Understanding God’s love for humanity, the commandment of love calls forth a renewed commitment as a response to that love. This encyclical articulates the Church’s charitable activity as an expression of God’s love. Charity must be grounded in a personal encounter with Christ, who awakens the meaning of love of neighbor.
Pope Benedict XVI deepens the Church’s social teachings, by grounding them in love and truth. Justice is linked to charity and the faithful are called to practice justice for the common good. Building a future of peace, justice and love is dependent on fundamental values of justice and charity.
Share the Signs of Our Times you encounter during this Christmas season in the joys and hopes, grief and anguish of those who live on the margins of our community.
Share this video invitation to make 2023 a year of a culture of encounter in your social and environmental action.
The Catholic narrative at the COPs is related to the financing of Loss and Damage (L&D), the financing of just transition in terms of alternative energies, and the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas). In line with this, earlier this year, the Vatican Dicastery for Human Development adopted the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty calling for the proliferation of coal, oil and gas by ending all new exploration and production of coal, oil and gas, an existing phase-out production of fossil fuels in line with the 1.5ºC global climate goal and a fast track in real solutions and a just and fair transition for everyone.
In this sense, the outcome of COP 27 is deeply disappointing for the Catholic community who hoped and worked for an advanced agreement on fossil fuel phase-out. Instead, what was agreed upon was a copy and paste of the Glasgow accord referencing a phase-down of unabated coal power, phase-out of inefficient oil subsidies, and the inclusion of a transition to low-emission energy, which is essentially gas that is a source of GHG emissions. (Full report available here)
Goal Seven of Laudato Si invites us: Community resilience and empowerment envisage a synodal journey of community engagement and participatory action at various levels. Actions could include promoting advocacy and developing people’s campaigns, encouraging rootedness and a sense of belonging in local communities and neighbourhood ecosystems.
You can read about the Laudato Si Action Plan for the Archdiocese of Brisbane here
The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission is a member body of Queensland Conservation Council and welcomes this opportunity for local action and support.
Queensland has a rich natural legacy – an abundance of plant and animal species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world.
Sadly, we’re also a state that has historically fallen well short when it comes to protecting that natural legacy for future generations.
Queensland has the highest rate of deforestation in the country and one of the highest rates of animal extinction in the world.
We’re failing to do the basics when it comes to protecting our home – and we’re going to shortchange our kids and grand kids unless we do more for Queensland’s wildlife and natural places.
Establishing a strong, independent environmental protection agency (EPA) is a much-needed first step to protecting this natural legacy.
Queensland is the only state in Australia without an EPA and now is our opportunity to implement an independent agency with the authority needed to make the tough calls.
An EPA acts as a watchdog to enforce the laws that protect our natural places and wildlife. Without one, there’s no one to hold those who exploit the rules accountable.
Let’s take this opportunity to build the EPA that Queensland deserves to preserve our natural legacy for future generations. If you believe we need an independent EPA with teeth, please feel free to use our letter template to develop a letter to send to your MP. You can also download it as a Word Doc here.
You are invited to the inaugural Oscar Romero Awards celebration.
Join us to celebrate the achievements of people seeking asylum and their social justice advocates, on the 12th November, at the Hanly Room, Cathedral of St Stephen’s, Brisbane City.
The event is a cocktail event and will have fun activities including silent and live auctions of works by the art group at the Romero Centre – Passion for Arts.
In 2015, Pope Francis wrote Laudato Si’ (The Letter); an encyclical letter about the environmental crisis to every single person in the world. A few years later, four voices that have gone unheard in global conversations have been invited to an unprecedented dialogue with the Pope. Hailing from Senegal, the Amazon, India, and Hawai’i, they bring perspective and solutions from the poor, the indigenous, the youth, and wildlife into a conversation with Pope Francis himself. This documentary follows their journey to Rome and the extraordinary experiences that took place there, and is packed with powerfully moving personal stories alongside the latest information about the planetary crisis and the toll it’s taking on nature and people. Because, in the words of the Laudato Si’ Movement chair Lorna Gold, “once you know, you CANNOT look away.” #LaudatoSiFilm Learn more about the protagonists and how you can take action at https://TheLetterFilm.org
The Season of Creation runs from the World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation – September 1 – to the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi – October 4. It is a time set aside each year to focus on God’s gift of creation and our responsibility to care for it, our common home.
The theme for the Season of Creation in 2022 is Listen to the Voice of Creation.
There are many resources available to support you in your efforts to celebrate the Season of Creation. A key resource is the Season of Creation web site. Here you will find: ⦁ A celebration guide which provides a prayer service template from which you can choose material to use in your context ⦁ Social media and newsletter graphics and wording ⦁ A message from Pope Francis and more. The site also has a wealth of other resources which you may find useful for preparing a special Mass, a prayer service or other activities during the Season.
A Catholic Season of Creation
The Columbans in Australia have compiled resources to help you to incorporate Season of Creation themes into each Sunday Mass during the Season. You can access their resources and find out more here.
Pope Francis’ Message for the World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation 2022 One way you can help your community engage in the Pope’s message is to share a quote on each of the five Sundays during the Season of Creation. Here are five examples you can use:
Sunday 4 September The sweet song of creation invites us to practise an “ecological spirituality” (Laudato Si’, 216), attentive to God’s presence in the natural world. It is a summons to base our spirituality on the “loving awareness that we are not disconnected from the rest of creatures, but joined in a splendid universal communion” (ibid., 220). Sunday 11 September For the followers of Christ in particular, this luminous experience reinforces our awareness that “all things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being” (Jn 1:3). In this Season of Creation, we pray once more in the great cathedral of creation, and revel in the “grandiose cosmic choir” made up of countless creatures, all singing the praises of God. Let us join Saint Francis of Assisi in singing: “Praise be to you, my Lord, for all your creatures” (cf. Canticle of Brother Sun). Let us join the psalmist in singing, “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!” (Ps 150:6). Sunday 18 September Tragically, that sweet song {of creation} is accompanied by a cry of anguish. Or even better: a chorus of cries of anguish. In the first place, it is our sister, mother earth, who cries out. Prey to our consumerist excesses, she weeps and implores us to put an end to our abuses and to her destruction. Then too, there are all those different creatures who cry out. At the mercy of a “tyrannical anthropocentrism” (Laudato Si’, 68), completely at odds with Christ’s centrality in the work of creation, countless species are dying out and their hymns of praise silenced. Sunday 25 September …There are also the poorest among us who are crying out. Exposed to the climate crisis, the poor feel even more gravely the impact of the drought, flooding, hurricanes and heat waves that are becoming ever more intense and frequent. Likewise, our brothers and sisters of the native peoples are crying out. As a result of predatory economic interests, their ancestral lands are being invaded and devastated on all sides, “provoking a cry that rises up to heaven” (Querida Amazonia, 9).
Sunday 2 October
…Finally, there is the plea of our children. Feeling menaced by shortsighted and selfish actions, today’s young people are crying out, anxiously asking us adults to do everything possible to prevent, or at least limit, the collapse of our planet’s ecosystems.
Intercessory Prayers
Here are a selection of prayers of intercession from which you may choose a prayer to include in the Intercessory Prayers of each Sunday in the Season of Creation or which you may use at a special Mass or prayer service for the Season of Creation:
For all that You have created, that we may always be aware that we are not disconnected from other creatures, but joined in a splendid universal communion. Lord, hear us. For Your wondrous gift of creation, that we may join St. Francis of Assisi and all of creation in ceaselessly praising You, our creator. Lord, hear us. For our sister, mother earth, who cries out because of the impact of our consumerist excesses, that we may put an end to our abuses and take action to end her destruction. Lord, hear us. For the countless animal and plant species that are dying out and whose praise of You is being silenced, that urgent and effective action is taken to ensure their survival. Lord, hear us. For our poorest sisters and brothers who feel much more acutely the impact of extreme weather events associated with climate change. That world leaders will hear their cry for dignity and justice and take timely action. Lord, hear us. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples whose traditional lands and places of cultural significance are being devastated by economic interests. That their cries for justice are heeded and result in appropriate action by Government and business leaders. Lord, hear us. For world leaders who will gather for the COP 27 on climate and the COP 15 on biodiversity later this year. That they will remain resolute in their commitment to do what is needed to prevent the devastating impacts of climate change and halt the alarming loss of biological diversity. Lord, hear us. For the children of the world who are worried about the impact on the earth of short-sighted and selfish actions. That all adults will share in the responsibility to offer them a future without immense ecosystem collapse. Lord, hear us.
Other Resources
You may wish to use some of the resources below as part of your Season of Creation Masses, services and events or to share them in your newsletters over the Season of Creation.
This is NAIDOC Week (3 – 10 July). It is a weeklong celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, history and contributions. The 2022 theme is Get Up, Stand Up, Show Up.
Many NAIDOC events are being held across the Archdiocese this week. Here are just a few, but please keep an eye out for any changes that may happen because of wet weather:
· NAIDOC at the Pools, Beenleigh Aquatic Centre, City Rd., Beenleigh & Logan North Aquatic Centre, 2 Sports Dr., Underwood, Wednesday 6 July, 12:00 – 1:00 PM
· Ipswich Family and Cultural Day, Briggs Rd. Sports Complex, Flinders View, Thursday 7 July, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
· Gayndah NAIDOC Family Fun Day, Lions Park, Gayndah, Thursday 7 July, 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM
· Brisbane Family Fun Day, Musgrave Park 91 Cordelia St., South Brisbane, Friday 8 July, 10:00 Am – 4:00 PM
· Wan’dini Sunshine Coast Family Fun Day, Quota Park, Nambour, Saturday 9 July, 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM
· Gold Coast Titans NAIDOC Event, Viney Park, 1 Yaun St., Coomera, Wednesday 6 July, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
· Fraser Coast Family Fun Day, Scarness Jetty, Hervey Bay, Thursday 7 July, from 11:00 AM
· Inala NAIDOC Family Fun Day, C.J. Greenfield Complex Park, 149 Kimberley St., Richlands, Wednesday 6 July, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
· Cherbourg NAIDOC Celebration, Memorial Park (opposite the Ration Shed Museum), Cherbourg, Tuesday 5 July, from 10:00 AM.
The Logan NAIDOC Celebration at the Kingston Butter Factory Cultural Precinct has been postponed until mid-August.
All are welcome to the NAIDOC Mass to be celebrated in the Cathedral of St. Stephen, Elizabeth St., Brisbane, this Sunday 10 July at 12 noon.
Laudato Si’
Are you interested in exploring how your parish could get involved in the Archdiocese of Brisbane Laudato Si’ Action Plan? Your involvement can be as simple as asking for help to establish a study group to learn what Pope Francis teaches in his encyclical, Laudato Si’. Your involvement can be as simple and as flexible as you want it to be. Simply contact our Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, and he can discuss how we can support you. Either e-mail him at arndtp@bne.catholic.net.au or call on 0409 265 476.
You may even want to consider enrolling your parish in the Laudato Si’ Action Platform. This can also be as simple as you want it to be. There is no obligation to undertake a time-consuming or expensive audit to participate. , please contact Peter as above and we can help you to tailor your participation to your needs and circumstances.
Individuals, families and schools are also welcome to consider enrolling in the Platform. Please contact us and we can offer you advice and support.
The Season of Creation is a special time of the year set aside for us to reflect on the gift of creation and our responsibility to care for it. It runs from September 1, the World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation, to October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
Promoting participation in the Season of Creation is one of the actions identified in the Archdiocese of Brisbane Laudato Si’ Action Plan. Why not organise a Season of Creation service in your parish, school or office during this time?
This year’s theme is : Listen to the Voice of Creation. Resources are now available to help you to get involved. Take a look at the resources, which include a celebration guide, at the Season of Creation web site.
The Queensland Churches Environmental Network (QCEN) will hold an ecumenical service for the Season of Creation on 1 September at 7:30 PM at the Albert Street Uniting Church, 319 Albert Street, Brisbane City. All are welcome.
Social Justice Statement 2022 – 2023
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference will launch their new Social Justice Statement, Respect: Confronting Violence and Abuse, nationally in early August. It explores the roots of violence and pays particular attention to the impact of violence on women and children. It proposes a number of responses from faith communities to violence in the community. The text of the Statement and other resources will become progressively available, but liturgy notes are already available here.
Printed copies of the Statement and the accompanying prayer card will only be available through a direct order from the printer.
A Brisbane launch of the Social Justice Statement will take place at St. James’ Hall, 92 Kirkland Avenue, Coorparoo, on Tuesday 23 August, at 7 for 7:30 PM. All are welcome to this event which will also be livestreamed.
Signs of Our Times
Signs of Our Times was officially launched a month ago by Archbishop Coleridge. Signs of Our Times is a collaboration between the Commission and the ACBC Office for Justice Ecology and Peace. It seeks to promote a culture of encounter in Catholic social action. It encourages action which is grounded in prayer, scripture and the Church’s tradition. It is a resource to help us to be a church on mission.
We are happy to help you to use these resources to enter more deeply into the daily struggles of the people around you. Take a look at the resources and, if you are interested in learning more, please contact Peter Arndt at arndtp@bne.catholic.net.au or on 0409 265 476 and we will help you to use these resources to become a more missionary Church.
The National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) has just released its resource booklet for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Sunday on 3 July. It has resources for you to use including liturgy notes, homily notes, youth resources and lots more.
Refugee Week is 19 – 25 June. The theme of Refugee Week this year is Healing. The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office and the Office for Justice Ecology and Peace have collaborated to provide you with resources to help you celebrate Refugee Week. They have also organised a Refugee Week prayer service on Monday 20 June at 6:00 PM. You can register for the on-line service and find the resources at:
A Laudato Si’ Action Plan for the Archdiocese of Brisbane was launched on Pentecost Sunday which was also World Environment Day. The plan has been accepted by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and is on its Laudato Si’ Action Platform. It contains a range of actions linked to the Platform’s seven goals. Further actions will be added in the coming seven years. Agencies within the Archdiocese will implement the actions. Resources and opportunities for parishes and individual Catholics will become available over the course of the next year. If you or your parish would like to know more and want to get involved at your pace and to suit your circumstances, please contact our Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, at arndtp@bne.catholic.net.au.
Signs of Our Times was officially launched on 31st May by Archbishop Coleridge. Signs of Our Times is a collaboration between the Commission and the ACBC Office for Justice Ecology and Peace. It seeks to promote a culture of encounter in Catholic social action. It encourages action which is grounded in prayer, scripture and the Church’s tradition.
A recording of the launch is available at:
At the launch, the Commission announced that it would undertake a number of initiatives including organising visits to Cherbourg Aboriginal community and offering help to parishes wanting to use the Signs of Our Times resources in their own context. If you want to find out more, plese contact our Executive Officer, Peter Arndt at arndtp@bne.catholic.net.au.
Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of Brisbane 