The Australian Catholic Social Justice Council’s (ACSJC) Briefing for August is now up on the website. The Briefing covers issues of Catholic social teaching in August 2017, highlighting resources, media items and diary events. It can be read here.
From the Secretariat, John Ferguson:
The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Social Justice Statement for 2017–18, Everyone’s Business: Developing an inclusive and sustainable economy, calls on all Australians to consider the lot of the most vulnerable groups in our community. They have been denied a fair share of wealth and opportunity over the course of Australia’s globally record-breaking quarter of a century of economic growth.
Australia’s economic performance has defended us against the worst of the Global Financial Crisis and resulted in one of the highest levels of average net worth per person. How could it be that poverty and hardship could have continued through the economic boom? The benefits of this growth have been spread unevenly, with the share of income and wealth accruing at far greater levels to the top 20 per cent of households than to the lowest 20 per cent.
The Bishops identify particularly vulnerable groups whose circumstances will not be addressed adequately without improved support and services as well as structural change in the economy’s operation to stop people falling through the system.
