Social Justice Symposium by Eleanor and Adrian

Recently, we were invited to go to a Social Justice Symposium at the Bunbury Cathedral to have a look at and discuss the latest Bishop’s Social Justice Statement, which is called Living the Gospel in Times of Social Division.

Throughout the day we met with representatives from different Parishes and student leaders from Bunbury Catholic College and Mandurah Catholic College. We heard from Bishop George about his perspective on the Social Justice Statement and worked closely with others to share perspectives on these issues.

As representatives for Our Lady of Mercy College, we had the opportunity to speak with other students about the issues that we see at school that teachers may not. We spoke up about things we thought our school was doing well: community fundraising. This includes our Tinnies for Vinnies, Winter Sleep Out and other social justice fundraising.

We also had the opportunity to discuss issues we thought need more work. This issue was restraint in what we say which overlapped with some other issues presented by others. This discussion focused on refraining from words that offend or hurt others, and being mindful of how we interact with others to practise kindness in our school.

Overall, the day was super fun, and we enjoyed going with Mrs Godwin and Miss Ryan. We really enjoyed this day and hope that we can get more opportunities like this in the future for ourselves and others to experience.

Eleanor and Adrian, Year 10