As political advocacy is a key function of the QCEC Secretariat, staff recently took part in a professional development activity that featured a presentation from Archbishop Mark Coleridge centered on the topic Doing political advocacy differently.

Archbishop Coleridge provided an excellent context for addressing this topic through a detailed and insightful overview and analysis of the history of Church-State relations. He then drew on a number of contemporary examples to highlight the importance of advocacy and the distinctive features of advocacy on behalf of the Church and Catholic education.

Archbishop Coleridge particularly emphasised the importance of ensuring our voice is a gospel voice and highlighted the clear distinction between advocacy (which is an important activity for a peak body like QCEC) and lobbying (which is not part of our remit).

I would like to thank Archbishop Coleridge for his generosity, insight and wisdom while sharing his time to deliver such an engaging presentation. The Archbishop’s ability to make an online (Zoom) presentation come alive for all participants was also greatly appreciated.