catholicweekly.com.au 5 3, October, 2021 • Full-time opportunity with supportive for-purpose employer • Attractive executive salary with advantageous packaging options • Conveniently located in Sydney CBD with flexibility to work remotely The Catholic Archdiocese is seeking an experienced media professional to be its Director of Communications. The role provides high level advice and support to the Archbishop of Sydney, Auxiliary Bishops, Chancery and agencies of the Archdiocese. The Director of Communications works as a senior member of the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation, leading and directing the media and communications team who are charged with using all forms of media to proclaim the message of the Gospel to Catholics and non- Catholics in Sydney and beyond. The Director of Communications is a broad role that encompasses both a traditional media adviser role including issues management and media relations, as well as overseeing the development and implementation of a communications strategy to assist our parishes and Eucharistic communities in the work of Evangelisation as set out in the Archdiocesan Mission Plan, Go Make Disciples. The Catholic Church in Sydney maintains a large and active presence in the life of many millions of people. A sound knowledge and belief in the work of the Church is essential so as to be able to effectively communicate to a Catholic and secular audience. This is a unique role and the successful candidate will be one who has extensive experience and who understands and can interact with the media world at large, but equally someone who has the ability, desire, knowledge and skills to bring people closer to Christ and His Church by communicating the timeless message of the Gospel. With responsibility and oversight of the creative team as well as the Archdiocesan website, social media channels and The Catholic Weekly (print media), the Director of Communications will provide strategic and practical media and communications advice to the Archbishop, Auxiliary Bishops, the Director of the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation, Chancery, and senior personnel as well as to priests and parishes as required. The ideal candidate will require: • Minimum of ten (10) years’ relevant experience in a similar senior role working in media • Tertiary qualifications in Communications, News Media, Public Relations, Journalism or Marketing • Demonstrated knowledge of the Catholic faith, familiarity with the mission, ministries, works and contemporary issues of the Catholic Church, and commitment to its mission and values • A strong and respected presence in media with the ability to leverage your media network to grow and enhance the public profile and presence of the Archbishop, the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation and the broader Archdiocese • Proven ability to implement effective strategic plans, systems and processes that increase reach and engagement, and ensure financial performance and resource efficiency • Demonstrated ability to manage communication issues in a constructive and sensitive manner • Demonstrated capacity for and track record of effective leadership, including communicating and influencing at senior levels • Proven capacity to effectively manage a variety of staff and stakeholders without compromising goals, targets or positive relationships • Demonstrated ability to create, drive and manage strategic communications campaigns and specialist consultancy forums • Strong organisational skills with a focus on results and attention to detail • Demonstrated commitment to service and a willingness to be accountable for performance A full position description can be accessed at www. catholicjobsonline.com.au or by emailing your request to
[email protected] Applications can be sent in confidence to recruitment@ sydneycatholic.org and should include a cover letter outlining your suitability for the role as well as a resume outlining your experience. Applications close: 8 October 2021. Only candidates whose applications will be progressed will be contacted. Reference checks will be carried out for preferred candidates. Horsley & Company Pty Limited has been appointed to conduct an executive search for this role. The Archdiocese is wholly committed to ensuring the safety, well- being and dignity of all children, and acknowledges its important legal, moral and spiritual responsibility to create a safe and nurturing environment for those children. Only candidates with the right to work in Australia may apply for this position. Director of Communications Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney A NEW collaboration of Catholic agencies will equip people to navigate conver- sations about death and cre- ate communities of care for the dying and those with a life-limiting illness across Sydney. The Living Well, Dying Well initiative draws upon the expertise of agencies in- cluding Catholic Healthcare, St Vincent’s Health Australia, Catholic Cemeteries & Cre- matoria, CatholicCare Syd- ney, CatholicCare Broken Bay, and the University of No- tre Dame, Australia. It was prompted by a call from Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP in 2019 for greater care and support for the sick and dying of people in the archdiocese particularly in the community setting. It will be launched on 7 October with a webinar titled ‘Living Well, Dying Well – the most important conversation you’ve never had.’ The webinar will examine how, as a society, we can bet- ter engage in this conversa- tion, and discusses the value of accompaniment of the sick and dying by volunteers. It will be moderated by Pat- rick O’Reilly, General Manag- er Pastoral Services, Catholic- Care Sydney, and will include a video message from Arch- bishop Anthony Fisher OP. Professor David Kissane, Chair of Palliative Medicine Research at The University of Notre Dame, and the Cun- ningham Centre for Pallia- tive Care Research will be an expert panellist, along with Paige Bullen, Project Manag- er, Chaplaincy in the Com- munity at CatholicCare Syd- ney, and Nishi Rani, Regional Manager, Residential Care at Catholic Healthcare. As most people die of age-relating illnesses, there is plenty of time for people to think about their own death. For others, a diagnosis of a serious and life-limited illness may prompt earlier consider- ations of one’s mortality. Either way, the concept of thinking about death might seem like an unsettling pros- pect at first, but, undertaken with an open mind and heart, it can be valuable and reward- ing. The webinar will examine what it means to live well and how it is connected to dying well, offer some insights and connections to further infor- mation and support, and look at what the Catholic Church says about death and explore its traditions around dying, death, burial, and life beyond the earthly realm. Professor Kissane told The Catholic Weekly that as medicine has improved and life spans extended, many people have little exposure to death and dying until they reach middle age and witness the decline and death of el- derly parents. “As a result it’s Life-death webinar A 7 October web event will be themost important conversation you can ever have A nurse chats with a patient. It may seem unsettling, but thinking about death with an open heart and an open mind can be valuable for individuals, their families and for all of us. PHOTO: CNS, GREGORY A. SHEMITZ become a taboo topic in our society,” he said, adding that palliative care is also widely misunderstood. “What we really want is a culture of life and that means people living their lives out beautifully, fully, and value until the very end of their life. “And a culture of life is real- ly dependent upon the com- munity sustaining that – for example helping with menial tasks like shopping, providing respite care for carers, there are photography and biogra- phy programs andmany other ways in which volunteers can enrich the life of a person who is sick and help them tremen- dously.” Ms Rani said in her expe- rience a person’s attitude to- wards illness and dyingmakes a noticeable difference at the end of life, as well as the atti- tude of their relatives or car- ers. “If someone can sit with a person in their last days and talk with them about their faith or their beliefs about life that canmake them feel much better, and it helps their loved ones as well,” she said. Ms Bullen said language is important when navigating conversations relating to a person’s experiences of suf- fering, dying and death, loss, grief, mourning, trauma and bereavement. “Many of us have not been raised in a culture that teaches us how to speak about these things, or in families that modelled this for us,” she said. “We do live in a death-avoidant culture, but these experiences are not meant to be carried alone. “In our culture we largely treat them as a private matter, and so the Living Well, Dying Well website and webinar are excellent initiatives for giv- ing people an opportunity to start a conversation acknowl- edging these experiences and putting a language to them will validate people’s very unique experiences.” Mr O’Reilly said the Liv- ing Well, Dying Well project would also aim to tailor its services to assist partner or- ganisations with their own needs. Register for the webinar at catholiccare.org/livingwell- dyingwell or catholiccare.org/ lwdw-webinar ¾ Marilyn Rodrigues Paige Bullen, Project Manager for Chaplaincy in the Communi- ty at CatholicCare Sydney, will be one of the 7 October panel- lists. UNITED STATES Prelate turns the tables on Pelosi After San Francisco’s Arch- bishop Salvatore Cordileone condemned legal abortion as “nothing short of child sacrifice,” US Speaker Nancy Pelosi — who lives in his arch- diocese — said that she and the archbishop “had a disa- greement about who should decide this.” Pelosi went on: “I believe that god has given us a free will to honour our responsibilities.” Archbishop Cordileone quickly shot back on his Twitter account: “Rep- resentatives in Congress: you have free will. Use it today to vote no to legalising the killing of babies even weeks from birth. You have a choice. Give it to unborn babies, too.” UNITED STATES Clemency plea Bishops in the US state of Nevada have asked Governor Steve Sisolak, a self-professed devout Catholic, to spare the life of condemned killer Zane Floyd. They said the jury that sentenced himwas unaware of his mental impairments. NEWS