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RESOURCES FOR ADVENT 2009

Prepared by the Catholic Justice & Peace Commission of Brisbane

These resources are intended to help parishes to continue a focus on the messages of this year’s Social Justice Sunday Statement, And You Will Be My Witnesses: Young People and Justice. Each week, the resources will deal, in some way, with issues and themes addressed by the Statement.

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

This week’s resources will deal with the injustices faced by people with disability.  The International Day of People with Disability will be marked on 3 December which is in the First Week of Advent. The Brisbane Archdiocese will launch a new statement on people with disability during the week.  Please note that the last sentence of the sample editorial suggests that parishioners who cannot access the internet resource mentioned should seek help from the parish office.  You may wish to modify this to provide a more specific local or other contact.

Sample Newsletter Editorial

SHUT OUT: The Experience of People with Disabilities and their Families in Australia

Many of the large institutions that housed generations of people with disabilities—out of sight and out of mind—are now closed. Australians with disabilities are now largely free to live in the community. Once shut in, many people with disabilities now find themselves shut out. People with disabilities may be present in our community, but too few are actually part of it. Many live desperate and lonely lives of exclusion and isolation. The institutions that once housed them may be closed, but the inequity remains. Where once they were physically segregated, many Australians with disabilities now find themselves socially, culturally and politically isolated. They are ignored, invisible and silent. They struggle to be noticed, they struggle to be seen, they struggle to have their voices heard.

These are among the first words of Shut Out, a report based on a consultation with Australian people with disabilities and their carers.  It was released in August this year and was prepared to support the Commonwealth and State Governments’ development of a national disability strategy.

If you are a person with a disability or know people with disability, you may already be aware of the daily struggle they face.  If you do not, reading the report will provide you with many harrowing stories of their desperate, frustrating and difficult lives.

Shut Out gave people with disability a voice so that their frustrations could be heard.  They said in the clearest possible terms that they cannot participate fully in the community because of discrimination and exclusion.  People in wheelchairs are often unable to access public facilities like playgrounds, restaurants and cinemas.  Children with disabilities can find themselves excluded from local kindergartens and schools.  Well-qualified and competent candidates for jobs are rejected because of their disability.  People with mobility aids find difficulty using public transport.  People with a variety of disabilities cannot get the equipment and technology they need to do the things that everyone else takes for granted.  Others cannot get the support they need to help them get out of bed in the morning.

Every young person should be able to dream of a wonderful, fulfilling life, but put yourself, for a moment, in the shoes of a young person who is deaf or blind or in a wheelchair or who has an intellectual disability.  What sort of chance would you have to live a rewarding life in our community today?  What dreams could you dream for the life ahead of you?  The experience of the many people with disability who made submissions to this consultation makes it clear that your life is likely to be a constant struggle.  You would face discrimination and exclusion regularly.  You would find it hard to live in your own home and to get around.  You would face many barriers in getting a good education and regular, rewarding employment.  You would experience significant social isolation.

Some people with disability are living rich and rewarding lives, but even they will tell you that they have had to struggle against difficult odds for this to happen.  It simply shouldn’t be this way!

We believe that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God and that this entitles everyone to be treated with dignity and respect.  There is no respect where there is discrimination, exclusion and social isolation.  There is no dignity where access to education, employment and cultural pursuits is limited.

Change begins with us.  Becoming more aware of the experiences of people with disability is a good start.  Where it is possible, providing support and opportunities for them to participate in the life of the community is worthwhile.  Hearing their stories and seeing their needs opens our eyes to the discrimination and injustice they face.  When we have listened to people with disability and accompanied them in their daily struggle, we can begin to see the changes in community attitudes and practices and Government policies which are needed in order to give them the dignity which is their God-given right.

You can read Shut Out online. If you cannot access this report, please contact the parish office for help.

Homily and Reflection Suggestions

The justice which God wants is not the cold and exacting justice of a court of law.  God’s justice is infused with the warmth of abundant love.  God’s justice, as we saw in the life and ministry of Jesus, the just shoot (First Reading), reaches out in love to those who are excluded and discriminated against by society and brings them in from the shadows and lifts the burdens which have been placed on them by the law and society.

Paul implores the Thessalonian community to practise the same love which Jesus showed – “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all…” (Second Reading).

Jesus also urges his disciples to “Be vigilant!”, He told them: “Do not allow your hearts to become drowsy…” (Gospel).  Our hearts’ capacity to reach out in love to each other and to all cannot be diminished by the worries of the day or the attitudes of others.

Being prepared for the days that are coming and being vigilant means loving tenderly and living justly with God as our constant companion and guide.

During this First Week in Advent, we will mark the International Day of People with Disability (3 December).  The experience of many people with disability is one of discrimination, exclusion, lack of opportunity and social isolation.  The experience of many people with disability was heard through a consultation which took place earlier this year and the results were presented in a report called Shut Out.  It will inform the development of a national disability strategy being developed by the Commonwealth and State Governments.

The report tells us about people with disability missing out on opportunities for education, not getting jobs and losing them because of their disability, experiencing great difficulty using public transport, not being able to access many public facilities like playgrounds and restaurants and not getting the support they need to live ordinary lives.  For many of them, life is an immense struggle full of frustration and desperation.

Because many people with disability are deprived of opportunities for education and work, many live in poverty.  Vision Australia, for example, found in a recent survey that 63% of people with visual impairment are either unemployed or under-employed.

The International Day of People with Disability draws our attention to the stories of hardship experienced by so many people who are in wheelchairs, intellectually disabled, blind, deaf or with other disabilities.  And it should also remind us of God’s call for us to reach out in love and with justice to people with disability.

As the People of God, what can we do to make these stories heard?  How can we develop relationships with people with disability and their families and carers?  How can we change attitudes and practices and policies so that the burden carried by so many people with disability is lifted from them?

Love enables us to reach out; love enables us to see the suffering and hear the pain and frustration; love enables us to give support and act differently; and love gives us the courage to speak out and act so that justice comes to those who are shut out by social attitudes, practices and policies.  Love is the answer which Jesus teaches us and love is what we must constantly hold in our hearts for all those who are burdened, like people with disability if we are to welcome him fully into our lives.

Intercessory Prayer

We pray for people with disability,

That their experiences of discrimination, exclusion and social isolation may be clearly heard and acted on by the Church, the community and Governments.

God of justice, hear us.

Some Suggestions for Action

• Contact Faith & Life to find out more about the Archdiocesan Disability Network
• Find out how Centrecare supports people with disability
• Explore involvement with groups like L’Arche Brisbane or the Little Kings Movement
• Find out how you can support local and national organisations who are advocating for the rights of people with disability

Some Useful Web Resources

Shut Out: The Experiences of People with Disabilities and Their Families in Australia

People with Disability Australia Inc

Australian Association for Families of Children with Disability

International Day of People with Disability

L’Arche Australia

Monday 16 November 2009

Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission welcomed the decision by Federal Environment Minister,Peter Garret, to reject the Queensland Government’s plans to build a dam at Traveston Crossing on the Mary River.

In the wake of the decision, the Commission urged the Queensland Government to review its water security plans for South-East Queensland with a view to developing a genuinely sustainable plan.

The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that the proposed dam was not environmentally viable.

“The large number of conditions which Queensland’s Coordinator-General imposed on the proposal gave a clear indication of how many problems there were with the dam plan,” Mr Arndt said.

“Apart from the environmental cost, there has been a significant human cost for those many people whose lives were turned upside down by Government preparations for the dam,” he said.

Mr Arndt said that the Federal decision provides the State Government with an excellent opportunity to review its water security plan.

“We are very concerned that Premier Anna Bligh has already announced that her Government will build more desalination plants to replace the water which was to be supplied by the Traveston Crossing Dam,” he said.

“Desalination plants seem to be unsustainable as they use so much energy and create other problems in the environments used to source the water to be desalinated,” he said.

“It is worth pointing out that the original water security plan assumes a much higher per capita water consumption rate than now applies in South-East Queensland,” he said.

“Despite our water supplies improving markedly in the last year or so and the easing of restrictions, people in the South East are now using much less water than before and this should be taken into account in future plans,” he said.

“Water recycling needs to be a much bigger contributor to our water supply,” he said.

“We also do not know why our Government is not prepared to invest more money into stormwater recycling and re-use,” he said.

“The Federal Government has just provided grants to thirteen stormwater projects, mostly in Victoria and South Australia,” he said.

“Only one Queensland project proposed by the Southbank Corporation has been given grants by the Federal Government,” he said.

“We would be interested to know if the State Government has done much work on stormwater harvesting as an option,” he said.

“The rejection of the dam should give Premier Bligh a great opportunity to explore smaller and much less damaging innovations such as stormwater harvesting to secure our water supply into the future,” 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.

We, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council National Assembly 2009, express grave concern for our brothers and sisters living under the Northern Territory Emergency Response.
We draw the attention of the Minister to the following matters of urgency:

• Failure to alleviate poverty and third-world conditions
• Failure to respect the basic human rights of Aboriginal peoples and communities in contravention of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
• Failure to provide quality of life (e.g. delayed improvement to housing, overcrowding, risk of disease)
• Failure to consult truthfully and transparently
• Failure to educate and skill men and women for employment that can effectively address their own needs
• Failure to respect culture and ceremonies (e.g. sharing money, preventing travel to town to apply for money, tenancy agreements)
• Failure to honour the distinctive natures and cultures of communities. (Strategies need to be developed in consultation with each community and according to their needs.)
• The targeted application of income management on Aboriginal people. And so discriminating on the basis of race and place of living.
• The thoughtless erection of crude pornography signs in places where this problem does not exist
• Failure to heed the strong protests of such policies by numerous Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people and groups across Australia.
• Failure to recognize the lasting and devastating effects of the Intervention on the human spirit and health of Aboriginal people.
• Failure to recognise and implement the recommendations of the 2007 Little Children are sacred Report/ to respond to the Combined NT Aboriginal Organisations and their Traditional owners.
• Failure to note that the creation of Hubs will only exacerbate problems (loss of connectedness, and loss of family ties and communal values of life…) Homelands and outstations must be provided funds…

These failures and limitations undermine the spirit of the Prime Minister’s Apology of 13 February 2008.

We recommend ongoing genuine consultations and formation of real partnerships with the relevant parties in the N.T. We would like Government to engage regularly with Aboriginal leaders, Traditional owners, Elders and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Church Lead bodies and leaders.

We would like to see our cultures respected and acknowledged. Cultural integrity and self -determination are key imperatives for the way forward. We would ask that the Government be open to UN, Prof James Anaya’s statement of 27.08.09.
We would like to see the reinstatement of the Racial Discrimination Act in the N.T. This must be in line with human rights principals and fulfil Australia’s International Conventions and treaties.
Media Contact : Craig Arthur 0402 019 536
For Immediate Release

Monday 26 October 2009 

CJPC Climate Action 2009

 Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission staged a public promotion for action on climate change in the centre of Brisbane as part of an International Day of Climate Action last Saturday 24 October.

Commission members and supporters held up a banner bearing the number ‘350” in Reddacliff Place in the heart of Brisbane and distributed information sheets on the importance of reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

The number on the Commission’s banner refers to the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide which scientists say is necessary to prevent serious environmental consequences.

The Commission’s Executive officer, Peter Arndt, said that world leaders must take action to reduce the current carbon dioxide level of 389 parts per million to the safe level of 350 parts per million proposed by climate scientists. “

We are already seeing dramatic changes caused by global warming and the whole world must take decisive action to stop even more dramatic damage and change in the next few decades,” Mr Arndt said.

“We have joined with millions of other people around the world today to tell our leaders that they must agree to action which will bring about a rapid reduction in the emission of carbon dioxide into the air,” he said.

“When leaders gather in Copenhagen this December, we want them to be clearly focussed on taking action which protects the lands and homes of low-lying countries and which limits the environmental degradation and change which future generations will face,” he said.

The Commission also used the event as an opportunity to invite Catholics in the Brisbane Archdiocese to join a network committed to action and advocacy on important environmental issues such as climate change.

Mr Arndt said that the Commission wanted to support Catholics who were already active in environmental advocacy and to connect them with other Catholics who wanted to do something to promote a sustainable future for the world.

“There are many Catholics who already believe that our faith requires us to do what we can to protect the Earth and its resources,” Mr Arndt said.

“We would like to see how we can support what is already happening on the ground and develop new initiatives in which Catholics can participate,” he said.

Catholics interested in joining the Commission’s environmental advocacy network are asked to contact the Commission by e-mail at arndtp@bne.catholic.net.au, by phoning (07) 3336 9173 or by writing to the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, GPO Box 282, Brisbane Q 4001.

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.

Monday 19 October 2009

Freedom for Detainees in Sri Lanka

In the wake of the current controversy over the treatment of Sri Lankan asylum seekers, Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has called on the Prime Minister to take action to end the detention of Tamil civilians in camps run by the military in Sri Lanka.

The Commission’s Executive officer, Peter Arndt, said that the silence and inaction of the Prime Minister on the plight of Tamils in camps in the north and east of Sri Lanka was unacceptable.

“Attempts by our Government to outsource the processing of the refugee claims of Sri Lankan asylum seekers to Indonesia heaps further suffering and inhumanity on those who are already suffering greatly because of the actions of the Sri Lankan Government,” Mr Arndt said.

“Why is Mr Rudd so blistering in his attacks on people smugglers while he remains silent about the appalling conditions faced by hundreds of thousands of Tamils locked up in camps in Sri Lanka?” he said.

“Why is Mr Rudd so keen to stop Sri Lankan asylum seekers from finding refuge from the horrors they have faced at home, yet  is so reluctant to take action to challenge the legality of Sri Lanka’s detention of its own citizens?” he said.

“Representatives of the United Nations and many reputable international organisations such as Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists have spoken out repeatedly about the outrageous conditions and human rights abuses in the Sri lankan detention camps, but Mr Rudd’s Government says nothing but that he will stop Sri Lankans and other asylum seekers from getting to our shores,” he said.

“Other Governments such as Great Britain, France and Sweden are sending senior Ministers to Sri Lanka and preparing to impose sanctions on that country, but all Mr Rudd’s Government is doing is trying to keep suffering Sri Lankans out of Australia,” he said.

Mr Arndt said that the Federal Government should be responding to the plight of asylum seekers with great compassion.

“We should be prepared to accept more refugees from Sri Lanka and should also be part of a much broader international push to find safe homes quickly for the world’s forty million refugees,” Mr Arndt said.

“Mr Rudd promised to be more active in promoting human rights internationally,” he said.

“Why isn’t he urging the British Commonwealth to take strong action against Sri Lanka for its human rights abuses as the Commonwealth did in relation to the coup in Fiji?” he said.

“As Christians, we seek to stand with the Tamil asylum seekers and detainees because Jesus told us that we must respond compassionately to the needs of the hungry, the sick, the stranger who comes to our door and those who are held in prison,” he said.

“We urge Catholics to support those seeking asylum and those in camps in Sri Lanka by continuing to tell their local MPs and Senators that the Government must act to end the suffering of Tamils in Sri Lanka,” he said.

“We must have strong action to address the root cause of this dreadful situation, the Sri Lankan Government’s unacceptable treatment of Tamils,” he said.

Sri Lanka Petition Handed Over

Prayer and Presentation of Tamil Petition October 8 2009

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.

Media Release

Friday 9 October 2009

Sri Lanka Petition Handover October 8 2009

A petition calling on the Federal Government to pressure the Sri Lankan Government to release Tamil civilians detained in camps in the north of the country was handed over to Queensland Senator Claire Moore on Thursday evening during a prayer service.

The petition was organised by Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission and attracted over 2400 signatures.

Over 50 people, including a number of Tamils living in Brisbane, attended the service which was held at St Oliver Plunkett Catholic Church at Cannon Hill.

The Chair of the Commission, Mr Rick Sheehan, presented the petition to Senator Moore who said that the petition would be lodged in the Senate at its next sitting at the end of October.

Mr Sheehan said that, despite claims to the contrary by the Sri Lankan Government, conditions for those detained in the camps were still very por.

Senator Moore said that it was clear that the human rights of people detained in the camps were not being respected.

“I cannot promise you that we will be able to change the situation in Sri Lanka,” Senator Moore said.

“However, if our Government is to continue to act on this dreadful situation, it is vital that people continue to let their local Members of Parliament and Senators know that they are concerned,” she said.

The Commission’s Executive officer, Peter Arndt, said that United Nations officials continue to express grave concerns about conditions in the camps.

“With the onset of the monsoon season, things are likely to get even worse,” Mr Arndt said.

“These people should be released quickly and we hope that Catholics will continue to pray for them and to also tell their MPs that things must change in Sri Lanka,” he said.

The Commission is committed to continuing action on the issue until Tamil detainees are released and a genuine reconciliation process is in place.

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.

Monday 5 October 2009

Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has called for Catholics to continue their involvement in efforts to address poverty locally and globally.

The call was made in the lead-up to Anti-Poverty Week, 11 – 17 October.

The Commission’s Executive officer, peter Arndt, said that the global financial and economic crises which developed over the course of the last year have hurt the poorest and most vulnerable people around the world worst.

“Poor people around the world have little influence with governments and we in the Church must stand with them so that their concerns are heard and addressed,” Mr Arndt said.

“Anti-Poverty Week is an excellent opportunity for us to do something to raise awareness about poverty here in Australia and in the poorest countries in the world,” he said.

“Last year’s Social Justice Sunday Statement focussed on poverty in Australia and called on Catholics to get involved in action to address it,” he said.

“And this year’s Social Justice Sunday Statement also reminds us of both the poverty of Indigenous Australians and of global poverty,’ he said.

“Australia’s Bishops urge us to make a difference in the world for the sake of future generations,” he said.

“They encourage us to see the causes and the consequences of injustices like poverty, to make judgements about how the Gospel calls us to understand these problems and to act to address them,” he said.

“There are many ways in which we can get involved in challenging the scourge of poverty,” he said.

“Getting involved in the work of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, Caritas Australia’s Be More Program, Micah Challenge, the Make Poverty History Campaign or the Make Indigenous Poverty History Campaign are all excellent opportunities for us to stand with those who face the indignities associated with poverty,” he said.

Ideas for action, information sheets and links to poverty campaigns and organisations working to address poverty may be found at the Anti-poverty Week web site at http://www.antipovertyweek.org.au/

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.

Anti-Poverty Week 2009

Join us for the Queensland Launch of

Anti-Poverty week 2009

Sunday October 111 12.00pm

Brisbane Homelessness Service Centre

62 Peel Street South Brisbane

Free BBQ all Welcome

Enquiries: Mark Jeffrey 0419 732 583

CJPC Logo

Support for Tamils
Hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians are still detained in camps in Sri Lanka almost 5 months after the bloody conflict between the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil Tigers. The United Nations has repeatedly expressed concerns about the camp conditions and the arrival of the monsoon season is likely to make those conditions much worse.The Brisbane Catholic Justice and Peace  Commission will hold a special service to pray for those still detained in the camps and for justice and peace in Sri Lanka.

During the service, the petitions calling for Australian Government action on the Sri Lankan situation will be handed over to Senator Claire Moore for lodgement in the Senate at its next sitting.

The service will be held this Thursday 8 October at 6.30 pm. At St Oliver Plunkett Church, 21 Beauvardia Street, Cannon Hill. All are welcome.

WYD Brisbane 2008

2009 Social Justice Sunday – 27 September

And You Will Be My Witnesses:
Young people and justice

• 2009 Social Justice Sunday Statement (pdf)
  2009 Social Justice Sunday Statement (word version)
• Summary (PDF) Order form (PDF)
• Bishops’ Conference media alert (pdf)
• Letter from Archbishop Philip Wilson (PDF)

  Liturgy notes (PDF) Student and teacher resource (PDF)

The Commission has also prepared

• SJSS 2009 Statement Summary
• SJSS 2009 Resources
• SJSS Sample Editorial 2009
• Power Point Slide Social Justice Sunday 2009

for use by parishes and other groups.