same press release that announced Dr Sayce’s appointment, the Bishops of Western Australia said CEWA’s current deputy executive director Wayne Bull would be appointed executive director until the end of 2024. Mr Bull has been in his current position for four years.
Inclusive employers recognised
To celebrate Inclusion at Work Week, Diversity Council Australia has revealed which employers earned a spot on its 2023-2024 Inclusive Employer Index.
This year a record 82 organisations were recognised for their commitment to diversity and inclusion, representing a broad range of employers from art galleries and sporting bodies to pharmaceutical and agricultural machinery manufacturers.
DCA’s most recent Inclusion@Work Index shows workplace inclusion significantly increases performance, wellbeing and innovation. Plus, workers in inclusive teams are:
• three times less likely to leave their organisation;
• more than twice as likely to work extra hard;
• almost 10 times more likely to be innovative; amd
• four times more likely to provide excellent customer service.
Act for Kids CEO Dr Katrina Lines said the power of inclusion goes far beyond her organisation.
‘When our team members feel a sense of belonging, it directly translates into better outcomes for the children, young people and families we work with. Our dedication to inclusivity goes to the very heart of our purpose – we help keep kids safe, heal from trauma and lead happy lives’.
Jesuit Social Services, Teach For Australia, Teachers Health Group, Our Watch and Youth Focus WA also featured on the list.
It’s FrogID Week
The Australian Museum (AM) is calling on all Australians to help reach one million frog calls. A sophisticated but simple-to-use smart phone app makes it easy for everyday people (citizen scientists) to find and record frog calls and send these directly to the Australian Museum scientists who identify each frog species calling. The in-built GPS makes it easy to identify exactly where each frog is from. Download the free FrogID app here.
In brief:
The Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport has published a special online edition featuring research into head injuries and concussion in sport.
Congratulations to Deona Emmanuel, 12, from St Patrick’s College Townsville who beat more than 55,000 school children in this year’s Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee to claim the title of national first runner-up.
What’s On
Queensland Catholic Collective Youth Leaders End of Year Celebration: celebrate all the hard work that you’ve been doing with a night of dinner, dancing and fun!
Date: Saturday, 9 December 2023
Time: 6-9pm
Where: Hanly Room, St Stephens Cathedral, 249 Elizabeth St, Brisbane
Book here.
Last movie online screening of the year from Catholic Earthcare and JISA – Tim Flannery’s Climate Changers is about what leadership looks like in this changing climate (NB the film contains some course language). View the trailer here.
Date: 22 November, 6pm
Register here.