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Bishop Richard, Chair of the Department for Social Justice at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference (CBCEW), issued a statement ahead of the Jubilee of Justice that began on Saturday 20 September. In it Bishop Richard says that “justice, in all its forms, is the basis of a peaceful society” and that tomorrow we will “pray for those who work to create a more just society and to bring God’s light into dark places”:

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On Saturday, 20 September, the universal Church celebrates the Jubilee of Justice. Justice, in all its forms, is the basis of a peaceful society in which the common good and human dignity can be assured. It is through the exercise of the virtue of justice that we ensure that we have a right relationship with each other and with God.

On this day, it is right that we pray for those who work to create a more just society and to bring God’s light into dark places. This includes those who work or volunteer in the criminal justice system, and also those who assist migrants and refugees and people whose lives have been blighted by forced labour, abuse, violence, homelessness or poverty.  We ask that God bless their work and the work of so many others whose vocation is the promotion of justice in all its forms.

As is noted in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, the help of the Lord and His Spirit is the surest guarantee for respecting justice and contributing to peace. Quoting from Pope Paul VI, the Compendium continues: “The promotion of justice and peace and the penetration of all spheres of human society with the light and the leaven of the Gospel have always been the object of the Church’s efforts in fulfilment of the Lord’s command.” (159)

We can all make a contribution to promoting a more just society. If, at times, we feel helpless, we can simply take the time to pray “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”, as Christ taught his disciples.

Finally, I wish to thank all those involved in the Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN) event at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral this weekend. I pray for the work of CSAN and all its member organisations and volunteers. I ask you to pray that the Catholic Church in England and Wales will never lose its thirst for promoting justice.

+Richard Moth
Bishop of Arundel and Brighton

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Source: CBCEW