Social Justice
1 Oct 2023
Asylum Seeker Issues
Asylum Seekers and a newly elected Australian Government
Online local Presentation 29 September 7.30pm
Neighbouring Parish St Kevin's Templestowe arranged a presentation on the above topic by someone who has passionately devoted much of her life to this cause, Brigidine Asylum Seeker's Project (BASP) Co-Founder, Sr Brigid Arthur. You can read a summary of her presentation HERE
If anyone would like to receive a copy of the Brigidine Asylum Seeker Project newsletter, BASP would be very happy for them to join the BASP mailing list. We can sign up via the BASP WEBSITE or simply by sending an EMAIL requesting inclusion on their list.
Bioethics
A new way to think about the ‘consistent ethic of life’ (uscatholic.org)
Beyond bans: How Catholics should talk about abortion
Climate Change
Go to our Climate Change Group blog under 'NEWS' menu or click HERE
First People's & Indigenous Issues
Uluru_Statement_From_The_Heart
The task of healing our Nation begins
Catholic Outlook - Listen Just Listen
Statement from Australia’s Catholic Bishops
Relentlessly Pursuing Reconciliation: Catholic Social Services Victoria released a statement Relentlessly Pursuing Reconciliation and we believe 2023 presents an important opportunity for dialogue and discussion around reconciliation due to the the referendum on the Voice to Parliament for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. At Catholic Social Services Victoria we see issues related to reconciliation as fundamental and interconnected to any work of justice in Australia.
2022 Advent McKinney Lecture ‘An Indigenous Voice’ Truth, Treaty and Reconciliation by Fr. Frank Brennan SJ. Here is a sound recording of part of his remarks: https://soundcloud.com/frank-brennan-6/mckinney-lecture-on-the-voice A transcript of Fr. Frank's lecture can be read here McKinney Lecture - Fr. Frank Brennan SJ
Francis Sullivan tells us that 30 years on, Keating’s Redfern speech demands we back the Voice: Watch it HERE
The ABC TV's The Drum recently gave a very interesting and timely broad discussion on "The path to The Voice" lead by Ellen Fanning. John Costa has extracted this 21-minute segment from The Drum and had it published on St Kevin's Templestowe Parish website. You can view the video extract is linked HERE
An Indigenous Voice: In his homily for the 3rd Sunday of Advent (11.12.22) Fr. Frank Brennan makes a plea for a return to bipartisanship in the Parliament on constitutional recognition. See https://catholicoutlook.org/fr-franks-homily-11-december-2022/
Eureka Street: Uncle Jack Charles – a tribute
Reflections on the Voice to Parliament: Vicki Clark and Frank Brennan
After Queen Elizabeth II's death, Indigenous Australia can't be expected to shut up. Our sorry business is without end – Stan Grant HERE
Palestine / Israel / The Middle East
The following material may help you understand the current crises in Palestine and Israel - the material emphasises the views of Christians, Jews and Muslims working together for justice and peace in the Holy Land and material that is seldom reflected in our own western media or by our politicians.
A Reflection for Jewish Passover
Patriarch Sabbah: The real cause of the war in Gaza—and the only path to peace
The Holy Land has arguably never seen such brutal political and religious turmoil
A Palestinian Christian’s account of trauma and resilience
Christmas Message from Bethlehem University
Our Parish Nativity Scene & the Separation Wall
Sister Nabila Saleh of the Holy Family Catholic Parish in Gaza speaks to Vatican News about the two parishioners killed by Israeli snipers on December 16, as Catholic Ordinaries issue new appeal for peace.
Sr Nabila: World leaders must open their eyes on catastrophe in Gaza – Catholic Outlook
Pope Francis yesterday issued a heartfelt appeal for an end to the “terrorism” of war, condemning a reported Israeli military attack on Gaza’s Holy Family Parish, which killed two women and destroyed a Missionaries of Charity convent. Source: Vatican News.
Pope condemns attacks on civilians in Gaza - CathNews
A Catholic sister working in the occupied West Bank says while the world is focusing on the resumption of conflict in Gaza, the situation in the West Bank has worsened in recent weeks.
Catholic sister describes worsening situation in the West Bank | Global Sisters Report
From Bishop George Browning (Bishop emeritus of Canberra Goulburn)
Antisemitism and criticism of Israel: open letter to Julian Leeser MP
The violence and grief are overwhelming | National Catholic Reporter (ncronline.org)
Caritas launches petition calling for immediate ceasefire in Gaza Ceasefire Petition | Act Now | Caritas Australia
Palestine Israel Ecumenical Network Weekly Update 1.11.23
Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre have issued this statement.
A special service of prayer and lament with reflections from key Palestinian church leaders that was held last week can now be viewed.
Kairos Palestine statement on the war on Gaza. "This war came to say, it is time for everyone to wake up and know the truth about what is happening in Palestine and Israel, that Israel has settled in a land that belongs to the people of Palestine and has deprived the people of Palestine of their freedom."
Churches for Middle East Peace: Implores global leaders to address Core issues. "The actions of Hamas and the Israeli response in Gaza in no way advance peace, but rather cause loss of life and harm, grief, and devastation, not only to the individuals affected, but also to the legitimate cause of the Palestinian people in seeking an end to the decades long occupation and the blockade of the Gaza Strip."
Jeff Halper from The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions offers this excellent opinion piece 'The choice: apartheid/genocide or a shared democracy'.
'A Textbook Case of Genocide' is an article by Raz Segal, associate professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Stockton University. He states that "the assault on Gaza can also be understood in other terms: as a textbook case of genocide unfolding in front of our eyes. I say this as a scholar of genocide...and...Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza is quite explicit, open, and unashamed. Perpetrators of genocide usually do not express their intentions so clearly."
With the world's attention turned on Gaza and Israel there has been scant reporting on the situation in the West Bank. Here are two reports: 'Israeli Settlers take advantage of Gaza chaos to attack Palestinians in West Bank'. "Settlers and soldiers have killed 51 Palestinians in the West Bank since Saturday [7th October]. At least two Palestinian villages have been entirely depopulated.
'West Bank on edge', a podcast from the ABC's Saturday Extra with Lawyer and human rights activist Raja Shehadeh.
Open Letter from Palestinian Christians to Western Church
1948: Creation & Catastrophe on Vimeo
OTHER MATERIAL
KUMI: We are working to connect activists around the world with the organizations working on the ground in Palestine and Israel to bring a just and lasting peace based on international law and nonviolence. Register to receive our weekly newsletter with updates on what is happening in Palestine. https://kuminow.com/
SABEEL: Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center: https://sabeel.org/
PIEN: Palestine Israel Ecumenical Network: Australian Christians seeking lasting peace for the people of Palestine and Israel Palestine Israel Ecumenical Network (pien.org.au)
Double Standards on Palestinian Resistance
Longing for Christmas peace in the Holy Land
Zionist violence against Palestinians is the antithesis of Judaism
By George Browning HERE George Browning was Anglican Bishop of Canberra Goulburn 1993 – 2008. He founded the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture Barton ACT. He was president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network 2013 – 2022. He is now its patron.
Social Justice / Economics
Laying the foundations for an economy that works for people
Eureka Street: Why we need new rules for money
War and Peace Issues
From war to peace By Bishop Philip Huggins
In the Soviet-era film of Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel “War and Peace” there is a haunting scene, brought to mind by recent events in Russia. In this scene, Russian elite member and rather philosophically minded Pierre has been captured by the invading Napoleonic Army of 1812. A soldier reminds Pierre that he is under their Continue reading »
Cardinal Parolin: Nuclear weapons threaten human existence – Catholic Outlook
Weapons cost more than money (australiancatholics.com.au)
Pope tells Putin: Stop the war
Eureka Street: Pacifism and Putin
Threatening all creation, nuclear weapons are a climate justice issue, too
General Issues of Justice and Peace
A sustainable population - How many Australians? The need for Earth-centric ethics Paul Collins HERE
Catholic Social Teaching in 3 minutes is a fast-paced animation from CAFOD introducing Catholic Social Teaching Catholic Social Teaching
Principles of Catholic Social Teaching
PRINCIPLE 1 - DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Belief in the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all Catholic social teaching. Human life is sacred, and the dignity of the human person is the starting point for a moral vision for society. This principle is grounded in the idea that the person is made in the image of God. The person is the clearest reflection of God among us.
PRINCIPLE 2 - COMMON GOOD AND COMMUNITY
The human person is both sacred and social. We realise our dignity and rights in relationship with others, in community. Human beings grow and achieve fulfilment in community. Human dignity can only be realized and protected in the context of relationships with the wider society.
How we organize our society — in economics and politics, in law and policy — directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. The obligation to “love our neighbour” has an individual dimension, but it also requires a broader social commitment. Everyone has a responsibility to contribute to the good of the whole society, to the common good.
PRINCIPLE 3 - PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR AND VULNERABLE
The moral test of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members. The poor have the most urgent moral claim on the conscience of the nation. We are called to look at public policy decisions in terms of how they affect the poor. The “option for the poor,” is not an adversarial slogan that pits one group or class against another. Rather it states that the deprivation and powerlessness of the poor wounds the whole community.
The option for the poor is an essential part of society’s effort to achieve the common good. A healthy community can be achieved only if its members give special attention to those with special needs, to those who are poor and on the margins of society.
PRINCIPLE 4 - RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency – starting with food, shelter and clothing, employment, health care, and education. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities — to one another, to our families and to the larger society.
PRINCIPLE 5 - ROLE OF GOVERNMENT AND SUBSIDIARITY
The state has an obligation to be an instrument to promote human dignity, protect human rights and build the common good. The principle of subsidiarity holds that the functions of government should be performed at the lowest level possible, as long as they can be performed adequately.
That means a central authority should perform only those tasks which cannot be performed at a more local level.
Subsidiarity is the principle that empowers the smallest unit within any system: political, social, religious, to respond to problems, challenges and issues directly, whenever possible or appropriate, and being resourced by a higher authority, eg. a central government, when necessary.
However, it must be said the Church is rather hypocritical on subsidiarity. It demands it of governments while it fails to practice it itself in many aspects of Church life.
PRINCIPLE 6 - ECONOMIC JUSTICE
The economy must serve people, not the other way around. All workers have a right to productive work, to decent and fair wages and to safe working conditions. They also have a fundamental right to organize and join unions. People have a right to economic initiative and private property, but these rights have limits. No one is allowed to amass excessive wealth when others lack the basic necessities of life.
Catholic teaching opposes collectivist and statist economic approaches. But it also rejects the notion that a free market automatically produces justice. Distributive justice, for example, cannot be achieved by relying entirely on free market forces. Competition and free markets are useful elements of economic systems. However, markets must be kept within limits, because there are many needs and goods that cannot be satisfied by the market system. It is the task of the state and of all society to intervene and ensure that these needs are met.
PRINCIPLE 7 - STEWARDSHIP OF GOD’S CREATION
The goods of the earth are gifts from God, and they are intended by God for the benefit of everyone. There is a “social mortgage” that guides our use of the world’s goods, and we have a responsibility to care for these goods as stewards and trustees, not as mere consumers and users. How we treat the environment is a measure of our stewardship, a sign of our respect for the Creator.
PRINCIPLE 8 - PROMOTION OF PEACE AND DISARMAMENT
Catholic teaching promotes peace as a positive, action-oriented concept. In the words of Pope John Paul II, “Peace is not just the absence of war. It involves mutual respect and confidence between peoples and nations. It involves collaboration and binding agreements.” There is a close relationship in Catholic teaching between peace and justice. Peace is the fruit of justice and is dependent upon right order among human beings.
PRINCIPLE 9 - PARTICIPATION
All people have a right to participate in the economic, political, and cultural life of society. It is a fundamental demand of justice and a requirement for human dignity that all people be assured a minimum level of participation in the community. It is wrong for a person, or a group, to be excluded unfairly or to be unable to participate in society.
PRINCIPLE 10 - GLOBAL SOLIDARITY AND DEVELOPMENT
We are one human family. Our responsibilities to each other cross national, racial, economic and ideological differences. We are called to work globally for justice. Authentic development must be full human development. It must respect and promote personal, social, economic, and political rights, including the rights of nations and of peoples. It must avoid the extremists of underdevelopment on the one hand, and “super development” on the other. Accumulating material goods and technical resources will be unsatisfactory and debasing if there is no respect for the moral, cultural and spiritual dimensions of the person.
A convenient yardstick by which to tell whether justice is effectively present in a given situation is to ask:
Is real responsibility being exercised by the people most
affected by the decisions that are being made?
Are they allowed to share in the decision-making?
Go deeper in your study of Catholic Social Teaching via this link