Officers’ Annual Meeting -2009
Venue:  The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick inDerbyshire.
Date: February 27th – March 1st 2009

Once again, the Branch Officers got together with the National Executive. This year, Representatives from every Branch had the opportunity for prayer, for discussion and sharing of experiences, for widening their knowledge and even for testing their wit against CWL’s own Quiz Maestro, Jill Sims from Arundel and Brighton Branch.

Mrs Doreen Pooley, National President, opened the meeting with League Prayers and asked that those members, and their families, who were unwell and unable to be present be remembered in our prayers all through the weekend. Doreen drew the meeting’s attention to the words of Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor who was calling on Christians to stand up for themselves as their values are of critical importance for society. Doreen reminded those present that the Catholic Women’s League has a vigorous life and a crucial role to play in our society and she repeated the words she had used in Scarborough about the state of the economy and the devastating effect it has on the poor and the family unit.

Branch Officers from 3 Branches took the floor to lead discussion on different topics:  Clifton Branch suggested ways forward for recording the CWL News for the visually impaired. A questionnaire was distributed to Branches. Cardiff Branch discussed Associate/Direct Membership and Dorset Branch presented some potential issues regarding Sections and Merging Parishes.

Saturday’s programme was centred on The Welfare of Prisoners and Their Families. Mgr Malachy Keegan, Principal RC Chaplain to HM Prisons addressed the meeting. He spoke about the nature of his work which is to co-ordinate and support the Chaplaincy Service in our prisons. Mgr Malachy spoke passionately about his work and the many people he had met and the effect they had had on his life.  He went on to share many aspects of his work and talk about BaCC – Basic Caring Communities - which has just begun in South London by the Prison Advice and Care Trust. This  aims to support former offenders in living law-abiding and meaningful lives. Mgr talked of the need for Restorative Justice – bringing victims and certain offenders together in order to facilitate a dialogue which could lead to a deeper understanding of crime and its effects and in turn could lead to a healing and repairing of the damage caused by the crime. Certain parallels with Ubuntu, a humanist philosophy focusing on people's allegiances and relations with each other, may be drawn in our endeavours to promote positive and loving relationships.

Bridget Moss, Development Manager, The Prison Advice & Care Trust (pact) began her Talk by drawing on the similarities she saw between the CWL and PACT and summed this up by saying both shared concerns for the ‘forgotten ones’. She went on to talk about the work of pact, supporting people affected by imprisonment by providing  practical support to prisoners' children and families, and to prisoners themselves. Bridget had identified the concerns of CWL and spoke about Visitors' Centres in particular and explained how these were based outside the prison gates and how they offered child-friendly facilities, information, advice and support for families and friends visiting prisoners. The meeting also learned about Pact’s innovative First Night in Custody service which seeks to reduce the anxiety felt by prisoners on their first night inside, and to lessen the possibility of self-harm and suicide. Further advice is available at www.prisonadvice.org.uk

During the weekend there was an opportunity  also to learn more about the National Pilgrimage to Westminster Cathedral in June and the Annual General Meeting Weekend in Torquay later in the year.

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