15 September 2005
DIRECTOR OF EDMUND RICE CENTRE LAUNCHES BISHOP'S SOCIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY STATEMENT
Jesus, Light for the World – Living the Gospel Today - this year's Catholic Social Justice Sunday Statement of the Australian Bishops was launched in Sydney this week by Phil Glendenning, Director of the Edmund Rice Centre.
Among many issues, the Statement highlights the amount of wealth that is wasted in a world where poverty affects billions. Each year Australians spend more than $10 billion on products and services that are not used, including $5 billion on food that is ultimately thrown out. (This can be compared to the projected $4 billion that is to be spent on overseas aid by 2010 -see next post)
At the same time the pursuit of wealth and economic demands can leave people with less time for family and friends, health and spiritual fulfilment.
The statement reminds us that we cannot turn from the great issues facing our world, from environmental degradation to poverty to refugees to war. For many people in our world the light we offer may be their only hope.
The full text of the Bishop's statement is available at the website of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council
Among many issues, the Statement highlights the amount of wealth that is wasted in a world where poverty affects billions. Each year Australians spend more than $10 billion on products and services that are not used, including $5 billion on food that is ultimately thrown out. (This can be compared to the projected $4 billion that is to be spent on overseas aid by 2010 -see next post)
At the same time the pursuit of wealth and economic demands can leave people with less time for family and friends, health and spiritual fulfilment.
The statement reminds us that we cannot turn from the great issues facing our world, from environmental degradation to poverty to refugees to war. For many people in our world the light we offer may be their only hope.
The full text of the Bishop's statement is available at the website of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council
Comments:
I’ve just read the full text of the Bishops’ Social Justice Statement, and, while it is true that we are called to be “light for the world” in our everyday lives, I’m a bit concerned that some of the suggestions made could be more burdensome than liberating. I might add that I belong to that almost-extinct species – a full-time housewife and mother – and this is gives me a somewhat different perspective.
Throughout history, domestic work (housework and the care of children) has usually been done by those with the lowest status in society. In modern Western society, we no longer have a “slave” or “servant” class to do this work, but the domestic realm itself has such a low status that it is not even taken seriously as real work! This is where my concern with the Social Justice Statement comes in. The statement talks about the terrible waste of food and other things in our affluent society, but avoiding waste doesn’t just take a change of attitude, it also requires good household management. As with any managerial job – and running a household is indeed just that – to do it well requires time, effort, resources and the right sort of skill. But in our society domestic work is so trivialized and devalued that we are expected to squeeze it in between our “real” work and (if we are lucky!) the time we spend on our own needs. In such a contradictory situation, many people, especially those who are disadvantaged (in financial or other ways) literally don’t have adequate time or resources, or the right skills, to do a good job.
So you can see (I hope!) that there is another, hidden social justice matter underlying the sort of issues which the statement addresses. I look forward to the day when the Bishops’ annual Social Justice Statement will be on this very issue of domestic work!
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Throughout history, domestic work (housework and the care of children) has usually been done by those with the lowest status in society. In modern Western society, we no longer have a “slave” or “servant” class to do this work, but the domestic realm itself has such a low status that it is not even taken seriously as real work! This is where my concern with the Social Justice Statement comes in. The statement talks about the terrible waste of food and other things in our affluent society, but avoiding waste doesn’t just take a change of attitude, it also requires good household management. As with any managerial job – and running a household is indeed just that – to do it well requires time, effort, resources and the right sort of skill. But in our society domestic work is so trivialized and devalued that we are expected to squeeze it in between our “real” work and (if we are lucky!) the time we spend on our own needs. In such a contradictory situation, many people, especially those who are disadvantaged (in financial or other ways) literally don’t have adequate time or resources, or the right skills, to do a good job.
So you can see (I hope!) that there is another, hidden social justice matter underlying the sort of issues which the statement addresses. I look forward to the day when the Bishops’ annual Social Justice Statement will be on this very issue of domestic work!
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: 10:25 am
: 10:25 am