The 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.

Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor helps to ground and inspire efforts to care for creation while responding to the needs of the disadvantaged and excluded. The Statement also reflects on the need for conversion and change of life. Read pdf Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor | Watch the launch video

Our August JPIC newsletter highlights the importance and value of media productions which portray values in the spirit of the gospels.  JPIC Team member, Peter Thomas, was recently invited to be part of a panel to judge documentary films from around the world and shares with us his insights and choices.

As well, the Australian Plenary Council to be held in October is fast approaching and in this newsletter we take the opportunity to draw attention to, and invite your prayerful consideration of, just one aspect of the many important points which will be central to the discussions.

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The Church is in a crisis. Whilst uncomfortable, this is not a bad thing for us. A crisis is an opportunity for new growth. The challenge is to accept and respond to this opportunity. Taking up our priestly and prophetic role and being a Eucharistic people in the lived circumstances of our lives is called for. The Plenary Council is a vehicle for facilitating this. I pray that we don’t squander it. Boldness is called for in hearing and responding to the voice of the Spirit, discerned in the voices of the people. May we advance in hope and trust in the Spirit.

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The first day of Spring is coming up and the Season of Creation is upon us, commencing with the World Day of Prayer for Creation on Tuesday 1 September.

This month we give our attention to our planet Earth; to marvel at God’s creation and to wonder and ask ourselves how we can Care for our Common Home. Peter Thomas invites us to give some thought to our planet’s early beginnings and down through the ages.

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As we struggle with the uncertainty and, for many, distress and sickness, we are constantly reminded of the importance of just how connected we are as a human family and how what might seem like minor actions on the part of one person can have a profound impact on the lives of many. In particular in this difficult time our ageing relatives and friends become more precious; our prayers and consciousness are directed to their needs. 

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We are celebrating World Environment Day today. Our latest newsletter features two articles reflecting on the critical issues of our time: caring for the environment and the global pandemic.  Why not celebrate the day by spending a little time in nature and offering a prayer of gratitude, as well as spending time reading these articles to seek wisdom about where they are calling you to participate in making the world a better place. 

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Pope Francis has invited Catholics everywhere to participate in Laudato Si' Week, from 16-24 May to honour the fifth anniversary of his encyclical on care for our common home. The theme of the week is 'Everything Is Connected'. Sunday 24 May will bring the world community together for a World Day of Prayer to mark this Anniversary of Laudato Si'.

Our JPIC reflection this month, offered by Peter Clarke, has a focus on the significance of both Earth Day launched 50 years ago and Laudato Si' promulgated 5 years ago. pdf Read this issue

When the grief, sadness and anger about where we are today on this earth becomes overwhelming, there is often a felt need to turn to poetry and prayer to remind us of what was, and what could be. To remind us of how we can be - in community - together, with love, justice, and compassion.  In our JPIC March newsletter Peter Thomas of the JPIC team reflects on the many concerns we all are feeling at this time, using poetry and Laudato Si.

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“Ecological Conversion” is a small book of 37 brief reflections written by Carmelite, Eduardo Agosta Scarel, and published by the Carmelite NGO at the UN. It offers some reflections to encourage us to take an active care for the environment, the earth, our common home.

It feels as if we Australians have been hit by so much destruction our vulnerability and frustrations can prevent us from valuing the treasure we have in our Christian and Carmelite way of life. As we make sense of the destruction we turn to the Divine Presence in prayer to find some consolation or a way forward. Great saints were and are women and men of courage steeped in the conviction that life is lived in each moment and each moment holds out the possibility for each of us to build a better world.

To begin 2020, we offer this reflection from Peter Thomas, member of the JPIC Team. pdf Read this issue

During this season of Advent, as we await the birth of the Christ-child, the Prince of Peace, we remember that we must not be armchair Christians waiting passively. This is a time of active hope; hope that the living Christ, who lives in and among us, will strengthen those who are down-trodden, those who are oppressed.

In solidarity with the people of West Papua, who have been waiting fifty-seven years amidst violence and occupation, we pray with them this Advent for a long lasting Peace and return to their own self-determination and sovereignty. pdf Read this issue of our JPIC Newsletter.

Our JPIC Newsletter this month is the Catholic Religious Australia (CRA) publication JUST NOW highlighting the Aboriginal struggle to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart.  As one Indigenous leader from Northern New South Wales commented:  ”I see the involvement and groundswell from our mob, that actually change is going to happen."  Each of us is encouraged to keep ourselves informed; to walk with our First Nation people to a better future and self-determination. 

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“I was 24 years old in 1999. I was a Carmelite student, studying in Flores, Indonesia. Our Carmelite leaders in Indonesia gave ten of us East Timorese students permission to take leave from our studies and return to Timor to participate in the popular consultation.

I forget the exact date we left Flores. It was about one week before the vote on 30th August. It took one day and one night on the ferry. In the past when we travelled on an Indonesian ferry, we were free to move around, to go outside and have a look around. But at that time the ten of us stuck together. We didn’t move. We ate together and sat together. It was tense.

The Christchurch tragedy is an event which we will never forget, least of all the people of New Zealand who were intimately scarred by such senseless violence in their normally peaceful country. In our newsletter this month we share with gratitude a very sensitive reflection from the Sisters at the OCD Monastery Christchurch, reminding us that the presence of our God shines in the midst of chaos and that we all have a part to play in healing broken wounds.

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These next few weeks are significant to Aboriginal people as they mark Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week. We invite you to redirect your thoughts to the struggle of our First Nation Peoples, guided by this reflection from Peter Thomas of the JPIC Team.

Whether we are engaging in challenging conversations or unlearning or relearning what we know, our reconciliation journey requires all of us to walk together with courage.

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Fake news is immoral when it masquerades as truth, when it irresponsibly diverts people's attention from fact. Sometimes it is gossip and other times it distorts the truth so much that the truth about important local, national and international justice issues are sacrificed in favour of a newspaper obtaining a bigger readership or a television station a higher rating or social media seeking more users. When this happens it is unapologetically justified as a commercial measure to guarantee advertising dollars and hence better returns for shareholders. The morality is often overlooked with little regard to the fact that sharing a lie makes the medium, the publisher, the producer, the journalist co-conspirators in telling the lie.

Renowned Carmelite climate scientist, Fr Eduardo Scarel, looks at the state of the earth's climate over the last 4 years - the 4 warmest ever recorded. He explains the causes of global warming and the results on temperatures, extreme weather events, ice shrinkage and the rise of CO² emissions.

As new life emerges in this month of Easter, we are reminded that each of us are co-creators with God. How we go about this task is critically important for our neighbours across the street and around the world. At a time when we are witnessing the demise of more and more species, EARTH DAY on Monday 22 April helps us ensure the ability of all creation remains a vibrant chorus of praise to the Creator.

Our reflection this month by Peter Clarke helps us to encompass, celebrate and embrace the hope of this significant time in our faith journey. pdf JPIC No 85 April 2019

Renowned Carmelite climate scientist, Fr Eduardo Scarel, looks at the state of the earth's climate over the last 4 years - the 4 warmest ever recorded. He explains the causes of global warming and the effect on temperatures, extreme weather events, ice shrinkage and the rise of CO² emissions.

"The next few years are crucial", he says. "We are the last generation that could and should act to avoid crossing crucial turning points and avoid irreversible damage to our common home, the earth, the abode of humanity and the rest of God's creatures."

You can download reflections for each day of Lent drawn from the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Based on the see, judge, act method each day features a short observation about one of the goals, the scripture readings for that day and a call to do some concrete action which will help make the goal a reality in our own local situations.

  pdf Download the reflections