Caritas Round-Up | October 2025

Student Leadership Conference Follow-Up Day

On the 16^th October, we had our Student Leadership Conference Follow-Up at the Brentwood Ursuline School. The day was a fantastic success, where pupils from across the diocese were able to meet, network and discuss ideas together.

Building on the Student Leadership Conference that was held in July, the follow-up day gives these leaders an opportunity to not only reflect on their time as leaders and refocus on their goals in their school communities, but also gives them a chance to meet and catch-up with other student leaders.

Siân, Director of Caritas Brentwood, said:

“It was lovely to see the students building genuine connections beyond the formal programme through socialising, sharing lunch, chatting, and playing games together. The student presentations were a real highlight, offering an inspiring glimpse into the bright future and how powerfully these young leaders are already shaping it. We continue to be impressed by their insight, creativity, and dedication to making a positive impact in their communities.”

Clodagh, Diocesan Secondary Schools Link Adviser, added:

“It was a pleasure to be involved… I left really hopeful for not only the future of our schools, but if that is the calibre of young leaders who may go on to be adult leaders in our world in some capacity, I have hope.”

Parliamentary Discussion on Child Poverty

On 21^st October, Siân attended an event at parliament, organised by CSAN and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. The event was a roundtable discussion held by the Rt Hon. Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick, where MPs, charity sector leaders, and headteachers had the chance to share experiences from across the country about the devastating impact of the two-child benefit cap on families we support.

Siân said:

“It was encouraging to see a shared commitment across faith, charity, and government sectors ensuring that every child can grow up with the dignity, security, and hope they deserve.”

Staying Human in the Age AI Lecture

Whilst Siân was at the event in Parliament on 21^st October, Michael was attending a talk, organised and facilitated by Together for the Common Good. Being a Person in the Age of AI was a part of their ongoing Staying Human series of talks, which aims to open conversation about what it means to be a human in a world of rapidly progressing technological advancements and changes in how we view what healthcare is – all through the lens of a Christian social thought.

The talk, given by Susannah Black Roberts, spoke about the sudden surge in AI development as similar to the industrial revolution – with all its promises to change how we work and how we make money and how we live our lives.

Similarly, Susannah argued, that as much as we can praise the benefits of advancements in technology, we have be cautious as to understand the motives behind these advancements, we cannot also turn a blind eye to the negative effects of them – in recent months we have seen on the news people suffering from extreme mental health issues, in-part due to constant conversion with AI “chatbots” and less conversation with real people.

Audio of the talk is now available online, as part of their Leaving Egypt Podcast.

Youth Gather 2025

The weekend of October 25^th and 26^th, Siân and Michael offered input at the BCYS’ Youth Gather at Essex Outdoors on Mersea Island. Youth Gather serves to give young people a weekend away of fun and faith-filled experiences, with a chance to catch up with old friends and make new ones.[Youth Gather.

On the Saturday, we looked at the different areas of focus for Caritas Brentwood, and how we can use Catholic Social Teaching to guide our actions and our words in each area. For the Environment, we looked at how we might use our voice and our social media platforms for good; for Refugees & Migrants, we focused on how we could educate ourselves and change the narrative around people seeking asylum; for Homelessness & Cost of Living, we thought about how we could better understand the realities of homeless people and support them.

Having looked at these topics the day before, on the Sunday we returned to those areas of focus and explored how young people can support all those in need across Essex and East London. They were given the opportunity to reflect on the lives and actions of young saints and think about how they can be inspired by those saints to live lives devoted to service. With all this in mind, young people were set about writing letters to MPs across the diocese to talk about the issue they were most passionate about.

The weekend was a fantastic opportunity for us to talk to young people about our work and hear about the needs of their local areas directly and what they are most passionate about. We are very grateful for the Brentwood Catholic Youth Service for the opportunity to engage directly with the young people of the Diocese and hear from them.

New Upcoming Events

See below for three of our upcoming events over the next month: