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Keywords: Social Teaching

  • RELIGION

    Finding common ground in a post-truth world

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 21 August 2024
    3 Comments

    This year’s Social Justice Statement is ambitious in its scope. From the ravages of war to the erosion of truth, the statement challenges us to confront the root causes of our divisions and seek a path toward a more just and peaceful future.

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  • EDUCATION

    Can religious freedom and education coexist?

    • Jacinta Collins
    • 20 August 2024
    11 Comments

    As the discourse surrounding religious freedom in Australia becomes increasingly contentious, especially in the context of schooling, we must address the growing perception that holding religious beliefs and values — and making choices based on them — is somehow discriminatory or at odds with modern society. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    A history of violence

    • Barry Gittins
    • 20 August 2024
    3 Comments

    Emma's story offers an unflinching glimpse into the brutality of colonial Australia. While it’s worth celebrating the undeniable social progress made since Emma braved the voyage to Australia, we must resist the temptation to see our history of violence as consigned to the past.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Disney's lost kingdom

    • Cherie Gilmour
    • 16 August 2024

    The Lion King roared onto screens 30 years ago, capturing hearts unlike any Disney film since. But as the entertainment giant stumbles, it's worth considering the enduring magic of Simba's story and why modern Disney has struggled to recapture that spark. 

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  • EDUCATION

    Poorer students priced out of $50,000 arts degrees

    • Erica Cervini
    • 14 August 2024

    University fee hikes have disproportionately affected humanities students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Despite promises of affordability, many arts degrees now cost more than $50,000, a significant barrier to access for many talented students.

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  • EDUCATION

    Are international students really to blame for soaring rents?

    • Erica Cervini
    • 11 June 2024

    The Labor government’s plans for managing overseas student numbers seem to be heavily influenced by the belief that these students are at least partly responsible for hikes in rents, housing shortages, and pressure on infrastructure.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    When safetyism leads

    • Julie Szego
    • 07 June 2024
    1 Comment

    In response to campus protests, universities erred on the side of free speech when every other day, the prevailing ethos is one of ‘safetyism’, namely suppressing speech or inquiry if an identity group frames it as ‘harmful’ to them. Universities should strive to be uncomfortable and ‘unsafe’ for all, with no identity immune from robust scrutiny.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Walking in two worlds

    • Michael McVeigh
    • 28 May 2024
    3 Comments

    When US-based Catholic Jason Evert was due to speak to Catholic schools across NSW,  there was a backlash, sparked by online activists. The controversies around Evert’s visit highlights just how difficult it is becoming to walk that line between the values and demands of the Church we represent, and the society in which we live.

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  • EDUCATION

    When does a protest become intimidation?

    • Erica Cervini
    • 08 May 2024
    9 Comments

    Echoing their US counterparts, many Australian universities have also set up Gaza solidarity encampments with flags and signs like ‘From the River to The Sea Palestine Will Be Free’. Jewish students and staff have begun telling stories about feeling intimidated on campus.

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  • EDUCATION

    What should anti-discrimination exemptions look like?

    • Michael Furtado
    • 20 March 2024
    6 Comments

    As challenges to anti-discrimination exemptions are likely to persist within Catholic education, how can the government and religious institutions collaborate effectively to balance the freedom of expressing religious beliefs with safeguarding the rights and freedoms of everyone involved?

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  • EDUCATION

    Declining staff-to-student ratios reveal sorry state of higher ed

    • Erica Cervini
    • 06 March 2024
    2 Comments

    By 2012, when the federal government first started reporting on staff-to-student ratios in universities, there was one academic for every 20 students. The most recent data, from 2021, shows that figure had increased to 23. As Australian students return for the new academic year, it will surely come as no surprise to find that ratio has worsened.

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  • RELIGION

    What is the purpose of the RE classroom in a secular world?

    • Ann Rennie, Bernadette Mercieca
    • 09 February 2024
    5 Comments

    Today, the claims of Christianity are no longer common knowledge among a Catholic student cohort that comes from many faith traditions and none, but the Catholic school has a place for them all. Has the classroom become the ecclesial face of the Catholic Church in the 21st Century?

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