Building Bridges collects the Social Justice Sunday Statements of the Australian Catholic Bishops 1988 – 2014. It is a beautifully produced book with an excellent index for easy reference – and I wrote an introduction. Orders can be placed with the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council.
Catholic Mission Australia teamed up with Catholic Religious Australia to produce a collection of brief reflections on Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. I contributed an article on the Exhortation’s treatment of the social dimension of evangelisation. Read the book online here.
There was lots of enthusiastic participation at this workshop! Here are the presentations and handouts that we used: Contemplating Our World Pope Francis & Ignatian Spirituality Pope Francis on Mission Mission Reflection Handout The Call to Justice in Scripture Catholic Social Teaching & It’s Key Principles Key Principles Handout The Pastoral Spiral – an Ignatian Approach Tools for Analysis Tools for Theological Reflection An Examination of Consciousness
Here’s a little tool I put together for the Faith Doing Justice project. Some day when I have time I’ll update it with a few more techniques. Do you have favorite techniques to share? Simple Techniques for Analysis
Jim Hug & Maria Riley of the Centre of Concern reflect on the 1971 Synod of Bishops’ document Justice in the World in this You Tube clip
Here’s a presentation that I prepared for the Perilous Journeys course on mission, morality and migration. Catholic Social Teaching & Migration
Although I’m a long-standing fan of the Papal World Day of Prayer for Peace Messages – and quite possibly the only person in Australia who reads them on New Year’s Day – I must admit that this year’s Message troubles me. It’s not what it says; it’s what it doesn’t say. The theme of this year’s Message is that religious freedom is the path to peace. I guess I would not say the path, but certainly I agree that it is an essential dimension of the path to peace. But that is not what troubles me. The Message asserts that… Read More »Religious Freedom & Benedict’s World Day of Peace Message
In the December ACSJC Briefing John Ferguson, National Executive Officer of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, reflects on the end of the UN Decade for a Culture of Peace and the World Council of Churches Decade for Overcoming Violence. I even get a mention. Read it at http://www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au/briefing/012.pdf
The other day while eating chicken for lunch I recalled the horrified response of a colleague to a platter of pigeons served for lunch at a meeting in Java. “Arghh I’m not eating that – look at the heads! Look at the beaks!” Indeed, the entire little birds, complete with heads, beaks, eyes and feet, were laid out in rows like casualties. I regret to say that my response was somewhat dismissive of my colleague’s dismay: “They kill the whole animal in order for us to eat them you know – not just the legs and wings”. It is easy… Read More »Pigeon Platters, Alienation & Ethics
This is a brief input that I gave at a forum in Parramatta a few years ago. It remains a challenging issue especially as organisations, including faith-based not for profits, are trying to do more with fewer paid staff in the wake of the GFC. ChurchTeachingOnWorkLifeBalance