The Impact of the Catholic Church of Australia Essay Example

The Catholic Church of Australia has made an enormous impact on the lives of many people through various fields of work that are not just religiously affiliated. The Church is the largest non-government provider of education and social welfare services in Australia. Two great examples that successfully demonstrates the breadths and depths of the Catholic Church's contribution to society, are the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart in the field of education and Vinnies Australia in the field of social services. These two Catholic organisations do outstanding work in their dedicated areas, while at the same continuing to carry out God’s mission of spreading the word and love of Jesus to the world. As they are doing this, they are helping to create a brighter future for Australian society.

The Catholic Church has cemented a giant footprint in the area of education in Australia. The Catholic Church of Australia educates over 770,000 students, regardless if they are Catholic or not, in over 1700 primary and secondary schools. This enables the church to bring life to god’s evangelising mission through education. An example of a Catholic Organisation that has contributed to education in Australia, is the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. It was founded by Mary Mackillop and Father Julian Tenison Woods in 1866, who were both concerned about the needs of children in rural areas growing up without Catholic education. Over the years, the Sisters have worked endlessly to establish schools and places of refuge for the working class and the poor across Australia. Today, the Sisters continue to demonstrate their foundress’ mission of providing an education to poor children by immersing themselves in the areas that need them most to empower and bring hope in the form of education. Their contributions to society have helped to develop Catholic teaching to what it has become today, the numbers in Catholic school enrolments speak for itself.

Social welfare services is another area the Catholic Church has made significant contributions towards in Australia. The social role of the Church is to ensure fairness, quality and justice for all in society by supporting those in need by providing food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, assistance to the elderly and those with disabilities. These are just a few of the services the Church provide in their mission to carry out the word of the Lord. An organisation that has successfully done this for many years is Vinnies Australia. They currently have more than 60,000 members and volunteers, who work hard to assist those in need and combat social injustice across Australia. They have over 200 programs and services covering things like housing, homelessness, food, aged care, health, counselling and so on. One of their more well-known services is the Vinnies retail stores, where they provide affordable and preloved items of clothing and furniture to people of low incomes, where the profits go directly towards providing resources and support to people in need. Their service creates a sense of hope for those who need a bit of brightness in their world. The contribution of Vinnies is still evident in Australian society today, more than ever, judging by the number of volunteers and members they have and the success that their programs are having on those who need them the most.

In conclusion, it is evident that in the areas of education and social welfare services the Catholic Church in Australia has made a substantial impact on the lives of many people. Two examples of this amazing work can be seen in the Sisters of St Joseph who have devoted their lives to educating children and Vinnies Australia, who provide a variety of social services to those in need too.  In society, these contributions tend to be overlooked, but they shouldn’t. If we keep ourselves conscious of the great work of our fellow Catholics, we will not only have a greater appreciation of our faith, but we’ll also be reminded to do our part in spreading positivity and responding to Jesus’ central command of love.