News & Events

Integrity of Justice: July Prayer Intention of Pope Francis

We are all invited to join with pope Francis and his worldwide prayer network in praying this month's intention: Integrity of Justice.

Let us pray that those who administer justice may work with integrity, and that the injustice which prevails in the world may not have the last word.

Text of the video:

The decisions made by judges influence the rights and property of citizens.
Their independence should keep them safe from favoritism and from pressures that could contaminate the decisions they have to make.
Judges must follow the example of Jesus, who never negotiates the truth.
Let us pray that those who administer justice may work with integrity, and that the injustice which prevails in the world may not have the last word.

- Pope Francis, July 2019

We invite you to post a prayer or reflection in our prayer space

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Reconciliation week Commemoration

We will open our hearts to the cries of the poor using our energies, gifts and resources to address violence and discrimination especially for women and children, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples...
(Chapter Statement)

The Sisters of Mercy Parramatta held a Reconciliation Week morning tea and film meeting this week with the focus on the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It was small but informative and enjoyable, thanks largely to a delicious morning tea of sandwiches, cakes and fruit from Sr Pat Tully. By happy coincidence the meeting happened on the day the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) opened its first page with a beautiful photo of Uluru and launched a campaign for constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians. The articles there are well worth reading.

Two of the writers in the SMH, Professor Megan Davis and Mr Dean Parkin, featured in the films we watched and their invitation to the people of Australia to walk with them on a path towards a more spiritually generous and inclusive nation at peace with itself touched everyone present. We pledged ourselves to take up the journey with them and to work for the inclusion of a Voice in our Constitution and a Makarrata commission for Treaty and Truth-telling, so that finally, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples may find their rightful place in our nation. We look forward to joining the campaign.

The following is the Sisters’ public declaration of their support for the Uluru Statement From the Heart

The Uluru Statement From the Heart invited all Australians to listen and respond to the First Peoples’ call to walk together on a path towards a more spiritually generous and inclusive nation.

We have heard their heartfelt entreaty and so commit ourselves to take up the journey with them and to work for the inclusion of a Voice in our Constitution and a Makarrata commission for Treaty and Truth-telling, so that finally, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples may find their rightful place in our nation.

Celebrate National Reconciliation week

You are invited to a Morning Tea and Film to celebrate National Reconciliation Week

The focus will be on the Uluru Statement from the Heart that asks for Voice, Truth-Telling and Treaty

Venue: Sisters of Mercy Congregation Centre, 6 Victoria Rd., Parramatta
Date: Monday, May 27, 2019

Time: 10:30am - 12:30pm

RSVP: m.hinchey@bigpond.com

Parking: Access to the Cathedral overflow carpark opposite the venue will be available between 10:15- 10:30am

Download and share the flyer (PDF)

'We directed the Statement at the Australian people because it is by their pen - our pens - that we change the Constitution... We hoped Australians would listen. And they were listening. They are listening. The support we have received from the Australian people for the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the proposal for a Voice has been overwhelming. My people have not been abandoned by the Australian people; they are simply consistently abandoned by the Australian political elite.'

—Megan Davis, Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous and Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales, Uluru, May 26 2017

National Reconciliation Week 2019

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) in Australia (27 May - 3 June) is held to celebrate Indigenous history and culture and to celebrate and promote respectful relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians.

This year during National Reconciliation Week, Reconciliation Australia invites Australians from all backgrounds to contribute to our national movement towards a unified future. The theme is: Grounded in Truth Walk Together with Courage

We, Sisters of Mercy Parramatta Congregation, came to this area in 1888. For over 60,000 years, this area comprising present day Parramatta has been occupied by the Burramattagal people, a clan of the Darug, who first settled along the upper reaches of the Parramatta River. Burramattagal is thought to be derived from the Aboriginal word for 'place where the eels lie down' to breed (within the Parramatta River).

As we prepare to move forward together, this week offers us and all non-Indigenous Australians a wonderful opportunity to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture. Read the latest issue of Reconciliation News (PDF)
Consult the Guide to explore the theme and be inspired to action (PDF)
Check out some of the recommended books, reports and films (PDF)

More information about the traditional owners of this land, the Darug people, can be learned here

Australian Bishops Statement: Politics in Service of Peace

We will open our hearts to the cries of the poor using our energies, gifts and resources to address violence and discrimination especially for women and children, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, displaced persons, minority groups, the homeless, those suffering hardship because of poverty and those affected by injustice within the Church. (Chapter Statement).

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference statement for the 2019 Federal election draws attention to the needs of those who are poor or vulnerable, such as those who are homeless or are survivors of child sexual abuse, people with disability, asylum seekers and refugees, and those requiring aged or palliative care.

It calls for a renewed commitment to closing the gap between Indigenous Australians and the rest of the population, and for “an integrated approach to combatting poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded and at the same time protecting nature.”

The statement presents key principles of Catholic Social teaching to be considered and offers a prayer for the election (p6).

Download the Statement here.

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