Resources

                    SOCIAL JUSTICE STATEMENT 2011-2012

Building Bridges not Walls: prisons and the justice system

          
"Fundamental to the Christian life is our shared responsibility to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick and visit the prisoner [Matt. 25:31-46]. among those who make Australia's growing prison population are people who are often already suffering the burden of dispossession, illness, poverty and alienation.  While society will always require prison as a last resort punishment, it is time for us as a nation to consider alternatives to prison and ways to reintegrate people into comunity as responsible fellow citizens."  

" This year's Statement addresses five key challenges relating to the criminal justice system: fear campaigns about law and order, social factors that can contribute to crime, the dignity of prisoners, adequate support for people coming out of prison, and realistic alternatives to incarceration.  No crime can diminish the fact that we are all created in the image and likeness of God.  In our parishes and in our communities let us consider how we can offer support and make a difference for our brothers and sisters in prison and seeking bridges to a new life."      

 [Archbishop Philip Wilson]