Social Justice groups seek to bring the God’s values of peace and justice to bear on situations of injustice, oppression, disadvantage or conflict. Our inspiration comes from the scripture:
Social Justice Groups operate in our parishes or faith communities to promote:
- greater awareness of Catholic Social Teaching and the application of these principles in our everyday lives
- involvement in advocacy and action which seeks to bring about social change, consistent with the principles of this Teaching.
Parish and faith community social justice groups are part of the Archdiocesan network of social justice groups, which are supported and connected locally by the Brisbane Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC).
What do social justice groups do?
Social justice groups work on many different issues and concerns. To be effective, groups tend to select one or two priorities to focus on. Some of the issues which local social justice groups work on include:
- reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders by acknowledging our shared histories, injustices and ongoing impacts of colonisation
- integral ecology including issues of climate justice, nature conservation and living sustainably for social justice
- modern slavery
- poverty in Australia and in less developed countries
- the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers
- the working conditions of Australians
- human rights abuses in Australia and overseas
- homelessness
- domestic violence.
Some of the ways in which social justice groups work on these issues include:
- supporting the implementation of the Archdiocesan Reconciliation Action Plan
- developing a Laudato Si’ Action Plan
- leading the formation of their parish or faith community around the group’s areas of social justice focus
- raising awareness about important issues through activities such as holding public information evenings
- 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 and our earth that is in crisis.
Who is involved in social justice groups?
All members of the parish community are encouraged to support and get involved in social justice activities and join groups which reflect their particular social justice passions.
Social justice group membership may:
- be drawn from one parish
- include parishioners from a number of neighbouring parishes
- focused on a specific type of issue or ministry (such as Rosies ministry to the homeless or St Vincent De Paul)
- be ecumenical groups which draw their membership from different Christian churches in an area.
Getting started
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
- Eureka Street – Australian Jesuits
The Inclusion Team in Evangelisation Brisbane also provides parishes and faith communities with advice and support to help establish and sustain social justice groups.