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Media Release:

Issued: 11 August 2005.

‘Unlike the Prime Minister, Church Leaders are required by their position to preach the Word in season and out of season.  They are not responsive to the whims of popular opinion or swayed by the pressures that come from the need to keep an eye on the next election.  Church Leaders and Church groups with a responsibility for the promotion of social justice are required to take their lead from the Gospel, and based on a solid tradition of over a century of Catholic Social Justice teaching, to apply these principles to current affairs. 

‘Also unlike political parties in most instances, having had the principles of Catholic Social Justice Teaching applied to a particular issue by Church Leaders or their agencies, it is up to the conscience of the individual members of the Church to act as they see fit on that advice.  This is not to weaken the principle or to call into to question the process by which it was arrived at.  It is to give to the individual the respect and dignity that is their right, and to leave them to exercise their informed conscience on the issue at hand.

‘It is a long standing demand of the scriptures that special care be taken of the stranger, the widow, the orphan, the poor and the marginalized.  Church Leaders and their agencies are following a long line of those who have spoken out in the defense of these groups.  It is unlikely that recent attempts by the Prime Minister or other politicians will prevent this duty being carried out in the case of Industrial Relations legislation or any other area of political activity that has the potential to adversely affect these people.  It is a pity that some politicians are more inclined to be led (by polls and political or personal advantage) than to be courageous enough to lead' Br Wood concluded.

For further information please contact the Diocesan Office of Justice, Ecology and Peace: Diocesan Office - Telephone 08 9192 1060

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