09.27.07
Who Is My Neighbour? Australia’s role as a global citizen
| 2007 Social Justice Sunday – 30 September |
| 2007 Social Justice Sunday Statement (pdf) text-only version (Word) Letter from Archbishop Philip Wilson (pdf) Sample Newsletter Editorial Social Justice Sunday 2007Who Is My Neighbour? This year’s Social Justice Sunday Statement, Who Is My Neighbour? Australia’s Role As A Global Citizen, is a challenge to us as Christians to take seriously our vocation to be signs of God’s promise of a better world. When leading Australian Jesuit, Professor Frank Brennan spoke at the launch of this year’s statement, he pointed to the Bishops’ emphasis on our privilege as citizens of a free an democratic society to use our gifts to make life better for those in the world who do not have the same gifts and opportunities as we do. He also stressed that the Bishops are not so much appealing to our feelings of guilt that others in the world face various deprivations and difficulties that we don’t, but, rather, to our sense of responsibility as neighbours who try to follow Jesus who taught us what it means to be a good neighbour. The statement is wide-ranging on the issues with which it deals – when it comes to our responsibilities as a nation and as individuals, being a good neighbour involves us thinking about our commitment to foreign aid and international development, about when and how we should militarily intervene in other parts of the world, about our response to climate change, and about our dealings with those who seek to come to our shores asking for protection from persecution and violence. These are all issues which have been or still are the subject of intense political debate in our country. That does not mean they are “off limits” for us as Christians or for the Church as a whole. On the contrary, because all these issues, in one way or another, have a bearing on the dignity of our neighbours, our fellow human beings, our brothers and sisters in the one, global human family, we have to say an do something! All people, being created “in the image and likeness of God”, as the Creation story in Genesis tells us, have a dignity which cannot be violated. If we don’t try to ensure that the human dignity of our sisters and brothers, at home and abroad, is protected and promoted, we are turning our backs on a principle which is at the heart of the message of Scripture and Church Teaching. So, in a positive spirit, the Bishops say we in Australia should be able to:
Our bishops have issued a challenge to us as a nation and as individual citizens to be Good Samaritans in our responses to these important issues. Their challenge also asks questions of us as local Catholic parishes and schools. Who is our neighbour? What do we do as a parish, as a school, to touch the less privileged lives of our sisters and brothers in parishes and schools in other parts of the world?Order form (pdf) |
09.19.07
Commission Urges Andrews to Change Mind on Sri Lankan Refugees
Media Release
Monday 17 September 2007
Commission Urges Andrews to Change Mind on Sri Lankan Refugees
Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has urged Immigration Minister, Kevin Andrews, to change his mind and allow the 72 Sri Lankans recently recognized as refugees on the Pacific island of Nauru to come to Australia.
The refugees were sent to Nauru by Australian authorities in February as part of the Federal Government’s “Pacific Solution” and the Australian Government now wants them to be taken by another country after the United Nations last week recognized them as refugees.
The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that the Federal Government’s policy is subjecting asylum seekers to much fear and anguish.
“People who flee persecution and violence in their own country do not need further psychological torment by being sent to Nauru for indefinite detention,” Mr Arndt said.
“The Sri Lankans on Nauru were already showing signs of suffering psychological damage because of Australia’s policy and they should be immediately brought to Australia where they can settle free of fear,” he said.
“It is cruel to make them wait even longer while another country is found to take them,” he said.
“Australia should accept its responsibilities to process people who seek asylum in our country and give them protection in our land if they are legitimate refugees,” he said.
In their 2007 Social Justice Sunday Statement released today, the Australian Catholic Bishops insist that the Government should abandon its Pacific Solution immediately.
“Our Commission believes that Mr Andrews should listen to our Bishops and end this cruel policy,” Mr Arndt said.
“Mr Andrews should stop the uncertainty for the 72 Sri Lankans and bring them here right now,” he said.
“It is horrible to realize that there are other asylum seekers who have been on Nauru for much longer and who could be there indefinitely,” he said.
“It is appalling cruelty which shows no respect whatsoever for the dignity of our fellow human beings,” he said.
For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.
NB This release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its Executive under the provision of its Charter, which enables it to speak in its own right. The views expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane
09.10.07
Commission Encourages Parishes to Follow Grovely Climate Change Example
Media Release
Monday 10 September 2007
Commission Encourages Parishes to Follow Grovely Climate Change Example
The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of Brisbane has commended the Grovely Parish Social Justice Group for its Walk to Mass Sunday initiative.
The Grovely Parish Social Justice Group’s initiative, which aims to encourage parishioners to become more aware and active in relation to climate change, will take place this Sunday 16 September.
Parishioners are being encouraged to walk to Mass on the day and to take other actions in their daily lives to reduce greenhouse pollution.
The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said the Commission is very happy that parishes are continuing to take up the call to ecological conversion.
“In 2003 and 2004, parishes in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the South Burnett and the Fraser Coast took up the challenge to respond to the climate change crisis as part of our Cool Communities Project and it is pleasing to see continuing interest in this important matter,” Mr Arndt said.
“Catholics from many parishes and schools in the Archdiocese participated in the Climate Change Conference we held in collaboration with the Social Action Office earlier this year and it is a sign that many more Catholics are starting to understand that the environmental challenges of our times are a faith issue,” he said.
The Grovely Parish Social Justice Group has produced a brochure to both explain why climate change is a faith issue and what Catholics can do in their daily lives to respond to the climate change crisis.
Why should Climate Change be a Catholic Social Justice Issue?
Mr Arndt said that the Commission is presently working on initiatives to assist parishes to become more environmentally conscious and responsible.
“In time, the Commission hopes that the call to ecological conversion will be taken seriously in practice in every part of the Archdiocese,” he said.
For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.
