Launching the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Social Justice Statement in Brisbane on Friday, Townsville Bishop Tim Harris encouraged Australians to respond to hatred and division in society with “kindness, friendship and a listening ear”. Source: ACBC Media Blog.
Bishop Harris, chair of the Bishops Commission for Social Justice, Mission and Service, launched Living the Gospel in Times of Social Division with an address that encouraged people to build a “culture of encounter”.
The following is an edited extract of Bishop Harris’ speech.
We gather today with hope, compassion and a shared desire for a more peaceful, united Australia.
Yet many in our community carry pain amid growing division.
The dreadful massacre at Bondi last December, and the abuse directed at Muslims, migrants and refugees, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and all those we too readily consider to be “other” – whether because they are unborn or elderly, living with disability, or come from a different nationality, religion, or background – remind us that polarisation wounds the dignity and well-being of all Australians.
We see this division every day, especially online, where anger, misinformation and hateful attacks spread very quickly.
Our country needs a change of heart: one that offers hope, and healing and a way beyond fear.
The statement from Australia’s bishops, which we launch today, offers guidance to the People of God on how we might respond.
Last October, Pope Leo reminded us that “the supreme rule in the Church is love”.
In this, he echoes the teaching of Jesus: love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbour as yourself.
After the Bondi attack, when the New South Wales Government asked Jewish faith leaders what they needed, they asked for positive action.
Rabbi Nochum Schapiro offered a simple response: let every person perform one mitzvah, one act of kindness and love, in memory of those who could no longer show kindness to others.
That is at the heart of our message today, my dear friends.
Love is not only a word or a feeling. Love is action. It reaches beyond what is familiar and comfortable.
It listens to others’ stories, fears and hopes. It builds bridges of understanding. It dispels ignorance. It offers forgiveness and extends grace., it helps heal communities.
So, in the face of hatred, division and violence, we invite you to go into your communities with kindness, friendship and a listening ear.
This is the culture of encounter Pope Francis called us to build. It is the path beyond polarisation.
Encounter and dialogue are sorely needed to build peace in local communities, to break down, and to foster harmony between people of different faiths.
As bishops, we can act at the national level. This social justice statement we launch today, Living the Gospel in Times of Social Division, is one contribution to that conversation.
FULL STORY
Bishop Tim Harris – Address at the launch of the Social Justice Statement (ACBC Media Blog)
