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.
We would love to see you there!
With much gratitude
Mengistu Hailu, Romero Centre Manager
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.
⦁ Australia’s State of the Environment Report A comprehensive assessment of the state of Australia’s environment was released in July this year:
An Ecological Examen s a tool to help you to deepen your commitment to care for creation and the most vulnerable people on the planet:
Happy NAIDOC Week 2022!!!
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.
A recording of the launch is available at:
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.
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Sunday is on July 3
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.
Congratulate New Queensland Greats
The Commission congratulates those First Nations people announced recently as Queensland Greats for 2022, Prof. Gracelyn Smallwood and Uncle Albert Holt.
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:
The Archdiocese of Brisbane’s Laudato Si’ Action Plan Is Officially Launched
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.
This newsletter caters for a wide range of interests. Don’t feel obliged to read every item. If you don’t have much time, just choose those items which interest you.
The Church in the Modern World
Ash Wednesday already seems a long time ago, but the Pope’s homily for that day is worth a read. He focusses on the temptation to seek recognition and admiration from others instead of the reward God offers us:
…The Lord, however, speaks of two kinds of reward to which our lives can tend: a reward from the Father and, on the other hand, a reward from others. The first is eternal, the true and ultimate reward, the purpose of our lives. The second is ephemeral, a spotlight we seek whenever the admiration of others and worldly success become the most important thing for us, our greatest gratification. Yet the latter is merely an illusion. It is like a mirage that, once we get there, proves illusory; it leaves us unfulfilled. Restlessness and discontent are always around the corner for those who look to a worldliness that attracts but then disappoints. Those who seek worldly rewards never find peace or contribute to peace. They lose sight of the Father and their brothers and sisters. This is a risk we all face, and so Jesus tells us to “beware”. As if to say: “You have a chance to enjoy an infinite reward, an incomparable reward. Beware, then, and do not let yourself be dazzled by appearances, pursuing cheap rewards that disappoint as soon as you touch them”. (Full text)
50 Years of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy
50 years ago, four young Aboriginal men erected the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra. It is still going strong today. A recent podcast discusses the role the Tent Embassy has played in the struggle for land rights and the connection between that struggle and the struggle to overcome the many problems facing First Nations people in Australia. It’s well worth a listen here.
Learning about the History of Dispossession
So That We Remember is a web site which seeks to provide resources for a deepening awareness of the violent dispossession of Australia’s First Nations people:
Join an On-Line Forum – Fair Go for Refugees: Australia Can Do Better!
Join this forum on Wednesday 6 April, 7pm – 8.15pm. Register here:
This online forum, hosted by the Australian Refugee Action Network and supported by Amnesty International, will explore our treatment of refugees and those who seek protection, and how this could be entirely different, with some reflection on Australia’s more enlightened response to the Vietnamese refugee crisis in the late 70s. Don’t miss a great line-up of speakers.
Palm Sunday Rally for Peace and Refugees
This year’s Palm Sunday Rally for Peace and Refugees will take place in King George Square, Adelaide Street, Brisbane, on Sunday 10 April from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The focus of the rally will be freedom and justice for refugees and an end to the militarism which creates refugees. All are welcome.
Refugees Need Your Support
Many of you helped to convince the Queensland Government to renew the contract for the Asylum Seeker and Refugee Assistance (ASRA) Program last year. Although the $8 million over 4 years to provide wrap-around support for refugees and people seeking asylum was much more than we expected, the demand for support exceeds ASRA’s capacity. ASRA supports individuals and families who have had income and accommodation support removed and also those who have been released from detention without support. Paying rent is one of the biggest struggles. In the current rental market, when leases are renewed, weekly rents are being increased by between $30 and $50. If you can make a tax deductible donation to the ASRA Program, you will help to relieve the stress faced by many refugees in SE Queensland. Some have also lost much because of the recent floods.
Donations can be made to:
Communify Gift Fund
BSB: 064 123 Account: 10123138 Reference: ASRA Rent
Please email anneh@communify.org.au with your name, date of deposit and referencing ASRA Rent and you will be provided with a receipt for your tax deduction. For any further information or questions please email Anne Hilton anneh@communify.org.au
Principles for Australia’s Refugee Policy
The Kaldor Centre at the University of NSW recently released an updated set of principles to guide Australia’s refugee policy. These will be a valuable resource if you want to raise issues about refugee policy with your local candidates in the upcoming Federal election. The principles are available in summary and in full here.
Caring for Our Common Home
Easter is coming soon. It’s a good time to think about taking some small actions to care for our common home.
Information about buying Easter eggs and chocolates which are not produced using slave labour and which don’t contribute to more deforestation is at:
There are many guides available to help you to celebrate Easter in a way that cares for the earth and all who live on it. Take a look at Clean Up Australia’s tips here.
Try to keep your Easter feast simple, minimise food waste and avoid wasteful packaging. Try offering an experience or a service as a gift instead of chocolate and other objects. With a bit of thought and care, we can minimise waste. The money you save could be added to your Project Compassion donation or to the Queensland flood relief appeal or to an environmental organisation working to protect endangered species like the koala.
Laudato Si’ Week is 16 – 24 May.
The Office for Justice Ecology and Peace has produced some resources for you to use each day for prayer, reflection and action:
Don’t forget enrolments for families, schools, parishes and other organisations for the Laudato Si’ Action Platform close on Earth Day, 22 April. But, don’t worry if you can’t enrol by then. A new round of enrolments will open later in 2022. For more information
Death Penalty Prayer Vigil
Please join us for our annual death penalty prayer vigil to pray for those on death row, their families and for the victims of crime. It will be held on Good Friday, 15 April, at 12 noon at Christ the King Church, Churchill Street, Graceville.
Solidarity with the People of Ukraine
The suffering of the people of Ukraine worsens as the Russian invasion continues. Many thanks to you all for your solidarity with the people of Ukraine in this time of great hardship. Your prayers and practical support are a sign of your commitment to peace and justice. Fr. Stefan and the Ukrainian Catholic Community continue to welcome you to join them in prayers for peace at daily divine service at the Ukrainian Catholic Church, 36 Broadway Street, Woolloongabba. Divine service commences at 9:00 Am each weekday and at 9:30 AM on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s service is in English.
There are a variety of appeals providing practical support to Ukrainians affected by the invasion, including the many who have fled to other countries. You might like to support this appeal.
You can keep in touch with further action and appeals by the Ukrainian Community of Queensland here.
We invite you to also include those in other parts of the world who continue to live with violence and oppression including Myanmar, Yemen and West Papua.
This newsletter is authorised by Commission Chair, Maree Rose.
The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Social Justice Statement 2021-22: Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor, affirms that “we human beings need a change of heart, mind, and behaviour”. It draws from Scripture, from the theological tradition, from Catholic Social Teaching, and from the wisdom of the world, including the insights of the First Nations.
The Social Justice Statement 2021-22 provides theological foundations to ground and inspire efforts to care for creation while responding to the needs of the disadvantaged and excluded. The Statement reflects on creation in and through the Trinity; the sacramentality of all created things; the wonder and beauty available to the contemplative eye; and the need for conversion and change of life.
In the Statement, the Bishops invite the whole Catholic community to join them in taking up Pope Francis’ invitation to a seven-year journey towards total ecological sustainability, guided by seven Laudato Si’ Goals. These Goals are: response to the cry of the earth; response to the cry of the poor; ecological economics; sustainable lifestyles; ecological spirituality; ecological education; and community engagement and participatory action.
The Statement especially encourages Catholic families, communities and organisations to: listen to the First Nations; reflect on the theological foundations offered in Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor; and plan their next steps towards the Laudato Si’ Goals.
Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor will be a useful resource throughout our seven-year journey to total sustainability. Your help in promoting it through your networks would be greatly appreciated.
The 2021 Social Justice Statement was launched in Brisbane by Bishop Ken Howell with a response from Dr. Maeve Louise Heaney
A Facebook Live video of the launch can be viewed here
Images from the Brisbane Launch can be viewed here
Justice and Peace workers from Queensland dioceses have compiled a set of Advent prayer and liturgy resources which focus on issues raised by this year’s Social Justice Statement, “Lazarus at Our Gate”.
Justice and Peace Workers from the dioceses of Queensland have compiled some prayer and liturgy resources for the four Sundays of Advent. They focus on some of the issues raised in the 2013 – 2014 Social Justice Statement, Lazarus at Our Gate. Search “Catholic Justice & Peace Commission of the Archdiocese of Brisbane” opn Facebook.
The Executive Officer of the Catholic Justice & Peace Commission of Brisbane recently visited Sri Lanka as part of the 9th Justice and Peace Workers Network Gathering for Asia and the Pacific. What he encountered challenges efforts by the Australian Government to portray a rosy picture of the situation in post-war Sri Lanka. He urges Australia not to turn a blind eye to human rights abuses in Sri Lanka as part of its obsession with stopping the boats.
Dr Eben Kirksey is a US academic and long-time advocate for human rights and justice in West Papua.
He will speak in Brisbane in October about West Papua and his new book on the situation in this troubled region of Indonesia. His major Brisbane talk will be held on Wednesday 17 October, 5.30 p.m. for 6 p.m. at the College Hall, St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace, Spring Hill. Entry is free, but donations to support human rights work in West Papua will be gratefully accepted. Copies of Dr Kirksey’s book, Freedom in Entangled Worlds, will also be on sale. Coffee and tea will be available on arrival.
Other talks will be held at Cafe IRA, Tugun, on Thursday 18 October, 4 – 6 pm and at the University of Southern Queensland Toowoomba on Friday 19 October at 12.30 pm.
Download Eban Kirksey Brisbane Flyer (pdf) here
Download Edan KirkseyTugan Flyer I(pdf) here
Download Eban Kirksey UQ Event Flyer (pdf) here
Download Eban Kirksey Toowoomba Event Flyer (doc) here
Eben Kirksey first went to West Papua, the Indonesian-controlled half of New Guinea, as an exchange student in 1998. His later study of West Papua’s resistance to the Indonesian occupiers and the forces of globalization morphed as he discovered that collaboration, rather than resistance, was the primary strategy of this dynamic social movement. Accompanying indigenous activists to Washington, London, and the offices of the oil giant BP, Kirksey saw the revolutionaries’ knack for getting inside institutions of power and building coalitions with unlikely allies, including many Indonesians. He discovered that the West Papuans’ pragmatic activism was based on visions of dramatic transformations on coming horizons, of a future in which they would give away their natural resources in grand humanitarian gestures, rather than watch their homeland be drained of timber, gold, copper, and natural gas. During a lengthy, brutal occupation, West Papuans have harbored a messianic spirit and channeled it in surprising directions. Kirksey studied West Papua’s movement for freedom while a broad-based popular uprising gained traction from 1998 until 2008. Blending ethnographic research with indigenous parables, historical accounts, and narratives of his own experiences, he argues that seeking freedom in entangled worlds requires negotiating complex interdependencies.
Freedom in Entangled Worlds from Eben Kirksey on Vimeo.
Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of Brisbane 