IntroductionAre you passionate about wanting to eradicate poverty and caring for the Earth, but also well-organised? You could be the person we are looking for. We need someone to provide support to the Commission on a self-employed basis for the things that we do. It will work out at about 5 hrs per week at […]
Yorkshire
Renewing the work of Justice & Peace in the Leeds Diocese
Justice & Peace is the work of everyoneThere is no getting around it: Justice & Peace is the work of everyone in the Diocese of Leeds. It’s as much part of being a Catholic as going to mass, helping the SVP in some way or saying the rosary. The document that came out of the […]
12 May – New Project Manager for SPARK Social Justice
By Katherine Hogg, SPARK Project Manager Hello, I am Katherine and I am the new SPARK project manager. I’m originally from St Albans in Hertfordshire and came to Leeds to do an MA in Theology and Development at the University before getting a job with Christian Aid and working towards a PhD. I’ve worked for […]
05 May – New Saint with Diocesan Connections: Charles de Foucauld
By Marg Siberry, Commission member On 15th May 2022 Pope Francis celebrated the canonisation of St Charles de Foucauld. St Charles is honoured for his work on inter-religious dialogue but also for his special charism of identifying with and living among ordinary people in order to share their lives and offer support and compassion. Charles […]
25 Apr – Celebrating 60 years of CAFOD
This year marks CAFOD’s 60th Anniversary as an official charity. The very first Family Fast Day in 1958 was organised by 4 friends (Jacquie Stuyt, Evelyn White, Nora Warmington and Elspeth Orchard), raised over £6000 for the Dominica Mother and Baby Clinic. Just four years later, in 1962, CAFOD became an official charity. For the […]
10 Mar – Laudato Si for Parishes & Homes
By Keith Pitcher, SS John Fisher & Thomas More, Burley in Wharfedale Pope Francis’ messages in Laudato Si have been clear in the need for us to protect our beautiful but fragile world. He calls on us, collectively and individually, to: consider the way we look at creation pray about this identify and stop practices […]
01 Mar – Current Commission Climate Work
By Trish Sandbach, Commission Vice-ChairClimate change has been a Commission priority area even before the publication of Laudato Si (LSI) in 2015. Projects in this arena have been workshops about Laudato Si as well as workshops and active support for CAFOD’s Live Simply award scheme. In 2020 several people in the diocese ‘graduated’ as Laudato […]
14 Feb – CAFOD’s Lenten Walk Against Hunger
By Matthew Maslen It will be Ash Wednesday in a fortnight. This year, CAFOD’s Lenten campaign is the Walk Against Hunger; inviting people to walk 200km during Lent to raise awareness and funds for CAFOD’s nutrition projects. The campaign is particularly focusing on Sierra Leone. Around the world there are 200 million children living at […]
21 Jan – Commission Response to Diocesan Synodal Process
The Commission has responded to the Diocesan Listening Process. However, the question format used for parish meetings and individual online responses did not align with the key points that we wanted to make. We trust that the synodal listening team can incorporate these points into the overall results of the process.These were the main points […]
17 Jan – The Time for Renewal
Pope Francis wrote of the impact of the Covid pandemic in his encyclical ‘Fratelli Tutti’:”Anyone who thinks that the only lesson to be learned was the need to improve what we were already doing or to refine existing systems and regulations is denying reality”.The Covid pandemic has ravaged families and communities and hollowed out many […]
12 Jan – Work Opportunity with the J&P Commission
Introduction Are you passionate about wanting to eradicate poverty and caring for the Earth, together? You could be the person we are looking for. We need someone to lead our successful SPARK Social justice project for younger adults and who can help the Commission reach new audiences and raise awareness of our work by enhancing […]
10 Jan – Work opportunity with St Monica’s Housing
An opportunity has arisen to work with St Monica’s Housing, a small Leeds charity which currently runs two homes housing single female asylum seekers who don’t have access to public funds.The successful candidate would provide practical support for up to 10 residents in two houses and ensure the general maintenance of the houses in conjunction […]
02 Jan – Congratulations to our Chair
Commission members offer congratulations to John Battle, our Chair, who has been given a knighthood in the New Year’s Honour’s list. However, the fact that he is Chair of the Commission is coincidental to this award! Since retiring from Parliament in 2010, John has been tireless in his efforts to support local communities , especially […]
15 Dec – Comboni Survivors
By John Duffy, Commission member Earlier this year, Bishop Marcus made a public and much applauded apology (on behalf of the Church) to the survivors of sexual abuse at St Peter Claver College over 50 years ago. This group of men has tried over the years to persuade the Comboni Order to meet them, hear […]
05 Dec – 2021 Palestinian Film festival Screening
By Carol Burns, Leeds Diocese Pax Christi member Imagine being 19 years old and having to decide whether to agree to be conscripted into the armed forces for your national service. Imagine then if you decided you couldn’t in all conscience agree to be part of an army that supports indeed maintains the occupation of […]
01 Dec – Commission gains new funding for SPARK Social Justice
SPARK Social Justice, our project engaging with younger Catholics about issues of Social Justice, has just been awarded additional funding by Benevolentia (also known as the Porticus Trust). We are delighted to announce that they have agreed to fund a set of activities over the next 4 years that amount to a total grant of […]