Social Justice Sunday Focuses on 'Jubilee Justice'

	*Geelong Deanery*

Social Justice Sunday Focuses on 'Jubilee Justice'

Social Justice Sunday for 1999, celebrated on 26 September, offers a special focus on justice as we approach the year 2000 – the Great Jubilee Year.

The Jubilee will be a time of great significance for the Catholic Church’s teaching on human rights and social justice.

While we are familiar with using the word ‘jubilee’ for anniversaries of special significance, the term is in fact biblical in origin and forms the basis of modern Catholic social teaching.

Biblical references to jubilee years incorporate a number of key characteristics:

	Land is to be left fallow and uncultivated.
	Debts are to be forgiven and freedom (from slavery) is to be proclaimed.
	Land is to be returned to its original owners.
	People are to be enabled to return to land they have lost.
	Justice is to be established.

These tenets have been applied to present world conditions as themes for the Great Jubilee in 2000, particularly as they relate to the relief of debt for poor countries, land rights for indigenous peoples and justice for refugees and asylum seekers.

As in other recent years, this year’s Statement for Social Justice Sunday from the Catholic Bishops of Australia will be available as an insert in the magazine Australian Catholics.

The Statement explains the biblical basis of jubilee and how it is the inspiration for Catholic social teaching. Four particular challenges and opportunities are placed before the Australian Catholic community for the Jubilee year, and what remains of the period of preparation before it. They are:

	Reconciliation with our indigenous people.
	The situation of refugees, and in particular in this country, asylum seekers.
	Acknowledging the dignity and rights of women.
	The problem of international debt.

Contact details are provided for further information, and to assist action, with regard to each of these issues.

The Statement concludes:

‘As we reflect on our country at the beginning of a new millennium, and as we acknowledge its resources, gifts and history, we can acclaim Australia as a special place. The challenge is for us all to contribute towards making Australia a sacred space. Each of us has our own sacred place where we can be ‘still’ in the presence of our God. Let us aim to create a national environment which acknowledges the presence of God and the activity, dignity and rights of all who dwell in this land.’

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