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Our networks and partnerships

In Australia and around the globe, there are networks of colleagues and friends, working together for the same goals and sharing the values, hopes and dreams that underpin our Loreto charism.

Sandra Perret ibvm Some of these networks are defined loosely and enjoyed in the sharing of friendships, good conversation, informal gatherings, meetings and contacts. At the same time there are formalised arrangements among certain definable groups which include past students and colleagues and those many friends who serve on boards and committees and are part of the wider, ongoing Loreto mission and community.

The Loreto Sisters in Australia work closely with three other women's orders who share the same heritage and spirituality. These orders are:

We have been particularly active in working with these orders in the areas of education and aged care. One example is our national education board: a joint venture with the FCJs: The National Education Board for Loreto and FCJ Schools.

Catholic Religious Australia

The Loreto Sisters are a member organisation of Catholic Religious Australia (CRA) - the peak body for all religious in Australia; open to all leaders of Religious Institutes and Societies of apostolic life resident in Australia. Its purpose is to promote, support and represent Religious life in the Australian Church. It facilitates coordination and cooperation of Religious with Church bodies and, where relevant, with other authorities.

The Loreto Sisters, along with the CRA's 180 members, pledge to work against human trafficking; emphasise their relation to the Pacific countries as brothers as sisters; pledge to take ecological responsibility; express the importance of working alongside and in partnership with Indigenous Australians; and commit to giving a voice to the voiceless and advocating for action on behalf of the vulnerable and isolated.

The Three Calls and our colleagues and friends

A major area of activity recently within the Province has been in the communication and understanding of the outcomes of the General Congregation 2006 in Peru, particularly the three Calls:

We are called to a deeper place to listen to the passion of God and wrestle with the meaning of life today.
We are called to more relevant expressions of Communion which reflect a relational God - generous in gift, equality, diversity and outreach.
We are called to sharpen our engagement with church and world.

As we have often said, these calls speak to a much wider audience than professed Loreto Sisters. The meeting in Peru challenged the world-wide Institute to respond to three major Calls but to do so by not only applying them to sisters, but also to the wide networks and associates that assist and support the institute in its works and ministries. The Australian Province has placed a high priority on bringing all its networks and associates into a circle of shared understanding of the three Calls and has been working very hard to develop a stronger sense of togetherness and empowerment across the entire Province.

The three Calls have been filtering their way through the Australian Province in conversations and presentations that individuals can relate to, understand and apply in their own way. It has been an important process instilling a feeling of inclusivity and responsibility for all individuals associated with Loreto and an understanding of their own spirituality and identity.

Christine Burke ibvm, Province Leader, has been actively translating and presenting the three Calls to the many Loreto networks through a series of reflective and practical presentations including: to the sisters at Province Assemblies, to office staff, at various committee and board meetings and last year at the Loreto Leadership Conference attended by leaders of all the Loreto and associated schools across Australia.

Individuals have been challenged to think about the three Calls and how they can apply to their every day work and what it means within their own lives. Let us listen deep in our hearts: towards what are these three Calls moving us?

JPIC Connections

We network with welfare and advocacy organisations to strengthen our capacity to influence policy and educate citizens for a more just society. These groups include:

Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH)
Conference of Leaders of Religious institutes (CLRI) NSW
Caritas
Pax Christi
Centacare Wilcannia-Forbes

Interfaith work

The Loreto Sisters are involved in a variety of interfaith initiatives. Marg Finlay ibvm in WA has begun an interfaith group with friends called "Circle of Peace". Circle of Peace involves collaboration with both Islamic women and indigenous women.

She says, "Perhaps the best outcome of these circles of peace is we set out to build bridges of understanding and respect and we have become friends." Marg is also part of a group of sisters from five congregations who have established the "Sisters Place" for homeless women in Perth.

MAGiS in Australia