Education for Social Justice
Integral to a Loreto education is forming global citizens who appreciate their responsibilities to each other, to the human community, and the earth.
Education for Social Justice
As described by Mary Ward, justice is rooted in personal integrity and in living in right relationship with God, with others, and with all of creation. It is made visible through "works of justice" and through active engagement in the struggle to create and sustain this harmony.
We educate to understand the causes of injustice and inequality and work actively to create a more humane, just and sustainable world.
As part of the international Mary Ward education network of schools, Loreto schools in Australia demonstrate a strong commitment to social justice through developing "well-integrated, soundly based approaches to the study of social justice which provide students with opportunities for experiential learning and reflection on experience. Thus they can be led to a more critical awareness of the structures in our society and the effect of these on the most disadvantaged, in the light of the Gospel's imperative concern for the poor and marginalised." (Loreto Schools of Australia Mission Statement)
"A Mary Ward school today is aware of inequalities and oppression in the world of which it is part, and strives to be part of the solution, building peace by helping the young to think and act justly in response to injustice -- whether in the school community, the broader community, or the environment."
Each school community discerns, supports, and is transformed by a range of justice concerns and issues each year. This discernment is informed by the tenets of Catholic Social Teaching, Sustainable Development Goals, IBVM/CJ presence at the United Nations, foci of Mary Ward International projects, the Loreto Justice Network, and priorities of the Loreto Province of Australia and South East Asia.
Province priorities focus on justice issues related to
Rights of women and children
Including the reality of human trafficking, refugees and asylum seekers, and the protection of human rights and dignity.
Sustainable development and ecological justice
Caring for creation as an expression of right relationship with God and with all of life.
Rights of First Nations Peoples
National reconciliation -- listening, learning and acting in right relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.