Social Justice - World Youth Day and Catholic Social Doctrine
"Transforming social realities with the power of the Gospel, to which witness is borne by women and men faithful to Jesus Christ, has always been a challenge and it remains so today at the beginning of the third millennium of the Christian era."
Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino
President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
World Youth Day is primarily an opportunity for evangelisation - to receive the Holy Spirit and be witnesses to the world; to draw young people to a deep, life changing experience of God.
WYD08 is concerned with presenting a faith that is engaged in the practical Christian work of love, peace and justice - a faith which reflects the social teaching of the Church.
Catholic Social Doctrine develops the following foundational principles in the area of justice, service, development, ecology and peace:
The dignity of the human person and human rights
The common good
Subsidiarity
Solidarity
Stewardship of creation
From these principles major themes are developed which include preference for the poor, safeguarding the environment, distributive justice, global solidarity and development, the role of government, promotion of peace and disarmament and participation in communal life.
From its earliest days of planning, WYD08 has recognised and collaborated in the scoping of a World Youth Day event oriented around the above principles of justice, service, development, ecology and peace.
WYD08 continues to express its desire that these matters remain as a point of reference in WYD preparations and implementation.
To this end, the following elements of WYD planning can be noted:
Journey of the WYD Cross and Icon - the Cross in itself is a symbol of reconciliation and peace. The Cross and Icon will travel throughout Australia visiting many sites of historical and social importance, including places of human suffering, for example, Port Arthur, sites which commemorate the massacre of Indigenous people, war memorials.
Days in the Diocese Day of Service - It is recommended that one day of the Days in the Diocese program be devoted to engaging young people in works of social service. In this way young people can make a contribution to the communities they visit and be engaged in works of mercy, justice, development and peace.
Pilgrim Partnership Support Program - A program to support pilgrims from poorer countries attending, particularly in our neighboring regions throughout Oceania. For more information click
here
.
A process of subsidising poorer nations with reduced costs of registration borne by wealthier countries. Package prices for countries vary according to classifications determined by the World Bank/UN. For more information click
here
.
Youth Festival opportunities for activities and forums around the themes of social justice, for example an International Justice Forum is proposed.
WYD08 abides by a Code of Ethics outlining principles for business practice consistent with the teaching of the Church. To read the Code click
here
.
Several religious congregations, movements and Church agencies are planning events and forums before or during WYD08 focused on issues such as peacemaking, Third World Debt, reconciliation with Indigenous Australians etc.
WYD08 has an Indigenous Committee as one of its four principal advisory groups in preparation for WYD. This group will propose various ways on engaging young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholics in WYD and highlighting issues such as social alienation and dispossession, as well as the positive values Indigenous culture offers as an alternative to consumerism and individualism.
One of the principal goals of WYD is to engage marginalised young people who might not ordinarily have much positive contact with the Church or other social institutions.
All Catholic groups focused on issues of justice, service, development, ecology and peace have been invited to contribute in various ways to the planning and delivery of WYD08 (eg. Caritas, Pax Christi, diocesan Justice and Peace commissions, St Vincent de Paul, Catholic Earthcare....)
Your ideas on how we might better engage with some of these issues can be sent to
justiceandpeace@wyd2008.org
.
A particular and current concern is the immediate and real environmental challenge of hosting a sustainable international event of this size. The founder of the World Youth Days, Pope John Paul II highlighted these concerns in many of his works, "Care for the environment represents a challenge for all of humanity. It is a matter of common and universal duty, that of respecting a common good...." Centesimus Annus.
For more information on WYD08's environmental planning
click here
.
.jpg)
