Catholic Outlook September 2015

NEWS & EVENTS
Men, women and children wait for help in the Dadaab refugee camp in Somalia. Photo: hikrcn/Shutterstock.com
FOR THOSE WHO’VE COME ACROSS THE SEAS:
Justice for refugees and asylum seekers
This year’s Social Justice Statement by
Australia’s Catholic bishops is entitled,
For Those Who’ve Come Across the
Seas: Justice for refugees and asylum seekers.
The Social Justice Statement for 2015–16
challenges Australians to think again about
our national response to asylum seekers,
especially those who come by sea. It invites
us to recognise the desperation that has
driven these people to seek refuge far from
their homes.
The title, taken from the words of our
National Anthem, is intended to remind all
Australians of how this nation has aspired to
be a place of welcome and inclusion.
The bishops address the divisive national
debate over asylum seekers, especially those
who arrive by boat. They confront Australia’s
current deterrence-based response and
remind us of the needs of the nearly 60
million people who are displaced around the
world.
The statement takes its inspiration from
the actions and words of Pope Francis on his
2013 visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa,
where he met the survivors of a refugee
tragedy and mourned for those who had
died.
It begins and ends with the Pope’s own
words and is strongly based on the Scriptures
and Catholic teaching.
The bishops’ document traces the
experiences of asylum seekers from their
flight from persecution and danger, through
their perilous journeys, to their experience in
Australia of indefinite detention, deprivation
and insecurity.
It asks why both sides of Australian
politics have felt the need to introduce such
cruel and self-defeating policies as offshore
processing and indefinite detention.
This Social Justice Sunday we are invited
to reflect on the call of Jesus to welcome
those in most need and to give comfort to
those who come to us in flight from fear and
suffering.
Complementary resources
The Australian Catholic Social Justice
Council’s website will have resources
available for download free of charge on
10 September. They will include Social
Justice Sunday liturgy notes, a PowerPoint
presentation and community and education
resources.
Prayer Cards and Ten Steps leaflets can
be ordered from the Council tel (02) 8306
3499 or admin@acsjc.org.au
Catholics tackle housing crisis
in New South Wales
By Elizabeth McFarlane
Housing is a fundamental human need
because it provides security and a
bedrock for raising a family, but
to be able to access housing it needs to be
affordable.
The Family & Life Office and the Social
Justice Office of the Catholic Diocese of
Parramatta organised and ran a Table Talk
on Housing Affordability at the Institute for
Mission in Blacktown on 19 August.
The night gathered Catholics from across
the Diocese to share their personal struggles
in finding and buying a house, as well as the
issues faced when renting.
Jon O’Brien from UnitingCare NSW
provided statistics on the night.
House prices in Australia are the second
most expensive in the world but the option
to rent is limited, with a shortage of 539,000
rental properties.
The largest number of homeless
Australians are in NSW. Unaffordable housing
is clearly rife and it is the low income and
disadvantaged who are wearing the costs.
Social housing is in demand but people can
be waiting for up to 10 years to secure a place
to live.
A young family also gave a glimpse into
the issues surrounding renting for those with
very young children, “We have to tell our kids
to behave so the agent doesn’t think we’re
going to destroy the house. The whole system
is very hard for young families.”
For those who attended the evening Table
Talk, it was obvious that the personal stories
were also very much a public story.
Ben Smith, Director of the Family
and Life Office, spoke on the night about
why Catholics should care about housing
affordability. “To be denied housing is to lose
a sense of dignity and to lose a sense of hope,”
he said.
“As Catholics, we believe everyone is made
in the image of God and has an inherent
dignity. We believe families are of the utmost
importance to our faith community, using the
Holy Family as our guiding star.”
Affordable housing increases financial
stress, leading many to work extensive hours.
Pope Francis warned against this way of living
the day before the event in his weekly general
audience:
“When work separates itself from the
Finding a place to live is a critical issue for many young
families. Photo: Elizabeth McFarlane.
covenant of God with man and woman, when
it separates itself from their spiritual qualities,
when it is hostage to the logic of only profit
and scorns the attachments of life, the
discouragement of the soul contaminates all:
even the air, the water, the herbs, food.”
Sister Louise McKeogh FMA, Coordinator
of the Social Justice Office, said that being a
nun does not make housing affordability any
less relevant to her.
“My family couldn’t afford a lot and we
lived on the outskirts of Melbourne,” she said.
“My dad was a builder. He built our house and
he even built the Catholic School and Church
I attended. He built a home for the whole
community.
“I know what having a home means and
why it is important. I also have four nieces
and nephews who are all still at home and I
can see the impacts on them.”
The night’s organisers made sure that the
discussion led to practical engagement with
the community. The ‘asks’ on the night were:
1. For the NSW Government to commit
to a formal plan, with numerical targets, to
increase the supply of social and affordable
housing in NSW over the next four years. The
plan should be developed on a cross-portfolio
basis within the NSW government and in
partnership with the Federal Government.
2. For a new planning provision to be
created for all new developers, building in
30% affordable housing at the seven Urban
Growth precincts. Inclusionary zoning
requires a given share of new construction to
be affordable by people with low to moderate
incomes.
4 CatholicOutlook | SEPTEMBER 2015
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