By Mark Reidy
A SEMINAR reflecting on the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Social Justice Sunday Statement (released 14 September) drew 18 people from parishes and groups throughout the Archdiocese to the Catholic Pastoral Centre in Highgate recently.
Organised by Terry Quinn, executive officer of Perth’s Catholic Social Justice Council, the 9 October event provided those in attendance the opportunity to analyse and discuss the Bishops’ statement, entitled Violence in Australia: A Message of Peace.
Participants heard from speakers who deal with violence and its consequences on a regular basis and were encouraged to examine ways that can assist individuals and society in seeking non-violent solutions, drawing particularly on the example of Christ.
The seminar commenced with a reflection on Chapter 8 of St John’s Gospel when Jesus met the woman caught in adultery.
“The story was analysed from the point of view of power relationships and how Jesus seizes the initiative and finds an alternative to punishment and violence,” Mr Quinn said.
It was an attitude captured in the Bishops’ statement, which was produced as a response to what the Bishops described as “an increasingly violent Australian society”.
The Bishops’ statement addresses violence amongst individuals as well as structural violence affecting society’s most vulnerable.
These aspects were explored in a group exercise led by Ann Semaan, a member of Pace e Bene, and further analysed by guest speakers Vicki Battistessa and Dr Brian Steels.
Ms Battistessa, a volunteer at The Shopfront, a Catholic Archdiocesan agency in Maylands that directly supports the homeless and Dr Steels, a criminologist who is a campaigner and advocate for penal reform, shared their experiences as well as horrific examples of violence they have encountered on the streets and in the prison system.
The seminar concluded with Fr Peter Toohey, Columban priest and prison chaplain, leading participants in a reflection on the spirituality of non-violence.
Mr Quinn said that Fr Toohey emphasised the fact that community building was never a solo act, but required individuals to acknowledge their own shortcomings, especially their failure to recognise God in every person – including themselves.
“We need to plant seeds of love and forgiveness in our own hearts, as well as in those around us,” Mr Quinn said.
“It is only then that we will slowly grow in love and compassion and the capacity to forgive.”