Section Archive: Being Just Neighbours
Nothing to fear from refugees and asylum seekers

Nothing to fear from refugees and asylum seekers

Thirty years from now, an Australian prime minister will rise in the parliament and offer an apology to refugees and asylum seekers and their families for the damage that is...

Posted on: June 17, 2014

Enough of institutionalised cruelty say Oz Bishops

Enough of institutionalised cruelty say Oz Bishops

Australia’s Catholic Bishops have made an urgent plea for a respect for the rights of asylum seekers, not only in Government circles but in the Australian community more broadly.

Posted on: May 20, 2014

Why we felt compelled to act

Why we felt compelled to act

If you thought your government was perpetrating evil, how far would you be willing to go to stop them, ask Donna Mulhearn and Justin Whelan.

Posted on: April 15, 2014

A family experience of the Good Samaritan

A family experience of the Good Samaritan

The story of the compassion and support received by my family from the Good Samaritan Sisters during a very difficult time has been passed down through the generations, and has...

Posted on: February 18, 2014

Our role disentangling society from fossil fuels

Our role disentangling society from fossil fuels

What is the proper role of people of faith in Australia in fighting climate change, asks Thea Ormerod.

Posted on: November 19, 2013

One generation of educated girls is a revolution

One generation of educated girls is a revolution

I realised anew that day the power of education, not just in the life of one individual girl, but to break entire cycles of poverty, writes Melinda Tankard Reist.

Posted on: October 15, 2013

It’s 40 years since White Australia ended

It’s 40 years since White Australia ended

The last vestiges of the White Australia policy were removed on September 17, 1973. Have we as a nation evolved much since then, asks Moira Byrne Garton.

Posted on: September 17, 2013

Holding on to hope

Holding on to hope

I don’t know about the rest of the country, but I’m tired and I’m frustrated, and I’m struggling to find hope for a way forward regarding Australia’s treatment of asylum...

Posted on: August 20, 2013

War and peace within and beyond

Good Samaritan Sister Patty Fawkner reflects on a book that “expounds a profound teaching on peace-making that is as applicable to interpersonal tussles as it is to any global hostility”.

Posted on: June 18, 2013

Restoring hope, dignity and independence

Restoring hope, dignity and independence

Every Australian family is exposed to the possibility of their life being touched by disability, writes Tony Fitzgerald.

Posted on: May 21, 2013

Changing our national conversation

Changing our national conversation

Have you found the meanness, fearfulness and negativity of our national political discourse soul-destroying, asks Sandie Cornish.

Posted on: April 16, 2013

Difference: No barrier to harmony

Difference: No barrier to harmony

Outside a lepers’ colony in Navi Mumbai, India, is a small chapel. The diversity that exists amongst its visitors is what makes the chapel such a special place, writes Ashleigh...

Posted on: March 19, 2013