Welcome to Caritas Portsmouth
Caritas Portsmouth supports parishes, schools and groups across the diocese to reach out to those on the margins to share the love and mercy of God in practical ways.
Guided by the words of Pope Francis in Laudato Si’, our work combines the themes of social and environmental justice as we hear and respond to ‘both the cry of the earth and cry of the poor.”
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Modern Slavery Actions
The Jubilee Year was historically a time when debts were forgiven and slaves released. This year we are following this tradition by renewing our efforts to combat Modern Slavery.
- The National Justice and Peace Network are holding an online webinar ‘Opening the doors to freedom from human trafficking’ on 6 February 7-8:30pm. You can register here. A flyer can be printed here.
- The Medaille Trust is hosting and event based on their ‘Move on Project’ work ‘Supporting Modern Slavery Survivors Beyond the National Referral Mechanism’ online 6 February 6-7:30pm. Click here for more information and to register.
- The feast day of St Josephine Bakhita, the Parton Saint of Victims of Human Trafficking is on February 8th. Here is Novena leading up to her feast day, starting 30th January.
- Take part in study to learn more about slavery through the teachings of St Paul’s Letter to the Galatians put together by the Clewer Initiative and World Council of Churches called True Freedom. Initially released for Lent 24, this study can be done at any time of year and is ideal for parish groups. We will be hosting an version via Facebook starting on February 8th. You can join the Facebook group here.
- Download a Modern Slavery Poster for your parish notice board to help raise awareness.
Modern Slavery training module on CSSA
To help combat Modern slavery we need to make sure we know what to look out for. CSSA have developed a training module via the Learning Management System (LMS) to raise awareness and understanding in relation to Modern Day Slavery. If you do not already have a safeguarding training account, access to the LMS is via self-registration using this link https://training.catholicsafeguarding.org.uk/ . Please click SIGN UP, and enter your details accordingly. Please choose DIOCESE OF PORTSMOUTH under Diocese and PORTSMOUTH DIOCESE LEVEL 3 as the role. When inputting parish details please add both the location and the full name of your church. You do not need to add any detail under Group/Cohort/Community/Event.
Calling all knitters!
Stella Maris in Southampton is seeking the help of knitters in the Portsmouth Diocese to support Seafarers and Fishers by offering woolly hats.
As a worldwide Roman Catholic charity and part of the Caritas Social Action Network, Stella Maris cares for the spiritual, practical, and welfare needs of Seafarers and Fishers of all faiths and none. The Southampton office serves hundreds of thousands of seafarers arriving at ports along the south coast of England, throughout the year. Every ship visited receives a bag of gifts, including faith materials, rosaries, chocolate, and knitted hats.
Dedicated knitters across the Portsmouth Diocese offer these much-appreciated hats, bringing pleasure to crews who endure tough, isolated lives, separated from family and friends for up to nine months at a time. If you’d like to help, you might like to use the tried and tested Stella Maris knitting pattern, easily found by searching online for “Stella Maris Knitting” Or you can use your own favourite patterns. Dark or bright colours are best.
You can pray for the seafarers and those who look after them using this prayer resource.
While Christmas is a special time for these gifts, hats are greatly needed all year round and could be a great project for a knitting group. The collection point for donations is: Stella Maris Southampton, c/o St Joseph’s and St Edmund’s Parish Office, St Edmund’s Lodge, The Avenue, SO17 1XJ. Parish office hours are Monday, Tuesday and Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm closed 12.30 to 1.30pm.
Please email Stella Maris Port Chaplain Gregory Hogan [email protected] for further details and thank you for supporting this important cause!
The Two-Child Benefit Cap
The two-child benefit cap, introduced in 2017 undermines the financial security of families with three or more children, trapping families in poverty, often because of common but unpredictable life events such as illness and job loss. This has a longer-term impact on child development and future opportunities and the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales tell us that it is contrary to our Catholic Social Teaching by implying “that society owes less financial security to third, fourth or younger children, de facto meaning they are devalued”. The Child Poverty Action Group suggests that abolishing the two-child limit would lift 300,000 children out of poverty and reduce poverty’s severity for an additional 700,000 children.
Last week we joined other members of the Caritas Social Action Network by signing a letter to the Prime Minister requesting the lift of this benefit cap.
The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales are calling for us to contact our MP to end the two-child cap. They have created a template for you to complete online.
Becoming the Church Beyond Walls
The Church Beyond Walls Workshop is a interactive session to help your parish start exploring the needs in your local community and deciding how to respond to them. Following the See-Choose-Act pathway it is an opportunity to focus on getting to know your neighbourhood and the specific opportunities it offers for engagement and outreach using the gifts and resources of people in your parish.
Based on the goals of the 10 year mission plan You Will Be My Witnesses, the workshop includes
- The opportunity to answer the question ‘what does poverty look like in this parish/pastoral area?’ examining what poverty is, and what is it’s impact
- A mapping exercise to identify examples of social outreach already present
- Identifying the most pressing needs and ways to respond in line with Catholic Social Teaching
This workshop is suitable for small parish groups or wider pastoral areas so if you would like to find out more or book a session, please contact us at [email protected]
