From this part of the website you can view selected items from earlier bulletins that retain some interest or currency.
Recent events we were asked to advertise:
Friday 18 – Sunday 20 Diarmuid O’Murchu leads Liverpool J&P Annual Retreat with Stephen Hoyland. Loyola Hall, Warrington Rd, Rainhill Friday 6.00 – Sunday 2.30 NB: All booking through Loyola Hall 0151 426 4137
Saturday 19 Pax Christi AGM Speaker Oliver McTernan Oliver has a long association with Pax Christi, in particular with its international East-West work during the 1970s and 1980s. In recent years Oliver helped to co-found Forward Thinking to promote a more inclusive peace process in the Middle East and to facilitate a global dialogue between the religious and secular worlds. Venue: St Nicholas of Tolentino Church, Lawford’s Gate, Bristol BS5 0RE. Time: 10.30 for 10.50 (Morning business, Afternoon speaker)
Thursday 24 May Eye-witness stories from Israel-Palestine What is daily life under occupation really like? What is The Israeli peace movement doing? What can we do to promote a just peace in Israel-Palestine? Hear first-hand from Angela Gilmore who has recently returned from the West Bank. St Mary’s Parish Centre, King Street, Middlewich CW10 9EB at 8pm.
Friday 25 Briefing Session on a Trussell Trust Foodbank for Chester & Ellesmere Port 2.00-3.30pm Trinity Ellesmere Port, Whitby Road, Ellesmere PortCH65 0AB
From earlier weekly postings:
6 – 12 May
Take a trip to London for the NJPN Networking Day and Annual General Meeting. Paul Nicolson (Zaccheus 2000 Trust) will be asking; “Are you tired of being cited as an excuse to cut benefits to the poor?” and speaking on Taxpayers Against Poverty suggesting positive reasons for paying taxes, and sharing information about some of the various tax-related campaigns tax payers can get involved in. Saturday 12 May 10.30 – 4.00pm at CAFOD Offices, Romero House, 55 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7JB. (Bring a packed lunch, drinks provided).
29 April – 5 May
As part of its 50th Anniversary celebrations, CAFOD has produced a book, 50 Years: 50 Voices: more that 120 pages of beautiful colour photographs, stories, reflections and prayers that will take you on a journey through CAFOD’s history. £10 http://www.cafod.org.uk/giving/panels/ways-to-support-our-work/cafod-shop
22 – 29 April
Progressio has produced a series of three podcasts on Rio +20 by Rev Dr Martin Poulsom SDB. With the UN Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development just two months away, it’s time for all of us get find out more about the conference and why it matters to us as Christians. Join theologian Martin Poulsom as he explores the background to the conference, what it has to do with us, and how we can make it count. There are three short podcasts to listen to, released weekly from this week. Listen now at www.progressio.org.uk/podcasts .
The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales are urging Catholics to respond to the Government consultation on same-sex marriage. Briefings and petitions are available on the Bishops’ Conference website. www.catholicchurch.org.uk .
15 – 21 April
Words from Pope Benedict XVI:
“Stand beside those who are marginalised as the result of force, power or a prosperity which is blind to the poorest of the poor. The Church cannot separate the praise of God from service to others. The one God, our Father and Creator, has made us brothers and sisters: to be human is to be a brother and guardian to our neighbour. … The Church must relive and make present what Jesus was: the Good Samaritan Who came from afar, entered our human history, lifted us up and sought to heal us”. Mexico, 25 March, 2012 http://www.news.va/en/news/to-bishops-stand-beside-those-who-are-marginalised
How do we stand beside those who are marginalised?
100 Days of Peace
6th July 2005 saw great rejoicing for the UK on the success of the Olympic Bid. Speeches and music came from a podium festooned with ribbons and balloons in Trafalgar Square. Next day, three bombs tore through the London Transport system. Since then, many youths have been killed on the streets, and right-wing groups threaten multi-cultural communities.
The international Olympic and Paralympic Games offer a wonderful opportunity to reassert our commitment to peace. The Olympic Truce tradition at the heart of the Olympic ideal inspires hope that around this event we can redeem the dream of harmonious multi-cultural, multi-faith and multi-generational communities. Although we are not in London we can help build a Peace Legacy in the UK from the Games.
The resource book Release Peace is a collection of lesson plans, testimonies and articles designed to inspire young people to learn more about the Olympic ideals and think about the culture of peace that must be created if they are to be brought to fruition, not just for the Games but as a lasting legacy for society.
More information can be found on: www.peacelegacy.org.uk
- Look at the website.
- Who could you pass the information on to?
- What can you do to educate others about peace?
29 January – 4 February
Recent definitions of Justice and Peace by the Pope:
In his annual address to the General Inspectorate for Public Security at the Vatican on 13 January, Pope Benedict gave the following definitions of ‘justice’ and ‘peace’:
“Justice is not a mere human convention. When, in the name of supposed justice, the criteria of utility, profit and material possession come to dominate, the value and dignity of human beings can be trampled underfoot. Justice is a virtue which guides the human will, prompting us to give others what is due to them by reason of their existence and their actions.”
“Peace is not the mere absence of war, or the result of man’s actions to avoid conflict; it is, above all, a gift of God which must be implored with faith, and which has the way to its fulfilment in Jesus. True peace must be constructed day after day with compassion, solidarity, fraternity and collaboration on everyone’s part.”
How would you describe ‘justice’ and ‘peace’
22 – 28 January
Sunday marks the start of Poverty Action Week.
In the latest Church Action on Poverty newsletter, Spark, Niall Cooper, its National Coordinator, describes the current economic crisis as unprecedented forcing the choice to eat or to heat. He asserts that ‘the UK is now more unequal – in terms of the gap between rich and poor – than at any time for at least the past 50 years [and that]the income gap is rising faster in UK than any other developed nation. Niall quotes the Catholic Bishops from 1997:
“There may come a point at which the scale of the gap between the very wealthy and those at the bottom of the range of income begins to undermine the common good. This is the point at which society starts to be run for the benefit of the rich not for all its members.”
Learn more about the work of Church Action on Poverty www.church-poverty.org.uk
Respond to its Close the Gap campaign.
15 – 21 January
We will all be changed is the theme of this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. On its website Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) asserts
“Change is at the heart of our Christian faith. Saint Paul said that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, and we are called to live as children in the light.”
“Change is also at the heart of the ecumenical movement. When we pray for the unity of the church we are praying that the churches that we know and which are so familiar to us will change as they conform more closely to Christ. This is an exciting vision, but also a challenging one. Furthermore, when we pray for this transforming unity we are also praying for change in the world.”
- Pray that Christians will grow closer to each other and will work together for the common good of their communities.
- Discover what Christians do together in your community.
- Consider your own response.
During Ordinary Time, we are asked to pray for: peace on earth; Christian unity; the sick and those who care for them; students and teachers; and the unemployed.
8 – 14 January
Peace is not merely a gift to be received: it is also a task to be undertaken. In order to be true peacemakers, we must educate ourselves in compassion, solidarity, working together, fraternity, in being active within the community.
So says Pope Benedict in his World Day of Peace Message for 2012. Although this year’s message is addressed to young people, it is surely relevant to all.
- How can grow in compassion and solidarity? With whom can I work? How am I active in my community?
- Read the full World Day of Peace Message available through the Pax Christi website www.paxchristi.org.uk/peace_sunday
- Download Calendar and Contacts for 2012 and consider what opportunities you might find to work for peace and justice during the year.
During Ordinary Time, we are asked to pray for: peace on earth; Christian unity; the sick and those who care for them; students and teachers; and the unemployed.
18 December – 7 January
As we approach Christmas once again the words of Howard Thurman on the Pax Christi Christmas Card challenges me:
When the song of the angels is stilled :: When the star in the sky is gone :: When the kings and princes are home :: When the shepherds are back with their flocks :: The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost :: To heal the broken :: To release the prisoner :: To rebuild the nations :: To bring peace among people :: To make music in the heart
11-18 December
I recently attended a Seminar on Human Trafficking organised by the Migration Office of Bishops’ Conference. It proved to be a most interesting and informative event expertly chaired by Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC. The International Labour Organisation estimates that 2.4 million people are trafficked globally and that annual profits generated from trafficking in human beings are as high as $32 billion. Speakers included Bishop Pat Lynch, speaking from the Church perspective; Detective Chief Inspector Nick Sumner and Detective Inspector Kevin Hyland from the Metropolitan Police, who described the Met’s strategy and were fulsome in their praise of the support women religious are giving to the most traumatized women; and Sr Eugenia Bonetti who spoke of her work at the Counter-Trafficking Office in Rome. All the presentations are available at http://www.catholicnews.org.uk/Home/News-Releases/Human-Trafficking-Seminar
Anyone wishing to report trafficking, or seeking help or advice should contact their local police force or the Metropolitan Police Trafficking Unit (0800 7832589)
How can your parish become a more welcoming place for those in trouble?
Pray for victims of human trafficking.
4 – 10 December
In Choosing the Common Good, the Catholic Bishops drew attention to everyday neighbourliness by ordinary people:
“acts of willing generosity to help others … the offer of time, energy and possessions out of the spirit of good citizenship and genuine neighbourliness”.
The Justice & Peace Commission has recently compiled a report Environmental, Social Action & Social Justice Initiatives in Parishes in the Diocese of Shrewsbury which details the rich and wide-ranging initiatives being carried out in the diocese.
- What happens in your parish/community?
- What would you like to see happen?
- Is there anything you could do to make it happen?
- Read the Commission’s report Environmental, Social Action, and Social Justice Initiatives 2011
27 November – 3 December
At a recent diocesan event, we were reminded that the Gospel of Mark, which we will be reading during the coming year, was written for communities experiencing conflict, failure, and trauma reminding us that the Gospel always has to be lived out in a particular time in history. The Catholic Bishops had their November meeting last week reflecting on some of the issues of our times. The following link goes to a web page which has two MP3 recordings on it (on the right of the page) which you can listen to. The lower recording has the questions and answers at the end of the press conference. Theme covered include: plans to develop a ‘care pathway for victims and survivors of sexual abuse’, human-trafficking, the plight of seafarers, difficulties faced by Palestinian Christians, response to planned Government legislation on ‘gay marriage’, Catholic education, and the ‘Occupy’ demonstrations.
http://www.catholicnews.org.uk/Home/News/Bishops-Resolutions-from-November-2011
20 – 26 November
I’m always inspired by the words of the preface for the Sunday of Christ the King which speak of
“a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love, and peace”.
Where do you see God’s kingdom present?
What can you to help make it realised here and now?
Prepare for Advent
Commission Member Anne O’Connor has produced a resource sheet of Reflections and Actions for Advent – attached and on Commission’s website.
13 – 19 November
“The book of nature is one and indivisible. Duties to the environment are linked to duties to the human person and towards one another”. Choosing the Common Good
- What links do you see between the environment and people? What duties do you consider you have to them?
- Reflect on the links between environment and people.
- Read the report from the Commission’s recent Enough to Live Simply event. Enough to Live Simply Report
- Attend this year’s Shrewsbury Diocese J&P Advent Reflection: Praying for Social Justice in the Psalms Speaker: Fr Geoff O’Grady. Venue: Wistaston Hall, 89 Broughton Lane, Crewe CW2 8JS. Sunday 11 December, 4.30 – 6.30 p.m. The reflection will be followed by seasonal refreshments, and it would be helpful if you could let us know if you are intending to be present. Flyers available on EVENTS page.
6 – 12 November
Here is an extract from the greeting given by Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace last Thursday at the Day of Reflection, Dialogue and Prayer for Peace and Justice in the World in Assisi.
“We come from different religious traditions and from various parts of the world to renew and strengthen a quest for the truth that each of us, out of our own tradition, is ceaselessly committed to. We come also to bear witness to the great power of religion for good, and to renew a common commitment to building peace, to reconciling those in conflict and to bringing man back into harmony with creation.
The twenty-five years of our joint effort for peace have richly displayed our sense of brotherhood and solidarity in the service of our world and the human family. But the years have also been fraught with challenges to the sense of man and history. We have entered a century in which ideologies would reduce the sense of human person, and distort the relationships with nature. The strong resource competition among peoples in a climate-constrained environment threatens to dissolve the fabric of human society and devastate the very order of creation which Francis of Assisi praised in his Canticle of the Sun. The beautiful song bespeaks an awakening to the universe to be seen not only as a collection of things to be worked and consumed but also as a “community of life” to be entered into profoundly, humbly and creatively.”
- Recall efforts for peace which have inspired you?
- Pray for those from other religious traditions working for peace and justice.
- How might you/do you meet those from other traditions who live in your community?
- Attend this year’s Shrewsbury Diocese J&P Advent Reflection: Praying for Social Justice in the Psalms Speaker: Fr Geoff O’Grady. Venue: Wistaston Hall, 89 Broughton Lane, Crewe CW2 8JS. Sunday 11 December, 4.30 – 6.30 p.m. The reflection will be followed by seasonal refreshments, and it would be helpful if you could let us know if you are intending to be present. Flyers available on EVENTS page.
30 October – 5 November
Last week the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace issued Towards Reforming the International, Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of Global Public Authority. In it the Council examines recent economic development in the light of ‘the principles and the cultural and moral values at the basis of social coexistence’ drawing on concepts fundamental to Catholic Social Teaching: human dignity, solidarity, subsidiarity, and the common good. Recalling that the purpose of public authority is ‘first and foremost to serve the common good’, the document suggests possible future developments which might reform international financial and monetary systems. Addressing ‘world leaders and all people of good will’, its authors describe the document as ‘an exercise of responsibility’ towards current and future generations, ‘so that hope for a better future and confidence in human dignity and capacity for good may never be extinguished’.
- Read the full document http://www.news.va/en/news/full-text-note-on-financial-reform-from-the-pontif
- Email David Cameron urging him to support the Robin Hood Tax at the G20 meeting in Cannes on 3-4 November www.cafod.org.uk/robinhoodtax (An initiative which seems to be supported in the Pontifical Council’s document.)
- Attend this year’s Shrewsbury Diocese J&P Advent Reflection: Praying for Social Justice in the Psalms Speaker: Fr Geoff O’Grady. Venue: Wistaston Hall, 89 Broughton Lane, Crewe CW2 8JS. Sunday 11 December, 4.30 – 6.30 p.m. The reflection will be followed by seasonal refreshments, and it would be helpful if you could let us know if you are intending to be present. Flyers available on EVENTS page.
23 – 29 October
During the Autumn, the Bishops’ ask us to pray for the spread of the Gospel; the harvest; the fruits of human work, and the reverent use of creation; justice and peace in the world; all victims of war; young people; prisoners and their families.
“The crisis in the financial sector was in essence a collapse of trust in economic institutions”, the Catholic Bishops’ wrote in Choosing the Common Good (2010). They maintain that “we are all in some way complicit in the current predicament, and the restoration of trust in the economic arena perhaps requires us all to change”
• How do you use your financial resources? How are they invested? What do you know of the ethics of the banks, insurance companies, utilities… you use? Are there changes you might make?
• Join your local credit union. Find your local credit union www.findyourcredtitunion.co.uk A Credit Union aims to help people by providing a place where they can save and borrow money safely and at a reasonable rate, and get advice on good money management. It is run as a co-operative ad any profit made is passed back to its members.
• Attend this year’s Shrewsbury Diocese J&P Advent Reflection: Praying for Social Justice in the Psalms Speaker: Fr Geoff O’Grady. Venue: Wistaston Hall, 89 Broughton Lane, Crewe CW2 8JS. Sunday 11 December, 4.30 – 6.30 p.m. The reflection will be followed by seasonal refreshments, and it would be helpful if you could let us know if you are intending to be present. Flyers available on EVENTS page.
16 – 22 October
During the Autumn, the Bishops’ ask us to pray for the spread of the Gospel; the harvest; the fruits of human work, and the reverent use of creation; justice and peace in the world; all victims of war; young people; prisoners and their families.
“Individual actions may seem insignificant but together the small steps of many people can have an astonishing impact”
(Catholic Bishops of England & Wales: Call of Creation, 2002)
Participants were reminded of these words during the Commission’s Enough to Live Simply event at Crewe on 15th October. After attending workshops on economics, sustainability, and the Live Simply Award, small group conversations enabled people to identify the small steps they might take. A report from the event will be available on the website soon.
• What small steps might you take this week towards a world of justice, love and peace?
• Look at the Live Simply Award website www.livesimplyaward.org.uk
• Send a message to Chancellor George Osborne: Don’t drop the ball on climate change. In this campaign, CAFOD is asking the government to show international leadership on climate finance to ensure the UK provides its fair share of finance to help people in developing countries adapt to climate change over the long term. www.cafod.org.uk/dontdroptheball
9 – 15 October
During the Autumn, the Bishops’ ask us to pray for the spread of the Gospel; the harvest; the fruits of human work, and the reverent use of creation; justice and peace in the world; all victims of war; young people; prisoners and their families.
‘Stories’ was a recurring theme for me at the end of last week. I attended an event called Enabling Voices in which sculptor Stephen Broadbent described the stories he has reflected in his work and participants told their stories of individuals. Then the theme re-occurred at the J&P Commission meeting on Saturday when those present considered the constantly changing and emerging map of their work. This was expressed well in Commission Member Anne O’Connor’s poem:
The Journey
Places familiar, places unknown, towns and villages we know and love and those yet to discover. What of the people who live there and the stories they have to tell?
We fashion the present from what has gone before, each new experience another step along the way, building blocks for generations yet to come.
What do we learn from the past to take to the present? What do we leave behind for our children and for our children’s children?
Journeys old and new: past, present and future – the map of our lives.
In Choosing the Common Good, the Catholic Bishops’ reflect on stories of personal tragedy and on stories of great generosity, ‘which raise our spirits and renew our sense of hope’.
- Be aware of the stories you hear this week. Do you find the presence of God within them?
- Attend Enough to livesimply (See below 15 October)
- Send a message to Chancellor George Osborne: Don’t drop the ball on climate change. In this campaign, CAFOD is asking the government to show international leadership on climate finance to ensure the UK provides its fair share of finance to help people in developing countries adapt to climate change over the long term. www.cafod.org.uk/dontdroptheball
2 – 8 October
During the Autumn, the Bishops’ ask us to pray for the spread of the Gospel; the harvest; the fruits of human work, and the reverent use of creation; justice and peace in the world; all victims of war; young people; prisoners and their families.
CAFOD, along with Christian Aid and Tearfund organised a successful event Bearing Witness on Saturday in Manchester on the eve of the Conservative Party Conference at which they urged the government to live up to its promise to be the ‘greenest government ever’. Nearly 1,000 people attended the vigil march and candlelit rally which followed the service in Manchester Cathedral on Saturday 1 October. Over twenty people from Shrewsbury Diocese were there for some part of the day.
“The environment is God’s gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards humanity as a whole.” Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate
- Register for Enough to livesimply (See below 15 October)
- Mark CAFOD Fast Day on 7 October
- Send a message to Chancellor George Osborne: Don’t drop the ball on climate change. In this campaign, CAFOD is asking the government to show international leadership on climate finance to ensure the UK provides its fair share of finance to help people in developing countries adapt to climate change over the long term. www.cafod.org.uk/dontdroptheball
25 September – 1 October
During the Autumn, the Bishops’ ask us to pray for the spread of the Gospel; the harvest; the fruits of human work, and the reverent use of creation; justice and peace in the world; all victims of war; young people; prisoners and their families.
You may find this reflection by Alistair Murray of Housing Justice on the disturbing events of the summer intersting.
Much is being written and said in the aftermath, and there are some interesting conferences this autumn examining the lessons.
For many involved in church action in their local community the riots and looting were shocking, though not completely unexpected. Day by day, after all, we live and work amongst the people most disenfranchised by the endemic poverty in society, and we inhabit the growing divide between the comfortable and those who are struggling for survival on the margins. The church is working to reweave the bonds of care and mutuality in our communities and neighbourhoods, and embodies the very counter cultural message: that we are not measured in the things we own, but that all are equally valued in God’s and each others eyes. As a speaker at this year’s greenbelt put it: our home, our security, our community is in each other.
This is the season of harvest, in the land and in the church. As a society the riots show that we reap what we have sown: how can we sow the Holy Spirit in our communities so that it is God’s fruits we will be gathering?
- Register for the Bearing Witness event at Manchester on 1 October
- Register for Enough to livesimply (See below 15 October.)
11 September – 17 September
During the Autumn, the Bishops’ ask us to pray for the spread of the Gospel; the harvest; the fruits of human work, and the reverent use of creation; justice and peace in the world; all victims of war; young people; prisoners and their families.
“The protection of creation and peacemaking are profoundly linked! For this reason, I invite all believers to raise a fervent prayer to God, the all-powerful Creator and Father of mercies, so that all men and women may take to heart the urgent appeal: If you want to cultivate peace protect creation.” Pope Benedict XVI (World Peace Day 2010).
Take some time to appreciate the changing colours of the trees.
Use the web-based resources for Creation Time 2011 www.ctbi.org.uk/creationtime
Register for Enough to livesimply (See below 15 October.)
4 September – 10 September
During the Autumn, the Bishops’ ask us to pray for the spread of the Gospel; the harvest; the fruits of human work, and the reverent use of creation; justice and peace in the world; all victims of war; young people; prisoners and their families.
Sunday 11 September, Racial Justice Sunday provides Christian communities throughout Britain and Ireland with an opportunity to come together to pray for an end to racism and injustice.
Attend Shrewsbury Diocese’s Racial Harmony Mass One Family on Sunday 11, 2.30 p.m. at St Paul, St Paul’s Street, Hyde SK14 2JU.
Pray for those affected. The material produced nationally – available on the Catholic Association for Racial Justice website www.carj.org.uk – focuses on the trafficking of people asserting that ‘480 people will be trafficked today worldwide’. Resources include this prayer produced by Christian Aid: Loving God, you make us in your image. Forgive us when we fail to see your image in each other, when we give in to greed and indifference when we do not question the systems that are life-denying. As we are made in your image, let us live in your image and be Christ-like in service, endurance and love. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Remember those still affected by the attacks on the world trade centre and the pentagon ten years ago on 11 September 2001. Reflections and readings from Pax Christi USA and others are here: www.paxchristi.org.uk/Documents/Security/reflections_9_11_11.pdf
.28 August – 3 September
The principle of the common good, fundamental to Catholic social teaching, seems ever more necessary as we look back at the civil unrest that disturbed the summer weeks. Are the principles advocated by the Bishops: the common good, integral human development and the pursuit of virtue helpful as we ask questions about the society in which we live?
31 July – 28 August
‘We are not created for futility. Integral human development is our vocation’ the Catholic Bishops reminded us in their document Choosing the Common Good. To be fruitful, work must be followed by rest, action by reflection. The notion of the Sabbath is an important corrective to the frenetic pace of modern life. I hope that have the opportunity during these summer months for rest, reflection and refreshment. That’s what I shall be doing during the next few weeks!
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 24 – 30 July
Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice & Peace sent the following encouragement to the National J&P Network for its recent conference ’Justice at work – A place of safety, fulfillment and growth?’:
‘I wish first and foremost to congratulate the NJPN for holding a meeting to consider Justice as indispensable condition for peace, fulfillment and growth. ‘Our world is witnessing the breaking waves of violence in North Africa and parts of the Middle East; and the cry that is heard in the lull, when the explosions cease, and in the smoldering ashes of destruction is a cry for JUSTICE. ‘The last African synod made all the participants, not only servants of justice, reconciliation and peace, but also the fashioners of the same. It is the yearning of the continent, where politically motivated conflicts trample it underfoot. It is the fading dream of the population of the Great Lakes region of East-Central Africa; and it is the hope that the new-born state of Southern Sudan will embrace it as both a theological and a social virtue. With prayerful wishes for a successful meeting’.
For reports of the weekend conference see the National J&P Network website www.justice-and-peace.org.uk .
- How are you a ‘fashioner of justice, reconciliation and peace’?
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 16-22 July
The National J&P Conference held at the weekend focussed on Justice at Work bringing to the light of the gospel the reality of life: 1 out of every five young people is out of work; one third of young people are employed in catering and hospitality, an area traditionally hostile to trade unions; a carer on the south coast is paid the minimum wage and is allowed a maximum of fifteen minutes with each patient: the average pension for a public sector worker is £7,000 a year.
At the Conference John Battle quoted Catholic Social Teaching, pointing out that going back to Rerum Novarum (1891) the Church has always priorities labour over capital. He quoted Pope John Paul II saying, “we are all together at the workbench of human life”. For further reading see the National J&P Network website www.justice-and-peace.org.uk .
Reflect on what helps those in your workplace flourish? What might help strenthen connections between workers?
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 10 – 16 July
In their document Choosing the Common Good, 2010, the Catholic Bishops spoke of the need to build up trust in society – between individuals, between the citizen and the state, and in our institutions.
In the light of recent concerns about the media, readers may wish to pray about the situation, to review their own media habits, and to contact their MPs before Wednesday’s debate of the Murdoch acquisition of BSkyB.
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 3 July – 9 July
The 9th July marks the occasion of the birth of South Sudan as an independent nation. CAFOD invites prayer and messages for the people of south Sudan at this time www.cafod.org.uk/sudanpeace .
God of Mercies,
We thank you for your great love for us all. We ask you to guide the leaders of Sudan in the process of nation building, and we pray that you might grant them and all your people your wisdom, compassion and fortitude.
We give thanks for all who have worked hard for peace and we pray for all those who have died during the long years of conflict.
Unite us all in solidarity, people of every race and language, every tribe and community.
God, bless the new nation of South Sudan and bless the Republic of Sudan,
as they face the future, a future full of hope,
We ask all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
(adapted by the novena approved by the Bishops of Sudan, Juba, May 2011)
Walk the J&P Walk: a five mile circular walk around Nantwich. Meet in the car park down St Anne’s Lane, off Welsh Row, behind the Black Lion (CW5 5ED) in Nantwich on Saturday 9 July for a five-mile walk with lunch at The Star in Acton. The walk will include the ‘CAFOD Mile’ an opportunity to raise money for CAFOD water projects (sponsor forms available from J&P Coordinator).
Pray for seafarers on Sea Sunday, 10th July, the day when the Catholic Church remembers seafarers and all they do for us as a nation. On Sea Sunday, 10th July, Catholic Churches take up a second collection with all funds raised going to Apostleship of the Sea to support its work. For more information www.apostleshipofthesea.org.uk .
Corpus Christi: 26 June – 2 July
‘We are not isolated individuals who happen to live side by side, but people really dependent on one another, whose fulfilment lies in the quality of our relationships’ (Choosing the Common Good, Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, 2010)
If we’re not to be just ‘isolated individuals who happen to live side by side’, we need to get to know one another. The J&P Walk provides a way of doing this. Meet in the car park down St Anne’s Lane, off Welsh Row, behind the Black Lion (CW5 5ED) in Nantwich on Saturday 9 July for a five-mile walk with lunch at The Star in Acton. The walk will include the ‘CAFOD Mile‘ an opportunity to raise money for CAFOD water projects (sponsor forms available from J&P Coordinator).
If last week’s ‘Refugee Week‘ made you want to know more of the complex issues of migration, read Louise Zanre’s moving reflection. Louise has been the director of the Jesuit Refugee Service UK for the last ten years. Zanre Refugee Week 2011 JRS
Trinity: 19 – 25 June
‘The principle of the common good not only embraces the whole human race now living, but those who are to come’. (Choosing the Common Good, Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, 2010)
Podcast: Dr Harry Hagopian discusses Middle East and North Africa
Consultant to the Bishops’ Conference on the Middle East, Dr Harry Hagopian contributes a regular podcast. In this week’s Middle East Analysis, Dr Hagopian discusses the on-going struggles and turmoil in the MENA region. He looks at the deteriorating situation in Syria with thousands of refugees fleeing into Turkey after a military crackdown in the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour.
He also looks at Yemen and the current state of play. President Ali Abdullah Saleh is undergoing medical treatment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for wounds suffered in an attack on his palace earlier this month.
Finally he discusses Bahrain, the lifting of emergency laws and a potentially significant court case. There is also a regional round-up examining the situation in Libya, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.
Dr Hagopian is an international lawyer and consultant to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales on the Middle East. He’s also a former Assistant General Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches and Executive Secretary of the Jerusalem Inter-Church Committee.
To listen to the podcast see: http://www.catholicchurch.org.uk/mena-7
Dr Harry Hagopian’s website is at: http://www.epetasis.net/
Cooperatives Fortnight
Co-operatives Fortnight is the co-operative sector’s national campaign. From 25 June to 9 July 2011 it will highlight how co-operative businesses share their profits, give people an equal say and help build a better world. It aims to collect 100,000 signatures on the petition, in order to trigger a debate on the gap between rich and poor in Parliament. Close the Gap is a national campaign run by Church Action on Poverty in partnership with a range of churches and partner organisations, including the Baptist Union, Church Urban Fund, Methodist Church, National Justice and Peace Network, United Reformed Church and Vincentians in Partnership. www.church-poverty.org.uk
Pentecost: 12 – 18 June
‘The Church’s social teaching illuminates with an unchanging light the new problems that are constantly emerging.’
HE Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, used this image on his recent visit to London to describe the work of justice and peace. It offers us a constructive agenda: to identify emerging problems and to bring them to the light of social teaching. The recently produced website www.catholicsocialteaching.org.uk is an excellent resource.
Ascension: 5 - 11 June
“The principle of the common good requires that the essential dignity of every human life is upheld because our life is not our property to dispose of but a gift to treasure” (Choosing the Common Good, Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, 2010)
You may wish to sign Women’s Rights Without Frontiers international petition against forced abortion and sexual slavery in China: www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=sign_our_petition and to view the organisation’s short video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjtuBcJUsjY
Sixth Week of Easter: 29 May – 4 June
5 June is marked by the United Nations as World Environment Day and resources can be found at www.unep.org/wed . In their document The Call of Creation, the Catholic Bishops remind us
“care for the environment is fundamental to the universal good, since the health and well-being of all life depends on a healthy environment.”
The LIVE SIMPLY AWARD (see below) provides us with positive, lively resources to help parishes take this responsibility seriously.
Fifth Week of Easter: 22 – 28 May
Could you be a live simply parish?
A new initiative was launched last week by CAFOD and Eco-Congregation to give national recognition to Catholic parishes who are making a difference to their communities – and the world. To qualify for the livesimply award your parish must carry out a simple parish self-assessment and action plan to demonstrate how you will bring the livesimply principles to life. For more details visit www.livesimplyaward.org.uk . For help and encouragement contact the J&P Coordinator or CAFOD Shrewsbury.
“Indeed we are all called to exercise responsible stewardship of creation, to use resources in such a way that every individual and community can live with dignity, and to develop that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God”. Pope Benedict XVI, UN Climate Change Initiative, 2009.
Fourth Week of Easter: 15 – 21 May
Last Friday a celebration was held to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of Vocation for Justice the magazine produced by Columban JPIC (Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation). The Columban’s have produced a special issue ‘celebrating 25 years solidarity with the poor and the exploited earth’. It includes articles which inform, inspire and encourage written by people involved in working in a variety of contacts.
Third Week of Easter: 8 – 14 May
J&P COMMISSION NEWS: During the coming year members of the Commission hope to:
- invite parish websites to make a link to the Commission’s website
- compile a list of social action projects in which parishes in the diocese are involved
- construct a J&P Youth website page with contributions from schools and youth groups
- promote CAFOD’s Live Simply Parish initiative
- organise a follow-up to the Enough is Enough event (15 October)
- identify means to show solidarity with persecuted Christians particularly those in the Middle East
If you would like to be involved in any of these initiatives, please let the J&P Coordinator know.
Second Week of Easter: 1 – 7 May
An important week for the J&P Commission as it meets on Wednesday 4 May to finalise its action plan for the year April 2011 – March 2010. So, more news later this week!
This morning, I’ve been looking at a new resource for young people produced by Pax Christi. The Wall: a Pax Christi Peace Education Workshop it explores the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine and provides materail to ‘encourage young people to critically engage with both sides of the conflict and to develop an understanding of the demands made on the peacemaker in this longstanding conflict’. It is available from Pax Christi www.paxchristi.org.uk .
I hope your experience Easter deepens your believe in a God of life who brings new life from death. More news in May.
Holy Week: 17 – 23 April
Just One Year Edited by Timothy Radcliffe and available from CAFOD contains moving prayers and reflections for the whole year including this prayer by Janet Morley for Holy Week:
Christ our Lord, You refused the way of domination And died the death of a slave. May we also refuse to lord it Over those who are subject to us, But share the weight of authority So that all may be empowered In your name. Amen.
5th Week of Lent: 10 – 16 April
Over eighty people attended our event ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: A Christian challenge to our Current Lifestyle which addressed the question, ‘How can we live fairly on a finite planet? Those present, who came from various Christian traditions and none, appreciated insights given by Ellen Teague, editor of the Columban magazine, Vocation for Justice, and Linda Jones, Leader of CAFOD’s Theology Programme. There were many suggestions for how individuals and groups might take the issues further: sources of information and resources for action such as the Live Simply initiative. People seem to enjoy the day and to be determined to respond to the issues and really keen to meet up in six month’s time to look at what they’ve managed to do as a result of the day. So, it’s just a start. We’ll be putting a full report of the day on the website soon, but you can read Linda’s talk: Linda Jones talk 9-4-11
4th Week of Lent: 3 – 9 April
It was sad to read of the death of Fr Austin Smith, a Passionist priest who lived and ministered in Toxteth, Liverpool. He crossed the River Mersey to speak at J&P events in Shrewsbury Diocese and was an inspiration to those of us who’ve been involved in J&P for some years. Rest in peace, Austin.
PROGRESSIO has a range of speakers available to address J&P gatherings on a wide range of topics. These include:
- Belisario Nieto (Learning Manager)
- Christin Allen (Executive Director)
- Daniel Hale (Campaigns Officer)
- Lizzette Robleto (Policy and Advocacy Officer, Latin America and the Caribbean)
- Petra Kjell (Environment Policy and Advocacy Officer)
- Steve Kibble (Policy and Advocacy Officer, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia)
- Tim Aldred (Policy and Communications Manager)For full details of the range of subjects which can be covered or to book any of these speakers, contact Daniel Hale (0207 288 8617) daniel@progressio.org.uk .
3rd Week of Lent: 27 March – 2 April
Registrations are now coming in thick and fast for our ENOUGH IS ENOUGH event – see below. Do let me know if you intend to come – so that we have enough chairs…coffee…papers…
2nd Week of Lent: 20 – 26 March
Thursday marks the 31st ANNIVERARY OF THE ASSASSINATION OF ARCHBISHOP OSCAR ROMERO of El Salvador. There will be a service to mark the event on Thursday 24th at St Margaret Ward, Cherry Lane, Sale M33 4GY at 7.30 p.m. On Tuesday 22nd, Fr Juan Hernandez Pico, SJ, a Central American theologian and social scientist, will give a lecture: Romero and the Social Gospel – the Challenge for us Today, 7.00 p.m. at Ss Peter & Paul Church, Pendleton, Salford M6 8JR organised by the Archbisop Romero Trust with CAFOD Salford. For more information about Romero, see www.romerotrust.org.uk . Reflecting on his experience in El Salvador, Michael Campbell-Johnston, SJ, has written an inspiring article The Martyrs of our Modern Church for the online journal of the British Jesuits http://www.thinkingfaith.org/ .
HE Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, gave the Bishop Dunn Memorial Lecture 2011, in Leeds on 11 March. The lecture was entitled The Gospel and Social Teaching: On Human Flourishing, the Economic Crisis and Christian Ministry and was co-sponsored by the Centre for Catholic Studies of Durham University and CAFOD. The full text is available here:
Cardinal Turkson Durham Lecture
1st Week of Lent: 13 – 19 March
Friday 18 March is CAFOD FAST DAY wwwcafod.org.uk . Time to put all that money saved in chocolate, cakes and wine to good use!
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: A Christian Challenge to our Current Lifestyle. How can we all flourish fairly on a finite planet? If you’ve still to register for our event on 9 April, do let us know you are coming – it will help enormously with the organisation. We’ve two really good speakers in Ellen Teague, Editor of the Columban’s magazine, Vocation for Justice and Linda Jones, Theology Programme Leader at CAFOD (and author of many moving CAFOD prayers). We hope that will be inspiring and informative and that the content will be accesible to all of us who aren’t experts on these issues. For more information see EVENTS page.
Ninth Week in Ordinary Time: 6th -12 March
The PAX CHRISTI ICON left our Diocese for that of Wrexham today. It’s been hosted by five parishes: St Werburgh’s, Birkenhead; St Joseph’s Birkenhead; St John’s, New Ferry; St Alban’s Macclesfield; and St Edward’s Runcorn and two schools: St John Plessington Catholic College and St Mary’s Primary Scool, Crewe. People found it inspiring and enjoyed exploring some of the stories depicted on the Icon. I was impressed by hearing the children of St Mary’s Primary School recount the story of Esau and Jacob. This school is outstanding in its peace education and pupils were able to connect the theme of reconciliation at the heart of the story and their work for peace.
ASH WEDNESDAY 9 March marks the beginning of Lent. Do look at the liturgy resources on our RESOURCES page.
Looking ahead to the local elections which will take place in May, the West Midlands Region Churches Forum has produced a briefing Preparing for Local Elections, May 2011: could Churches in your area arange a meeting? It offers questions which might be asked of prospective canditate. It is available on our RESOURCES page.Eighth Week in Ordinary Time: 27 February – 5 March
Thanks to the J&P Group at Macclesfield for hosting an evening with the Pax Christi ICON last week for around forty-five people! There will be another opportunity to see the ICON on Wednesday 1 March at St Edward’s, Runcorn at 7.30 p.m.
As we begin FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT its encouraging to read that there’s now a certificate for Fairtrade gold! More information from CAFOD www.cafod.org.uk/fairtrade/gold .
We’re greatful for comments received on this newly updated website and welcome your suggestions for how to improve it further.
Seventh Week in Ordinary Time: 20 – 26 February
PROGRESSIO EMPOWER is a brand new scheme launched by the Catholic Development charity Progressio. If you’re 18 – 22 (or older if you want to be a leader) you could be heading to Malawi, Peru or El Salvador for 10 weeks in July, October or January, and maybe for free. You’ll find out about life in a developing country, make a real difference overseas and bring back your experiences to your community in the UK. If you are interested, act fast – places are limited and if you want to go for the summer, you’ll have to apply by 13 March. Register now to be amongst the first to apply at www.progressio.org.uk/empower .
Sixth Week in Ordinary Time: 13 – 19 February
LENT is only three weeks away. You might like to look at our RESOURCES page, which includes details of new CAFOD resources.
Fifth Week in Ordinary Time: 6 – 12 February
J&P COMMISSION MEETING Members of the Commission met Saturday, 5 February at St Clare’s, Chester. Business was preceded by prayer with the Pax Christi Icon, which those present found very moving. There are opportunities to see the Icon at St Albans, Macclesfield on 23 February, 8.00 p.m. and at St Edward’s, Runcorn on Wednesday 2 March, 7.00 p.m.
Looking ahead to FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT (28 Feb – 3 March) Harriet Lamb from the Fairtrade Foundation will be speaking at a Fairtrade Event at Stockport Town Hall on Wednesday 8 March, 12.00. Also, on Fairtrade Fortnight, an ecumenical J&P group plans to put together a display of fair-trade cotton garments to help parishioners ‘cotton-on’ to the fact that fair trade is about more than coffee and bananas!
VOCATION FOR JUSTICE and the NATIONAL J&P NEWSLETTER arrived in the post this morning. Vocation for Justice www.columbans.co.uk produced by the Columban J&P team is a really good read, and this edition focuses on ‘the big society’. The NJPN Newsletter www.justice-and-peace.org.uk celebrates young people’s commitment to J&P – a really encouraging read. I can supply hard copies of these, if you would like to have them.
Fourth Week in Ordinary Time: 30 January – 6 February, 2011
The NATIONAL J&P NETWORKING DAY on Saturday 12 February, 10.30 – 4.00 explores an area which will be new to many of us. Eamonn O’Brien ssc, Cultural Exchange with china, will speak on ‘The Resurrection of the Catholic Church in China’ at the Chinese Methodist Church, 208 Corporation Street, Birmingham B4 6QW. All welcome. (admin@justice-and-peace.org.uk, 0207901 4864).
This week is POVERTY & HOMELESSNESS ACTION WEEK Take a look at its moving daily prayer calendar www.actionweek.org.uk .
CAFOD’s latest CAMPAIGN Get Down to Business focuses on ‘harnessing the poser of small businesses to lift people out of poverty’. To find out more, go to www.cafod.org.uk/business .
Third Week in Ordinary Time: 23-30 January, 2011
POVERTY & HOMELESSNESS ACTION WEEK
This Sunday, 30 January, is Homelessness Sunday, and the start of Poverty & Homelessness Action Week. Use its prayer calendar to pray, act and give during the week!
Each day of the week, the prayer calendar will provide a video story, some facts about poverty and exclusion, and ideas for prayer and action. www.actionweek.org.uk
RESOURCES FOR LENT
SHREWSBURY DIOCESE Justice and Peace Stations of the Cross – a journey alongside Jesus as he suffers his Passion produced by Commission Member Anne O’Connor is available on the # page.
PAX CHRISTI www.paxchristi.org.uk has available:
- Follow Me – The Way of the Cross with reflections from the writings of Franz Jägerstätter. Suitable for personal use or for leading the Stations in your church. £2.50..
- Show Me Your Face Daily reflections for Lent based on the Year A scripture readings. Written by Fr Gerry Hughes SJ. Published jointly by Pax Christi and SCIAF. £1.50.
Second Week in Ordinary Time: 16-23 January, 2011
PEACE SUNDAY
It’s encouraging to know that Peace Sunday has been celebrated in – at least – several places in the diocese. Do let us know if it was celebrated in your parish.
PAX CHRISTI ICON
The Icon was at St Werburgh’s, Birkenhead on Friday 14 January and at St Joseph’s, Birkenhead over the weekend Saturday 15/Sunday 16.
The J&P Commission hopes to use it for its meeting on Saturday 5 February and then it spends the weekend at St John’s, New Ferry. Later in the month it will be at St Edward’s, Runcorn and St Alban’s, Macclesfield (Wednesday, 23 February).
