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ACSJC Briefing No. 1 - April 00
ACSJC BRIEFING
No. 1 - April 2000
From the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, the national social
justice and human rights agency of the Catholic Church in Australia -
www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au
*****
IN THIS ISSUE
From the Secretariat -- Registrations for Multiculturalism Conference
now open -- Prison: the Last Option -- Broken laws or broken people --
Xanana Gusmão reading room -- Adelaide Commission makes web debut
-- Prisons working group -- Death penalty campaign -- Jabiluka shareholder
action -- ACCER calls for just wages -- March News Monitor -- April Social
Justice Calendar -- Reflection: Learning to walk
*****
FROM THE SECRETARIAT
The Great Jubilee is off to a strong start with the mea culpa of the Holy
See and our own Bishops' apology. As we know only too well in Australia,
apologies are very important. But they are never enough in themselves.
We need to take action to make things right. Here is a quick overview
of the issues that the ACSJC will be trying to tackle this year.
* RECONCILIATION: This year the ACSJC will continue to work in partnership
with NATSICC to foster reconciliation and we would encourage you to form
partnerships with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations.
* PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN: We will be exploring ways of promoting the
dignity and rights of women in Australia and around the world. The Social
Justice Sunday Statement for this year is expected to reflect on the participation
of women in the Catholic Church in Australia, and we hope to send representatives
to the UN General Assembly Special Session on Gender Equality, Development
and Peace for the Twenty First Century.
* UNEMPLOYMENT: Action against unemployment is an on-going need. We will
soon be producing some action material to encourage people to take their
concerns to their local politicians.
* PRISONS: Action on prison issues has been a difficult area for the
ACSJC because every State and Territory has its own system and its own
particular problems. Our staff is too small to be able to follow the issues
in sufficient detail in each of these systems to be effective advocates.
We need your help to foster effective action around the nation. We've
set up a National Working Group on Prison Issues to help you to share
your information and actions and to help us to take effective national
actions.
* EAST TIMOR: The situation continues to be of concern to us. We are
encouraging practical support to the people of East Timor through Caritas
Australia and raising international relations issues with the Australian
Government.
* ASYLUM SEEKERS/REFUGEES: Issues concerning asylum seekers and refugees
in Australia will also stay on our agenda in 2000. There is a great work
of conversion of heart to be done, even among Catholics, on this issue.
We will continue to work with the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee
Office to respond to developments in this area. Together we are hosting
a conference Building Bridges: Communities of Faith Working Together in
Multicultural Australia.
* MINORITIES: There are serious human rights issues concerning the treatment
of minorities around our region. This year our action on this issue will
focus on Pakistan, where the National Catholic Justice and Peace Commission
have asked for our solidarity.
* DEATH PENALTY: Another international Jubilee focus for us will be the
abolition of the death penalty. We will work for a moratorium on the use
of the death penalty and its eventual abolition. Already the Philippines
Bishops have succeeded in securing a moratorium on the use of the death
penalty in their country for the Jubilee year.
* PEACE-BUILDING: This year has been proclaimed the International Year
for Building the Culture of Peace. Perhaps this has been placed in the
'too hard' basket by a lot of people! We will see what we can do to keep
it on the agenda.
As we enter the 21st century (or not yet, depending on how
you count it!) we are getting a bit more techno savvy. Our website www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au
is quickly taking shape and our old paper monthly Network Notes to Diocesan
Contacts has morphed into an email bulletin! We hope these initiatives
help to serve your needs better - and we are still doing a paper version
of the bulletin for those without email.
If you know of anyone else who might like to receive this
monthly bulletin send their address to admin@acsjc.org.au, and we'll add
them to our list (they can easily unsubscribe if they don't want to receive
these bulletins). Apologies if we've sent our Briefing to you unsolicited
and you don't appreciate it.
Please drop us an email with news of your activities for
inclusion in the bulletin. There's nothing like concrete local action
to inspire others!
Shalom
Sandie Cornish
Chief Executive Officer
*****
REGISTRATIONS FOR MULTICULTURALISM CONFERENCE NOW OPEN
The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office and the ACSJC are holding
a Conference entitled "Building Bridges: Communities of Faith working
together in Multicultural Australia", from 7-9 July in Melbourne.
Topics of discussion will include: * Multicultural Australia
Today; * Women in Multicultural Australia; * Young people in Multicultural
Australia; *Schools in Multicultural Australia; *Fighting Poverty in Multicultural
Australia; * Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Multicultural Australia
The Conference process will include input, panel discussions,
open forums and small discussion groups. For registration inquiries please
call Ms. Sandie Cornish at the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council
on 02 9956 5811, email: admin@acsjc.org.au. For more information please
call Fr John Murphy at the Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office on 02 6201
9848, email: projectofficer@acmro.catholic.org.au.
*****
PRISON - THE LAST OPTION: NEW DIRECTIONS FOR THE MILLENNIUM
The Association of Heads of Churches in WA convened this two-day conference,
which was held in Perth. Its aim was to address deficiencies in the present
system and to identify improvements and changes that could assist in creating
a clear course of action for prison reform.
The keynote address, "Criminal Justice Reform: International
Perspectives", was delivered by Baroness Vivien Stern, a senior research
fellow at the International Centre for Prison Studies at King's College,
London and Secretary General of Penal Reform International, a movement
to promote prison reform throughout the world. A colleague, Dr Andrew
Coyle, spoke on Prisons of the Future. Both highlighted their
message with stories from their personal experience. Vivien described
prisons as being full of people who are in the wrong place, and noted
that in any country, the prisons have a disproportionate number of those
who are discriminated against. From other speakers, we heard that in Australia
220 per 100,000 are incarcerated, but for Aboriginal men the ratio is
5666 per 100,000. Andrew identified the three groups who must be involved
in prison change: the staff, the prisoners and the outside community.
Workshops provided input and discussion on Restorative Justice,
Juvenile Justice, Prison Reform and Indigenous Issues. Recommendations
from these workshops will be part of a report to Government. Mandatory
sentencing and plans to build a new prison were other issues raised.
*****
BROKEN LAWS OR BROKEN PEOPLE?
A joint project of the Catholic Justice & Peace Commission (Brisbane)
and Catholic Prison Ministry. This is a five-session community education
program offered in the year of Jubilee to address the social problems
associated with imprisonment. One of the key words related to the
year of Jubilee is release, which in this context is about right relationships.
Release from political, social and economic imprisonment can restore right
relationships. This Year of Jubilee challenges us to critique the whole
prison system. Is there a better, more life-giving way of dealing
with those who cause harm or who break down relationships in the community?
Not all prisoners can be released into the community. But there are some
who would benefit from some form of community service rather than imprisonment.
And when people are released, they can still experience imprisonment in
a society which never allows them to forget that they were once in prison,
a society whose structures lack forgiveness and cannot acknowledge that
such people should be allowed to get on with their lives.
Particular topics and issues raised for discussion include:
restorative justice, alternative responses to law and order and suggestions
for what can be done to effect change.
*****
THE XANANA GUSMÃO READING ROOM - REQUEST FOR REFERENCE BOOKS
The Academy of East Timor Studies, hosted by the Faculty Education &
Languages at the University of Western Sydney, Macarthur, is coordinating
the collection of quality reference books for the Xanana Gusmão
Reading Room, to be opened in Dili in mid 2000. Donations of books, audio
and visual materials, journals and documents that will be of interest
and use to the youth of East Timor, are highly desired. The building identified
to house the Reading Room is the old Indonesian Consulate / Dharma Wanita
building in Lecidere.
The main objectives of the reading room include the creation
of a space where members of the public can have access to books, documents,
audio and video cassettes from the private collection of Xanana Gusmão,
making use of the same for study or purely recreational purposes. Books
and documents will not be removed from the premises.
Please send your books or materials to the Darwin office
of the CNRT (Conselho Nacional da Resistência Timorense). Alternatively,
please contact: Ms Carolyn Der Vartanian, Academy of East Timor Studies,
Faculty of Education and Languages, University of Western Sydney Macarthur,
tel: 02 9772 6683, email: technsn@ozemail.com.au
- Dr Geoffrey Hull
*****
ADELAIDE COMMISSION MAKES WEB DEBUT
Chris Keating, Executive Officer of the Adelaide Archdiocesan Commission
for Justice and Peace and a member of the ACSJC, has recently informed
us that the Commission now has its own web page on the Adelaide Archdiocese's
Website. You can visit the Commission at www.adelaide.catholic.org.au/Services/Justice_Peace
The page contains links to the full texts of recent Commission statements
and publications. Check out the Jubilee Bulletin which contains
great Jubilee related quotes from Church documents suitable for use in
newsletters and parish bulletins.
*****
PRISONS WORKING GROUP
As part of its effort for the Jubilee Year, the ACSJC has established
a National Prisons Working Group. Its task is:
* To identify and draw attention to key common social justice issues in
Australia's various prison systems
* Advise the ACSJC on national statements and recommendations for action
in each State and Territory
* Assist in the preparation of campaign materials to encourage action
at the local and State levels on prison issues.
Members of the Working Group so far are Council Members Maree
Rose and Terry Quinn, both of whom have worked in prisons and have substantial
experience in prisons issues, and Secretariat Staff Member Suzette Clark.
Maree Rose has been involved in the kit on restorative justice
that was recently launched by the Brisbane Commission for Justice and
Peace and Terry Quinn has been involved in a conference on prison issues
recently held in Perth.
If you would like to be involved in the National Prisons
Working Group, please contact Suzette Clark. Suzette is usually
in the ACSJC office on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Her email is
projects@acsjc.org.au.
*****
DEATH PENALTY CAMPAIGN
The ACSJC is opposed to the death penalty and would like to see it abolished
everywhere in the world. As a step in this direction we will encourage
any jurisdiction that retains the death penalty to call a moratorium on
its use. This is part of our commitment to a consistent ethic of
life. Every human life is sacred.
As recent events in Western Australia have demonstrated,
this issue is never far from the political agenda in Australia even though
no Australian jurisdiction retains the death penalty. Some countries,
such as the Philippines, have reinstated the death penalty after having
abolished it. We need to be active to ensure that this doesn't happen
in Australia.
Recently ACSJC Chair Bishop Kevin Manning wrote to US Presidential
Candidate George W Bush to plead for clemency for Mary Lou Beets.
Mary Lou was executed by the State of Texas. Please pray for the
repose of her soul.
Later this year we hope to launch a more systematic campaign
against the death penalty. A paper outlining the development of
Church teaching in this area is being prepared. If we are lucky,
it might be out for Good Friday.
The campaign will encourage people to:
* Write to governments that retain the death penalty requesting that they
call a moratorium on its use and reconsider their position
* Write to Australian politicians to ascertain their position and seek
their public support for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty
* Write to governments in relation to particular death row cases
* Hold prayer vigils for those who are about to be executed.
The Catholic Bishops of the Philippines have produced a 'primer'
on the death penalty and have been speaking very strongly to their government
on the issue. They have recently succeeded in persuading the President
to call a moratorium on the death penalty for the Jubilee Year.
For more information, see their website www.cbcp.net
An Italian organisation which is campaigning against the
death penalty has organized a rolling fast in protest at the conditions
in which death row prisoners are held at the Terrell Center in the State
of Texas. People are invited to fast for a day and send a letter
of protest to Governor George W Bush. This is a great action for
Catholics to take part in as it taps into our tradition of prayer and
fasting in atonement for the sins of the world. To take part contact
Katia Rabacchi at kldri@libero.it and she will let you know which days
on which they need more volunteers to fast. ACSJC CEO Sandie Cornish
will be fasting on 26 May.
Watch our website for further information and resources.
*****
JABILUKA SHAREHOLDER ACTION
The ACSJC is opposed to mining at Jabiluka because this would infringe
the religious and cultural rights of the Mirrar people. Our statement
on the Jabiluka mine can be obtained from the Secretariat or our website.
The Wilderness Society and North ethical Shareholders are
organizing a shareholder action in relation to the May meeting of the
board of North Ltd. Shareholders are asked to write to the Managing
Director urging the company to extricate itself from the project.
For a model letter or further information please contact
Leanne Minshull Tel 03 9639 5455 Mobile 0417 675 518.
*****
ACCER CALLS FOR JUST WAGES
The Australian Catholic Commission for Employment Relations (ACCER) has
called for the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) to establish
a set of criteria to assess the need for increases in the minimum wage
- regardless of the claims of interested parties.
The ACCER has made the call in its submission to the AIRC's
annual safety net review of wages for the lowest paid. The Australian
Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Australian Council of Trade Unions
have also lodged submissions.
The ACCER acknowledges that the AIRC does not have the jurisdiction
to conduct a review in the absence of a claim, but has pointed out that
the AIRC does have a statutory obligation to "have regard" for
the needs of the lowest paid when adjusting minimum wage levels.
The ACCER's intended approach would allow for submissions
from interested parties rather than claims. The ACCER bases its annual
submission to the AIRC on Catholic social teaching which promotes the
principle of the right to just wages. The ACCER is a Commission established
by the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference to represent Church organisations
in the areas of social justice, health, education, welfare and diocesan
and parish employment.
"If we're going to have a fair and just society, that's
what we should be about, we should move away from competing claims,"
the ACCER's John Ryan said.
- Catholic Weekly 12 Mar 00
*****
MARCH NEWS MONITOR
SAINT OSCAR ROMERO?: The Vatican is assessing El Salvadorean Archbishop
Oscar Romero's case for canonisation, as Christians remember the slain
outspoken human rights advocate on the 20th anniversary of his death.
FILIPINO WORKERS: Singapore Archdiocese's Commission for the Pastoral
Care of Migrants and Itinerant People has sent a six-point petition to
the Philippine government urging it to improve the welfare of Filipino
domestic workers.
AUSTRALIA FACES SCRUTINY: The executive officer of Melbourne's Catholic
Commission for Justice, Development and Peace, Ms Liz Curran, has indicated
that the Human Rights Register it will release in June will contain many
further allegations of injustices over mandatory sentencing, prison overcrowding,
treatment of refugees and indigenous living conditions.
PAKISTAN MINORITIES: Chairman of the ACSJC, Bishop Kevin Manning, wrote
to Pakistan's military leader, General Pervaiz Musharaf, urging him to
act more decisively to protect religious minorities.
PHILIPPINES DEATH PENALTY: Philippine President Joseph Estrada has said
his government will observe a moratorium on all executions this year as
part of an agreement with the country's Catholic bishops, as a Jubilee
Year gesture.
DEATH PENALTY - PREJEAN: Houston area Christians gathered with death-penalty
opponent Sister Helen Prejean in a vigil for a convicted killer who was
executed last week as they prayed.
LIBERIA RADIO: The government in Liberia has lifted the ban it imposed
earlier in the month on a Catholic radio station.
CHURCH CRIME STUDY VINDICATED: A Criminal Justice Commission report released
last week has vindicated a joint study released earlier this month by
Brisbane's Catholic Justice and Peace Commission and Catholic Prison Ministry.
DEATH PENALTY - WA: The Broome Diocesan Office of Justice, Ecology &
Peace has condemned the WA Premier's support for bringing back the death
penalty to Western Australia.
BANGLADESH STRUCTURAL INJUSTICE: While acknowledging the importance of
emergency responses to material poverty, Caritas Bangladesh Director Francis
Sarker told a Sydney audience that structural injustices that create poverty
need to be addressed.
DOROTHY DAY CANONISATION MOOTED: The Holy See has agreed to consider
whether to grant sainthood to Dorothy Day, best known for her association
with the Catholic Worker movement, ignoring objections from church traditionalists
and possibly Day's own wishes.
ADELAIDE GAMBLING: The head of Adelaide's Centacare Catholic family services
has warned that the TAB is sending a wrong and socially irresponsible
message with its latest advertising blitz portraying gambling as a "stable
income".
CHILD SOLDIERS: The rebels of the United Revolutionary Front of Sierra
Leone have handed over 212 "child soldiers" to Caritas in the
Makeni diocese.
BRISBANE - PRISON REFORM: Brisbane's Catholic Justice and Peace Commission
and Catholic Prison Ministry have called on the State Government to consider
an alternative justice system that moves away from reliance on prisons.
TELSTRA AND 'COMMON GOOD': President of the Australian Conference of
Leaders of Religious Institutes, Sr Margaret Cassidy, has criticised Telstra's
announcement of job cuts after record profits, regretting the apparent
disappearance of the notion of the 'common good' in our nation.
POPE'S APOLOGY MODEL: Federal Opposition leader Kim Beazley has used
the example of Pope John Paul II to challenge the Prime Minister to make
a formal apology to indigenous Australians.
CARDINAL'S APOLOGY: Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal Edward Clancy did what
Australian Prime Minister John Howard has failed to do when he said sorry
to the Aboriginal 'stolen generation'.
CHILEAN BISHOPS - PINOCHET: Health permitting, Chile's ex-dictator, General
Augusto Pinochet, should cooperate with authorities investigating human
rights lawsuits against him, said the Chilean bishops.
RECONCILIATION BACKDOWN: The Broome Diocesan Social Justice office has
responded with scepticism to the Prime Minister's capitalising on research
which concludes that Australians do not favour a formal apology to indigenous
Australians and are ambivalent about the process of reconciliation itself.
HONG KONG HUMAN RIGHTS: Hong Kong diocese's Justice and Peace Commission
has asked Chinese authorities to improve the human rights situation in
mainland China and release all religious and political prisoners.
PUNISHING BOAT PEOPLE: The ACSJC and the Catholic Migration Commission
have called for a fair go for so called illegal boat people, saying that
government authorities should penalise 'people smugglers', and not their
victims.
EAST TIMOR HUMAN RIGHTS CRIMES: Caritas Australia has begun training
East Timorese in techniques of collection of evidence of crimes against
human rights that may assist in future prosecutions.
UK WORKERS CATECHISM: The Bishops of England and Wales are to publish
a 'Gospel of Work', aimed at helping ordinary people in their working
lives, as part of the Jubilee Year celebrations.
RACIAL STEREOTYPES CAUSE FEAR: Talkback radio hosts and public office
holders should avoid damaging racial stereotypes and fearmongering when
discussing street crime, according to Adelaide Catholic Communications
Director Matthew Abraham.
- courtesy Catholic Telecommunications, stories in detail at www.cathtelecom.com/news/003
*****
APRIL SOCIAL JUSTICE CALENDAR
4 Death of Martin Luther King, 1968
7 World Health Day; St John Baptist de la Salle
10 120 Nations sign treaty banning biological warfare, 1972; Jubilee Celebration
for Migrants and Refugees
12 Holocaust Remembrance Day
16 Passion (Palm) Sunday; World Youth Day
20 Holy Thursday
21 Good Friday
22 International Earth Day
23 Easter Sunday; World Book Day
24 First UN Conference opens with 45 nations attending in 1945
25 Anzac Day
26 Bishop Gerardi murdered in Guatemala, 1998
29 St Catherine of Siena - Doctor of the Church; International Guide Dogs
Day
*****
REFLECTION - LEARNING TO WALK
Although we walk all the time, our walking is usually more like running.
When we walk like that, we print anxiety and sorrow on the Earth. We have
to walk in a way that we only print peace and serrenity on the Earth.
We can all do this, provided that we want it very much. Any child can
do it. If we can take one step like this, we can take two, three, four
and five. When we are able to take one step peacefully and happily, we
are working for the cause of peace and happiness for the whole of humankind.
- Thich Nhat Hanh, from "Walking Meditation", in Peace is Every
Step, Rider, London 1991
*****
If you would like to be added to, or deleted from, the email distribution
list, please send your request to: admin@acsjc.org.au Please
send contributions to: acsjc@mullins.nu, by Fri 28 April.
Australian Catholic Social Justice Council - www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au
19 MacKenzie St, North Sydney NSW 2060, Tel: 02 9956 5811, Fax: 02 9923
3440
