Violence against women is one of the most widespread and serious human rights abuses in Australia. As we approach the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25, the Institute’s Specific Issues Committee, Women and Poverty, has prepared a backgrounder on “Women and Violence” for individual or group reflection.

Members of the advocacy and support group, Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH), recently walked the corridors of Parliament House, Canberra to lobby politicians, advisors and government department workers. It was said that the group’s presence in the parliament was akin to a walking conscience reminding people of the imperative to be just.

A Well-Founded Fear, the moving documentary film about the Edmund Rice Centre’s research work following up on the fate of asylum seekers who are deported from Australia, will screen nationally on SBS Television at 8:30pm on November 19. Read the responses of Dr Carmen Lawrence and Fr Frank Brennan about this film.

The Institute’s Specific Issues Committee, Eco-Justice encourages all those concerned about climate change and its implications to become involved in two current campaigns which address global warming and the crisis in the Murray-Darling.

Sister Nance Cale (Wilcannia-Forbes) reports on a recent retreat experience led by Sister Madeline Duckett RSM in Bathurst. One of a series being conducted this year, the retreat centred on mercy as it is presented in the Constitutions.

Two years ago on International Human Rights Day (December 10), a group of young women and men gathered for the launch of Young Mercy Links. YML recently hosted an event for their larger network of Mercy Secondary School students and other young adults exploring the theme "Searching for Justice: The Melbourne Sudanese Community". Frances Meese reports.

Sister Veronica Lawson RSM (Ballarat East) offers a reflection on the Gospel for the Feast of All Souls, Year A (Matthew 11:25-30). To access this reflection, click on "MORE" and then click on the picture of the Bible where you can read the Scripture as well as the reflection.

Twelve years ago, three Aussie nuns decided they were needed in the crowded slums of Lima. At an age when most Australian women are counting their super and looking forward to retirement, Sisters of Mercy Tricia McDermott, Joan Doyle and Jacqueline Ford are working on, writes Lima-based journalist, Brendan Nicholson.