Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Sydney (Agenzia Fides) – Australia celebrates Social Justice Sunday on September 26. The title of the document made public for the occasion by the Catholic bishops of the country is "Violence in Australia: A Message of Peace" and speaks of violence at all levels: personal, family, community, and within national structures. In a note sent to Fides, John Ferguson, Deputy Director of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, shows that peace is not merely the absence of conflict and it involves the true development of people. It means ensuring individuals have the right and means to participate fully in community life and to realize the spiritual, cultural, social and economic potential of their lives. e are all too familiar with interpersonal violence – street fights, assaults or road rage, for example. But violence can also be seen, with tragic results, in family situations; in bullying in the schoolyard and online; and in divisive political rhetoric and sensationalist media reporting. One example is the recent demonization of asylum seekers as a threat to our national security. The bishops call on our national leaders to adopt a bipartisan approach to meeting our international obligations to some of th most vulnerable people in our world. The statement calls on all people to consider how they can build peace at all levels of society and to identify where exclusion oppression and violence remain in the life of the nation. It celebrates those who have worked courageously in the cause of peace, and asks Australians to reflect how we can respond in concrete ways to the Gospel’s call to bring peace to our world. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 09/14/2010)
