A workshop hosted by Catholic Development Fund with Catholic Social Services Victoria has challenged leaders to look more deeply into how policies and processes reflect the Catholic mission. Source: Melbourne Catholic.
Australian Catholic organisations are called to act with integrity in a pluralist society that may not always prioritise the same values.
Their core objectives – be it education, healthcare, or community and social services – generally reflect that identity; the “back-end” operations that sustain them, however, may be subject to forces that detract from mission.
The Catholic Connect session, “Aligning Organisational Practices with Mission”, explored how Catholic Social Teaching can be intentionally embedded across core operations, from procurement and investment to hiring and governance.
CSSV executive director Josh Lourensz opened the discussion by pointing to the invisible threads connecting everyday business decisions to global justice issues.
“Our work is to educate, to serve. But if we’re not seeing every aspect of our work being aligned with Catholic social principles, and the things that are really quite profound in the tradition from which all our organisations spring, then we’re actually not quite doing what we’re meant to do,” Mr Lourensz said.
“If we aren’t truly working to the alignment with our mission, if we aren’t taking the time to discern, we’re at the risk of losing our credibility.”
Panel moderator Melissa Halliday of ACRATH (Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans), framed the conversation around integrity, asking the panel to consider what is at stake when there is a gap between an organisation’s stated values and its everyday practices.
Jesuit Social Services climate justice coordinator Anna Brazier argued that the “heart” of the organisation is on the line.
“It’s our essence of who we are, and it’s our identity. If we aren’t truly working to the alignment with our mission, if we aren’t taking the time to discern, we’re at the risk of losing our credibility,” she said.
“And if we aren’t brave and we don’t speak truth to power, or if we fall into that cycle of chasing funding cycles, or we’re too scared to bite the hand that feeds us, then how can we maintain our integrity and credibility as a Catholic organisation?”
As Catholic organisations continue to navigate a complex environment, the workshop highlighted how in very diverse Catholic organisations, mission is lived through the integrity of every policy, process and decision made behind the scenes.
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How Catholic organisations align business practices with mission (Melbourne Catholic)
