Social Justice Groups operate in parishes to promote among their fellow parishioners:
- A greater awareness of Catholic Social Teaching
- Choices in their everyday lives which reflect a commitment to the values espoused by this Teaching
- Involvement in advocacy and action which seeks to bring about social change which is consistent with the principles of the Church’s teaching.
- The work of a Social Justice Group
The work of a Social Justice Group
Author: Archdiocese of Brisbane
Social justice groups work on many different issues and concerns. They seek to bring the values of the Reign of God, as the Church teaches us, to bear on situations of injustice, oppression, disadvantage or conflict.Effective groups tend to select one or two priorities on which to work. Some of the issues on which local social justice groups work include:
- Injustices faced by Indigenous Australians
- Poverty in Australia and in less developed countries
- The treatment of refugees and asylum seekers
- The working conditions of Australians
- Life issues such as abortion, stem cell research and the death penalty
- Human rights abuses in Australia and overseas
- Violence, conflict and war
- Climate change
- Water conservation
Some of the ways in which social justice groups work on these issues include:
- Educating their parishes about Catholic Social Teaching by providing information about papal social encyclicals and documents on social concerns issued by Vatican bodies and our Bishops in Australia
- Holding public information evenings about important issues
- Meeting with local parliamentarians to express concerns about particular injustices
- Organising letter writing campaigns and petitions to encourage governments to take action on a specific concern
- Promoting personal choices which offer greater fairness to people who are disadvantaged
- Educating parishioners about individual, household and community actions which foster ecological sustainability
- Types of Social Justice Groups
Types of Social Justice Groups
Author: Archdiocese of Brisbane
There are a number of different types of social justice groups within the Archdiocese of Brisbane:- Groups consisting of members of one parish
- Groups which draw their membership from parishioners in a number of neighbouring parishes
- Groups which focus on a specific type of issue such as environmental groups
- Ecumenical groups which draw their membership from different Christian churches in a locality
- Starting and maintaining groups
Starting and maintaining groups
Author: Archdiocese of Brisbane
You can find much information on various Catholic websites to help your parish to start a social justice group or to keep it operating effectively.Some sources of this information are:
- The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of Brisbane
- The Social Action Office of the Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes Queensland
- The Australian Catholic Social Justice Council
- Catholic Earthcare Australia
- The Loyola Institute
Evangelisation Brisbane also provides parishes with professional advice and support to help establish and sustain social justice groups
You can obtain this support by contacting:
Peter Arndt
Ph: 07 3324 3441
Email: arndtp@bne.catholic.net.au