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ACSJC MANDATE

Approved by the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference on 8 December 2000, to take effect on 1 July 2001.

Why the ACSJC Was Created

The life and teachings of Jesus Christ call us to work for justice, peace, human rights, and development. All Christians share by their baptism in the mission of Jesus. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus describes this mission in the following way:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To let the oppressed go free,
To proclaim the year of the Lord's favour. (Luke 4:18-19)

The Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (ACSJC) was set up by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) in 1987 as the national justice and peace agency of the Catholic Church in Australia. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference mandates the ACSJC to promote research, education, advocacy and action on social justice, peace and human rights, integrating them deeply into the life of the whole Catholic community in Australia, and providing a credible Catholic voice on these matters in Australian society. In this way the ACSJC seeks to bring good news to the poor, release to captives, sight to the blind and freedom to the oppressed. The ACSJC is accountable to the ACBC through the Bishops' Committee for Justice, Development, Ecology and Peace.

How the ACSJC Works

The work of the ACSJC is based on Catholic Social Teaching and is a contribution to this living social justice tradition. The ACSJC works in ways that affirm and express the following beliefs:
• Every human being is made in the image and likeness of God and has an inalienable and transcendent human dignity which gives rise to human rights.
• People are always more important than things. People are never a means or an instrument to be used for the benefit of another.
• Every human person is equal in dignity and rights. Every human community, every race and culture is equal in dignity and rights. The human family is one because we are all children of the one God.
• We are all really responsible for each other and must work for social conditions which ensure that every person and every group in society is able to meet their needs and realize their potential.
• Every group in society must take into account the rights and aspirations of other groups, and of the well being of the whole human family.
• God intended the goods of creation for the use of all, and so everyone has a right to access the goods of creation to meet their needs.
• Responsibility should be kept as close as possible to the grassroots. The people or groups most directly affected by a decision or a policy should have a key decision-making role.
• More encompassing groups should only intervene to support smaller, more local groups in cases of need, and where this is necessary in order to coordinate their activities with the activities of other groups in order to promote the common good.
• Respect for and the development of human life require peace. Peace is not the mere absence of war; it is the fruit of a just order. Peace is the work of justice and the effect of charity.
• Human beings are part of God's creation and are called to act as stewards safeguarding the integrity of creation.

What the ACSJC Does

The major responsibilities of the ACSJC are:
• Researching issues and monitoring trends in public policy and current affairs in Australia and overseas;
• Presenting Catholic Social Teaching and the social justice tradition of the Catholic Church;
• Applying Catholic Social Teaching to current social justice, human rights, development and peace issues in Australia and overseas;
• Speaking out against injustice, the abuse of human rights, poverty and violence and in favor of change for a more just society and thereby ensuring a credible national Catholic voice on these issues;
• Promoting a spirituality of justice and the integration of concern for social justice into the liturgy, worship and general life of the whole Church;
• Building social justice networks within the Catholic Church, encouraging local action, coordinating action at the national level, and maintaining contact with relevant international Catholic agencies;
• Collaborating with national and international agencies with objectives similar or complementary to those of the ACSJC;
• Witnessing to and promoting unity among Christians through ecumenical action in favour of justice and peace;
• Educating the Catholic and wider community on social justice, human rights, development and peace issues in Australia and overseas by providing guided experience and educational materials;
• Advising the Bishops on statements and actions for justice and peace and assisting them as required.

Appendices

A. Membership
B. Secretariat Arrangements and Finance
C. Relationships with Dioceses
 

Appendix A:

Membership of the ACSJC

1. The Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (ACSJC) will consist of twelve people being:
(i.) two members of the Bishops' Committee for Justice, Development, Ecology and Peace (BCJDEP)
(ii.) nine people appointed by the BCJDEP from nominees submitted by members of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
(iii.) the Executive Secretary of the BCJDEP

2. One of the two members of the BCJDEP will be the Chair and the other the Deputy Chair. The ACSJC Chair will serve as the ACBC Deputy for Social Justice.
3. The nine appointed members will include one from each State and Territory.

4. The majority of the members of the Council shall be lay people.

5. There shall be as close as possible to equal numbers of women and men among the non-Episcopal membership of the Council.

6. Members shall be appointed for one three year term and may then be reappointed for a second three-year term.

7. The BCJDEP will appoint members on the basis of their skills, experience and knowledge in areas that are central to the mandate of the ACSJC.

8. The ACSJC shall ordinarily meet three times a year.

9. A quorum will consist of not less than two-thirds of the Council's Members.
10. In the case of a tied vote, the Chair will have a casting vote.

11. The ACSJC may establish any committee or working group necessary for its work and may co-opt members for such committees or working groups from outside the membership of the ACSJC.

12. When membership vacancies occur, the ACSJC Chair and National Executive Officer shall advise the BCJDEP of the skills, experience and knowledge required by the ACSJC at the time.

Appendix B:
Secretariat & Funding Arrangements

The Australian Catholic Social Justice Council shall be served by a Secretariat which shall be accountable to it.

2. The Secretariat shall be co-ordinated by a National Executive Officer, who shall be appointed by the Bishops' Committee for Justice, Development, Ecology and Peace.

3. The Secretariat shall - at the direction of the Council - undertake a number of tasks on its behalf. These shall include:
(i) Development of policies for the consideration of the ACSJC.
(ii) Undertaking initiatives and on-going programs.
(iii) Maintaining and developing relationships with Church and other agencies.
(iv) Collaboration where appropriate with other agencies (Catholic, other Church, and wider community based) with objectives similar or complementary to those of the ACSJC.
(v) Preparation of an annual operations program setting out a schedule of activities and targets against which performance can be measured.

4. The Secretariat is responsible immediately to the ACSJC and ultimately to the BCJDEP for all matters, normally through the ACSJC Chair.

5. The ACSJC and its Secretariat shall be funded by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference through the BCJDEP. It will submit an annual budget, report, and audited financial statements to the ACBC through the BCJDEP.

Appendix C:
Relationships with Dioceses

1. The ACSJC shall provide the opportunity or collaboration with the local Churches, including maintaining close links with and arranging meetings of diocesan justice and peace organizations and representatives for the exchange of views and information.

2. The ACSJC shall advise the BCJDEP on the views of the Australia-wide Catholic community on major social justice issues.

3. The ACSJC shall promote justice, development and peace in an integrated way at the Diocesan level in association with the local Bishop or those nominated by the Bishop for such work.

4. The ACSJC shall encourage and assist where possible in the running of diocesan regional seminars, conferences, lectures and workshops that increase the awareness of clergy, religious and laity of the social teaching of the Church.

5. The ACSJC shall, as far as possible, respond to the requests of local Bishops or diocesan justice and peace representatives for particular assistance. This includes review and evaluation of particular local projects as requested and as far as possible.

ACSJC Mandate | ACSJC Secretariat | ACSJC Council Members