Catholic social teaching is an essential body of thought that offers some insight on how to think about today's social issues.

Social Justice Week runs from 6-12 September and is based on the theme of Catholic social teaching.

Caritas has created resources for parishes and communities and resources for schools that explore the principles of Catholic social teaching.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for people to learn more about how Catholic social teaching is so relevant to what we face in the world in 2020," said Julianne Hickey, the director of Caritas Aotearoa.

"The Church's teachings are a rich treasure that helps us to apply Gospel values such as love, peace, justice, compassion and community to today's issues, enabling us to work towards building a just and fair society," she said.

The theme for the resources is Easy as CST: Unlocking the Church's Potential/Mama Noa, Penei i te CST: Te Tuku i nga Pumanawa o te Hahi kia Whai Hua.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, communities are facing a time of challenge and change.

Pope Francis recently said, "We have realized that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important and needed, all of us called to row together, each of us in need of comforting the other. On this boat...are all of us."

Parish and community resources are available to download.

Click here to learn about nine core principles of Catholic social teaching that guide our work, and how different communities are practicing them.

Click here to download school resources. Pages have been organised in different ways to help teachers and students use them in different ways. Pages have been arranged based on the relevant CST principle and also by type

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• Supplied

The call is for everyone to consider what they can do to make workplaces, schools and communities fair places for all.

People are challenged to see, hear, and experience the lived reality of people, naming what is happening and taking action.

Caritas Director Julianne Hickey says: "social justice is about ensuring that everyone gets a fair go.

Whether that be in employment, housing, healthcare or education or in any other respect - we all deserve to be treated with human dignity and to have a fair opportunity to flourish."

The Parish of St Anne's in Manurewa will hold a Social Justice and Peace Community Forum on Thursday evening this week.

At the forum, candidates for this year's local body elections will front up to issues around fairness in housing, the environment, pay equity and poverty.

Resources have been distributed to parishes and communities throughout New Zealand for Sunday celebrations and activities during the week.

Education resources for schools offer background information, curriculum links and helpful statistics.

The development of resources found in this year's packs for Social Justice Week has been based around the theme of See-Judge-Act.

This methodology is founded on Catholic social teaching - it is a way of looking at a situation, analysing it, and taking action.

It enables us to consider what is fair (or not) in our lives, our communities and in our society as a whole? Is everyone getting a fair go? How can we make sure they are?

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand is an agency of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops

Source

• caritas.org.nz
• Image: caritas.org.nz

That was the message from the 2018 Social Justice Week Workshop held last Saturday at St Thomas More Parish Church in Mt. Maunganui.

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand and the Catholic Diocese of Hamilton facilitated the workshop to highlight the challenges faced by people with disabilities and to foster greater awareness and inclusion.

Imagine Better, an organisation which supports people with disabilities was also a key contributor to the workshop.

It was the first of five planned workshops.

The others will take place in Taupo, Hamilton, Palmerston North and Wellington during August.

They are part of the preparation or this year' s Social Just Week.

Each year the Catholic Bishops of New Zealand set aside a week in September for Social Justice Week, inviting New Zealanders to reflect and take action on a current social justice issue.

This year, the 9th to the 15th of September, Caritas Aotearoa New Zeland will focus on disability and participation.

It will ask people to respond to the question "How can we encourage more enabling communities, affirming that everyone has a part to play in our society?"

Further Workshops

• Saturday, August 11th, 10am-3pm at St Patrick's Catholic Church Hall, 88 Acacia Bay Rd, Nukuhau, Taupo.
• Sunday, August 12th, 11.30am-5pm, at the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church Hall, 494 Grey St, Hamilton.
• Saturday, August 18th, 10 am - 3 pm, St Francis Xavier School Hall, 69 Main Rd, Tawa.
• Saturday, August 25th, The Palmerston North Diocesan Centre, 33 Amesbury St, Palmerston North.

Entry to the workshops is free, a koha would be appreciated, lunch is included, and all are welcome! NZSL interpreters will be available.

For further information click here

Source

• Supplied: Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
• caritas.org.nz
• Image: caritas.org.nz

The forum was run by the Palmerston North Catholic Diocesan Justice, Peace and Development Commission in collaboration with Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand as part of Social Justice Week activities.

As part of a general election candidates' debate, social worker Jenny Porter was expected to join a community panel talking about addiction, social isolation and the role of others in supporting recovery.

The DHB's human resources and organisational development manager, Anne Amoore, said the directive was prompted by an employee asking for advice about participating in an event with political candidates present.

The reason given for the decision was that it could undermine the social worker's political neutrality as a state sector employee so close to a general election.

"Given the political attendance and the potential for political debate, it was suggested that the employee attend at a time after the election to ensure that she and the DHB were not compromised in any way," Amoore said.

The board's decision was in line with state sector guidelines for all government and crown entities, she said.

Forum organiser Dion Martin said the Porter had given very late notice that the board had told her not to attend. He said she had been "gagged" and he was "very disappointed".

Martin said upholders of social justice principles saw a crisis occurring in mental health, and it was important someone from the Board was available to respond to the debate.

But employment lawyer, Peter Cullen, in his column in the DomPost, said it was hard to see the forum as anything other than political.

"It's easy to see why the DHB took the stand it did - particularly two weeks before the election," he said.

"The DHB's indication that Porter is welcome to speak on these issues - after the general election - is a way of enabling freedom of expression without being drawn into party politics, " he said.

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• Manawatu Standard
• Stuff
• Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
• Source: Stuff

New Zealanders pride themselves on being friendly, but not everyone experiences a sense of community or connection.

The 2016 Quality of Life survey reveals an increasing number of New Zealanders think neighbourliness in on the decline.

The Quality of Life Survey seeks to capture perceptions of well-being in nine to twelve major cities in New Zealand every two years.

Between 2004 and 2016, there is a marked decrease in neighbourliness reflected by respondents.

In 2016, 77 percent of New Zealanders surveyed believe it is important to have a sense of community, but only 58 percent said they actually experience a sense of community

In 2004, 88 percent of respondents said that they had positive interactions with their neighbours such as visiting, having a chat or asking for small favours.

In the most recent survey in 2016, only 42 percent of respondents reported having similar positive interactions with their neighbours.

The 2014 New Zealand General Social Survey reveals that one in seven New Zealanders feel isolated or lonely some or most of the time

Social Justice Week was established by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference in 1997 as an ongoing commitment in the Catholic calendar for the week beginning the second Sunday of September

It is a time to consider, reflect and take action on a particular current social justice issue in the light of Catholic social teaching.

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has prepared a number of resources for Social Justice week including a liturgy resources, a reflection brochure and a power point presentation.

Source

• Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
• Image: Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand

They heard about what one participant described as an oncoming "demographic tsunami" of an aging population.

Other stated challenges included:

• Flat and wet geography with consequent threats of flooding from rising sea levels
• Old and cold housing - without adequate insulation
• Social isolation
• Lack of access to amenities
• Low educational attainment
• Low incomes (less than $30,000 per annum per household)

Church agencies - including Catholic Social Services and local parishioners are already responding to the needs and rebuilding a sense of community.

In South Dunedin the efforts at rebuilding community are based on the simple recognition that all people have inherent dignity and worth. Everyone has a part to play.

The work currently underway includes:

• Community lunches at which the Church regularly hosts over 50 people at the Mercy Centre
• Food distribution to those in need
• Community garden care and management
• Some skills training such as helping with food preparation and gaining certification in food handling

Local people are also involved in helping the elderly with home maintenance such as insulation.

Community lunches also help to break down isolation and to foster bonds of belonging. A Catholic Social Services representative told the workshop that "There is a huge mix of people at the lunches and it's almost like we are sitting together under the big umbrella of God."

Caritas Director, Julianne Hickey, said that a sense of community is vital for the wellbeing and health of a society.

"We have the benefits of technological advancement, economic growth and a wider range of choices but these appearances of wealth can mask a poverty of spirit.

Fr Sani Lam (Assistant Priest at the Catholic Mercy Parish), said that communities were facing a prevalent culture of individualism and materialism.

So, "people tend to focus on themselves and close their doors. They lose a sense of being connected to others - friends, neighbours and other people generally."

To help counter this trend the Parish tries to encourage a greater sense of community. "We encourage parishioners to go out and say hello to their neighbours. "

"To connect with other people - especially their neighbours - and to get to know them" said Lam.

Saturday's workshop was organised by Mercy Parish, Dunedin Diocese and Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand.

It was the first of the Caritas "Weaving Bonds of Belonging" Workshops being held as a prelude to Social Justice Week on 10-17 September.

The next one takes place on Saturday 12 August in Hamilton.

Read the media release

Source

• Supplied
• Image: Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand

In 2015 the number of persons living in a country other than where they were born reached 244 million for the world as a whole, a 41 per cent increase compared to 2000.

New Zealand is experiencing record numbers of people wanting to settle here.

So it is no surprise then that this year the theme for Social Justice week this year is: We all have a migration story: Fostering a culture of encounter.

During Social Justice week people are being asked to take time to reflect on their own migration journey and consider how they can foster a culture of encounter in our own life and in the life of the parish.

In their recent statement on refugees and migrants the bishops of New Zealand remind people that:

"We each have a migration story; a story of how our ancestors, or we ourselves, came to this land."

"Maori trace their ancestry or whakapapa to the waka upon which their ancestors arrived in Aotearoa New Zealand."

"As Catholics we trace the migration story of our Church in Aotearoa New Zealand through the arrival in the 1820s of Catholic settlers, followed by Bishop Pompallier and the Society of Mary who arrived from France in 1838, landing first in Hokianga where they were welcomed by the tangata whenua, the people of the land."

The bishops say the lack of connection to the local community can often contribute to a migrant's vulnerability to exploitation and difficulty in finding work.

"As newcomers join our communities, we have an opportunity to meet and encounter each other - on the one hand, to extend welcome and friendship and on the other."

"To discover and celebrate the gifts that people from migrant and refugee backgrounds bring to our parishes, schools, farms and other workplaces."

In From Strangers to Family: 4 students at St Peter's College in Palmerston North talk about their experience

Click here for Caritas Aotearoa's Resources for Schools

Click her to get Caritas Aotearoa's Resources for Parishes

Events planned for Social Justice week include a seminar in Wellington, a public forum in Palmerston North, and Social Justice Mayoral Forum in Auckland. Click here for details

Source

• caritas.org.nz
• catholic.org.nz
• Image: www.youtube.com screen shot

Even before the launch Bible Society had sold 220 Bibles which funds the 220 copies that will be given to people and families that may not be able to afford one.

Speaking at Saints Peter and Paul's in Lower Hutt, at the start of Social Justice Week, he said, "Today Jesus lays down a challenge to take up our cross and open our eyes to the poverty and injustice around us, to pray and reflect and take action.

"Any place in the world where human beings are suffering is a challenge to us - taking up the cross of Jesus challenges us to be like Simon of Cyrene, the man who walked alongside Jesus and helped him carry his cross.

"We carry the cross of our own struggles, our own difficulties, our own challenges. But there is also a wider challenge, and call, to help carry the cross of others.

"So, that gospel message of picking up the cross that we hear tonight is a perfect way to launch to this Poverty and Justice Bible - a collaborative effort of the New Zealand Bible Society, of Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand, and our own Catholic Institute."

"When you look through this Bible you will find that any part of it that talks about poverty and injustice is highlighted, so that it leaps out at us and challenges us again, because we're Jesus' people to do something about it."

"Bible Society New Zealand's mission is to help create "easy access to Sacred Scripture". This campaign goes a long way to achieving this through the buy one / gift one aspect, which allows a free copy to be gifted to a family or someone in need for every copy sold."

Cardinal Dew commented that for some people this "may be the first time that they are able to hear, read and reflect on the Word of God."

The Poverty and Justice campaign is now continuing in Catholic parishes throughout New Zealand.

Source

Supplied: Bible Society

Almost a quarter of all New Zealand families with children experience income poverty. 2014 Child Poverty Monitor

That means that these families live on less than 60% of New Zealand's mean income.

Only 37% of the adults in these families are in paid employment.

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has produced a short documentary - 'Kiwi Families: It's Our Story' - featuring four community groups across the country and the families they support.

It forms part of an awareness raising campaign about child poverty in New Zealand.

A DVD copy of the film can also be ordered from the Caritas office by email: caritas@caritas.org.nz or phone: 0800 22 10 22.

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand is encouraging people to share this story by organising a movie night this Social Justice Week.

Click here for a link to the Discussion and DVD Screening Guide to get some guidance on how to run a movie night, and how to discuss and debate some of the issues shown in the film.

This week is Social Justice Week, 13-19 September.

The focus this year is family poverty and what it would take for all Kiwi families to flourish.

The aim in 2015 is to increase awareness and understanding of the challenges struggling families face today in Aoteraoa New Zealand, while also inspiring people to take action. Resources for Social Justice Week

As well as using 'Kiwi Families: It's Our Story Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand suggests some other things that anyone can to:

• Write to your local MP, councillor, decision makers and share with them your top three essentials that you believe every family need in order to flourish.
• Take some time to pray for families that you know who are going through a hard time and listen to how God might be calling you to respond.
• Support Social Justice Week events are being held in your parishes and community centres.

Cardinal John Dew will mark the beginning of the campaign and also launch The Poverty and Justice Bible with a special mass at the St Peter and Paul Mass Centre in Lower Hutt on Sunday, 13 September from 5:30pm. A showing of the Social Justice Week 20-minute documentary will follow the mass.

Produced in partnership with Bible Society New Zealand, The Poverty and Justice Bible uses the Catholic NRSV translation, but also includes a unique study section which was developed with The Catholic Institute and derived from the New Zealand Year 12 Religious Education curriculum and Caritas resources.

Event: Launch of Social Justice Week 2015 and The Poverty and Justice Bible
Venue: Catholic Parish of Te Awakairangi, St Peter and Paul Mass Centre 60 Knights Road, Lower Hutt
Date: 13 September, 2015
Time: 5:30pm start

Source

• Supplied: Caritas Aotearoa Zealand
• Child Poverty Monitor
• Image: 3news.co.nz

The campaign, jointly developed by Bible Society New Zealand and Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand, centres around a new catholic Poverty and Justice Bible.

It is estimated up to 350 people including priests, youth, secondary school teachers and Caritas supporters will attend the nationwide launch.

Dew will bless the specially developed Poverty and Justice Bible at an evening mass at Saints Peter and Paul Mass Centre in Lower Hutt, Wellington.

This campaign was inspired by Pope Francis. "Pope Francis is passionate about people living the gospel of Jesus and he has a deep concern for those who suffer from injustice and live lives of poverty," says Dew.

It is hoped Catholic parishes throughout New Zealand will take up the offer to participate in the campaign in the coming months.

The Poverty and Justice Bible campaign is supported by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference

It is also endorsed by Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Source

• Supplied, Sarah Richards New Zealand Bible Society
• Image: Supplied, Sarah Richards New Zealand Bible Society

sarah.richards@biblesociety.org.nz

www.biblesociety.org.nz/

The campaign has not only received the support of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference but also endorsement from Cardinal Peter Turkson in his capacity as President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

A key feature of the campaign is the buy one get one gift concept.

More information: neels@biblesociety.org.nz

Bible Society New Zealand, together with Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand and The Catholic Institute of Aotearoa New Zealand, have put together a New Zealand edition of The Poverty and Justice Bible.

It uses the Catholic NRSV translation and includes a unique study section.

These studies are derived from the New Zealand Year 12 Religious Education curriculum and from Caritas resources.

The idea of buy one get one gift free is if someone buys a copy then another copy will be made available free to an individual or family that cannot afford one.

The recipients of the gifted copies will be identified through a collaboration between Parish leadership, Bible Society and Caritas.

There are a number of other promotional items being prepared for the campaign.

These include a short DVD presentation featuring Cardinal Dew and an information pack being prepared for parishioners to take home once they have seen the DVD in Mass.

Source

Supplied

These are among the resources Caritas has created for the annual Social Justice Week, which runs from September 14-20 this year.

The campaign focuses on Catholic social teaching and the Church's tradition of justice.

One of the videos shows the joint work in Rotorua of St Vincent de Paul, St Michael's parish and John Paul College, which run the Full Fill community van taking food to vulnerable communities.

"Our hope is that this focus during Social Justice Week will lead to a renewed understanding and commitment to the ways in which each of us can put Catholic social teaching into practice, in our homes, families and communities," said Caritas director Julianne Hickey.

This year, the New Zealand General Election falls on the last day of Social Justice Week.

Rather than telling New Zealanders how to vote in the election, the Social Justice Week materials aim to inspire Catholics and the wider community to consider what ethical principles underlie responses to economic and social issues.

Continue reading

Te Roopu Haurongo receive referrals from the Police, Child Youth and Family and the local community of young people who are getting into trouble or facing difficulties and hardship.

Whanau advocates and kaumatua supporters walk alongside whanau and youth to work out a plan to help them reach their potentials.

Te Roopu Hauranga is one of the seven groups Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has made videos about to showcase examples of how different communities are practicing principles of Catholic social teaching in daily life.

The resource pack is being distributed to schools, parishes and media around the country this week.

"We are inspired by the examples across Aotearoa New Zealand, where members of our Catholic community put into practice our tradition of justice in their daily lives," says Caritas Director Julianne Hickey.

"Our hope is that this focus during Social Justice Week will lead to a renewed understanding and commitment to the ways in which each of us can put Catholic social teaching into practice, in our homes, families and communities."

This year, the New Zealand General Election falls on the last day of Social Justice Week.

It is hoped that the Social Justice Week materials will inspire Catholics and the wider community to consider what ethical principles underlie our response to economic and social issues in the lead-up to the election

Other groups included in the resource pack are:

• Hutt Valley Benefit Education Service Trust
• Cyclone Haiyan Philippines Emergency Response
• L'Arche Kapiti
• St Vincent de Paul Full Fill Van Rotorua
• Caritas Challenge - Marian College and Catholic Cathedral College
• Papatuanuku ki Taurangi - Earth Promise Centre

Source

Supplied by Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand

The students were talking to Catholic Archbishop of Wellington John Dew over lunch, prior to the Catholic Church's Social Justice Week focus on food security. Social Justice Week runs 9-15 September, and is an opportunity for Catholics and the wider community to consider a current issue in the light of Catholic social teaching.

"Because we pray together "Give us this day our daily bread" we want everyone to have the food they need, because we all belong to the family of God," Archbishop John told the school pupils.

"About 20 percent of New Zealand families with children don't have enough food, or have some sort of food trouble,' Archbishop John said. ‘But our country could produce enough food for five times our current population. So we are trying to get everyone to talk about what we might do."

Food security is the ability to legitimately and regularly access safe and nutritionally adequate food. The Catholic Church's social justice agency Caritas has produced resources for parishes, schools and the wider community to help people better understand what food insecurity looks like in New Zealand and overseas.

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has also launched an interactive website Breaking bread together to provide commentary and debate on topical issues of food production, supply and distribution. ‘Our daily blog' will provide opinion on food issues throughout September. The site also features videos, games, reports and resources, and opportunities for people to comment and add their own ideas.

"Social Justice Week is an opportunity for all of us to examine our attitudes and actions with regard to food, says Caritas Director Julianne Hickey. ‘We have the resources to feed all our people. So we're encouraging New Zealanders to see what steps they can take to combat hunger both in the world and in New Zealand."

"For example, one small step at the advocacy level people can take right now, is to participate in the Commissioner for Children's consultation process on child poverty. Feedback and submissions are due on 12 October."

Hickey said, "We support the recommendation of the Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty that in the short-term the government should partner with schools, non-governmental organisations and the private sector to run food programmes in low-decile schools,' says Mrs Hickey. ‘At the same time we all need to address the long-term issues of family incomes that leave large and young families disproportionately poor."

Catholic Diocesan and parish groups are running meetings, seminars and forums on the Social Justice Week theme of food. These include events in Rotorua, Tauranga, Gisborne, Auckland, Palmerston North, Napier, New Plymouth and Whanganui. Masterton's Catholic parish is inviting parishioners for a day of jam-making to be donated to the local food bank. Event details are listed at: http://www.caritas.org.nz/take-action/events

A wide range of groups within the Catholic Church respond to hunger in New Zealand and overseas through numerous ways:

• immediate responses such as soup kitchens, food banks and school lunch programmes;
• responding to international emergencies such as drought in the Sahel region of Africa;
• community responses such as livelihood programmes in developing countries, or parish-based community gardens and markets in New Zealand;
• awareness raising and education in the Catholic and wider community;
• advocacy for changes to government policy to support low-income families.

Source

• Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
• Image: Caritas Aoteoroa New Zealand

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand's rankings rate Japan champion in terms of social justice and equality. While being one of the world's richest nations, Japan and its corporations have done remarkably well with the national distribution of this wealth, making it the most equal of all 20 nations in this tournament. Japan is a global leader in this respect - to the point that the Wall Street Journal and economists like Amartya Sen say that Japan is ‘the only communist nation that works'!

Read Nick Borthwick's Blog

Archbishop John Dew kicked off Social Justice Week on Wednesday with a pep talk for a group of students from wellington's St Patrick's and St Catherine's Colleges at the St Catherine's gymnasium. As Head Coach for the Catholic team, he urged them to keep their eyes on the ball, in working together to achieve the goal of a fair and just society.

Values on the sporting field - fairness, an equal chance of success, unbiased refereeing - are equally important in society, said Archbishop John The vision of all people living as a human family in fullness of life is one that becomes more difficult to achieve in an unequal society, and in a world marked by extremes of wealth and poverty, hw said

"As sports spectators, we will be looking over coming weeks to see that regardless of who wins the Rugby World Cup, it will be a fair competition. We expect rules to be agreed on and enforced by unbiased referees. We expect that sports grounds will allow for an equal chance of success - for example that one side won't be playing up-hill or kicking into the wind for the whole match."

Archbishop John said it was time to blow the whistle on inequality. "It would be great if New Zealanders put as much enthusiasm and effort into ensuring we have a fair society, as we do into cheering for success on the sporting field.

"New Zealand has been a world leader in the growth of inequality, and this leaves people on the fringes of society whose life isn't as good as human life should be. Luke's Gospel talks about compassion for the poor. People who follow the Gospel are obliged to reduce inequality and poverty in our society."

Level with me : Who is the Fairest of them all? - the Social Justice Week blogsite
will be looking at social inequality - nationally and internationally - through the eyes of countries competing in the Rugby World Cup.

They have ranked the countries based on their performance on various social inequality indicators, and are running a light-hearted blog on how they stack up against each other - as well as debating the issues around social inequality.

We all know the All Blacks will take the Cup. But who will win on the social equality stakes?
Find out who they think is the winner - and make your own judgement. Join in the fun and debate, as in a light-hearted, sporting way some of the deeper issues that sometimes divide us and the world.

Level with me is at: www.socialjusticeweek.org.nz or through the Caritas website.

Source

• Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
• Image Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand