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| Joseph With Baby Jesus - Louis Glanzman |
There are times when Catholics are able to celebrate their religious and civic identity as integral and meaningful. This letter is one such opportunity.
We are not a community obsessed by issues of sexuality, nor are we a community that prefers to protect the institution over the victims of institutional abuse.
We are a community passionate about being fully human and sharing the dignity inherent in every person and creation.This pastoral letter picks up a sentence I have used as a touchstone for my faith and action:
The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.1
The pastoral letter is a political challenge to the dominant economic culture and policies adopted by recent Governments formed by both of the major parties.The challenges are laid out in four sections:
- Failing vulnerable individuals and families
- Failing communities on the edge
- Failing future generations
- The source, the centre and purpose of economic life
This is not the first time the Australian Bishops have issued a pastoral letter of this strength and passion.In fact there is a series of them going back to 1998 on this site. I wonder how many of these letters have been seen by the current Catholic members of the Federal Government? I also wonder how many parishes and diocese have promoted these letters. When was the last time your parish or faith community discussed one of these topics?
Putting People First: The call for an economy of social inclusion
Indigenous employment: the most basic form of social justice
Working families’ and the minimum wage at a time of financial crisis
The voice of vulnerable workers in the changing world of work
Casual work: the costs of flexibility
When I was looking for an image for this story i selected the one from the work of Louis Glanzman.I thought the work looked familiar and then I discovered I had seen it before. It is part of a collection published in a book with Richard Rohr, Soul Brothers Men in the Bible Speak to Men Today. That book, signed by Richard sits among my readable treasures. To those treasures I will now add this series of Pastoral Letters for the Feast of St Joseph The Worker.
Putting People First: The call for an economy of social inclusion
Indigenous employment: the most basic form of social justice
Working families’ and the minimum wage at a time of financial crisis
The voice of vulnerable workers in the changing world of work
Casual work: the costs of flexibility
When I was looking for an image for this story i selected the one from the work of Louis Glanzman.I thought the work looked familiar and then I discovered I had seen it before. It is part of a collection published in a book with Richard Rohr, Soul Brothers Men in the Bible Speak to Men Today. That book, signed by Richard sits among my readable treasures. To those treasures I will now add this series of Pastoral Letters for the Feast of St Joseph The Worker.
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