Colleagues and Friends

In Australia and elsewhere there are networks of colleagues and friends, people of like mind working for the same goals and sharing the values, hopes and dreams that inform our commitment.

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 IBVM in Australia work closely with three other women's orders who share the same heritage and spirituality. These orders are The Faithful Companions of Jesus, The Religious of the Sacred Heart and The Sisters of Charity. We have been particularly active in working with these orders in the areas of education and aged care.

Catholic Religious Australia (CRA)

The Loreto Sisters are a member organisation of Catholic Religious Australia - 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 recently participated in the CRA's Annual Conference: Assembly 2007 Being Neighbours in the Pacific. At this conference, the Loreto Sisters, along with the CRA's 180 members, pledged to work against human trafficking; stressed their relation to the Pacific countries as brothers as sisters; pledged to take ecological responsibility; expressed the importance of working alongside and in partnership with Aboriginal Australians; and committed to giving a voice to the voiceless and advocating for action on behalf of the vulnerable and isolated.

For further information please visit the CRA website: www.catholicreligiousaustralia.org

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.

Sr Christine Burke, Provincial 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?

Interfaith

The Loreto Sisters are involved in a variety of interfaith initiatives. Sr Marg Finlay 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.

MAGiS08

The Loreto Sisters were recently involved in a partnership with the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits), in supporting MAGiS08, the Ignatian Program for World Youth Day 2008. MAGiS08 invited young people from 18 to 30 to join together on a journey with those of a like mind and heart from different countries, cultures and language, to explore and to share their experiences in an Ignatian context fostering a 'faith the does justice'. For more information visit www.magis08.org