The 2014-2015 Social Justice Statement by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.
Here is a brief introduction with several extracts from the 2014-2015 Social Justice Statement.
The Australian Bishops in their 2014-2015 Social Justice Statement, "A Crown for Australia - Striving for the best in our sporting nation" points out the important role of sport in our society. It highlights the community and spiritual benefits it can bring while warning of the dangers inherent in the increasing commercialisation of sport and the “win-at-all-costs” mentality that can produce abuses and exclusion.
“At its best, sport offers a safe and nurturing space where rich and poor, men and women, people of all colours and creeds can meet with a common goal; a place where human dignity is more important than winning the game.”
On the downside, the Statement describes the ways sport can also reflect the worst in us.
“It can be like a crown of thorns. Sometimes it shows things that make us ashamed. When sport loses sight of human good, we need to think hard about it. What do those failures tell us about ourselves as individuals and as a society?”
“The joy of sport is lost when players are placed under this pressure. It becomes unpleasant, if not damaging. For this reason, we acknowledge the work of many schools in introducing codes of behaviour concerning the conduct of players, parents and other spectators.”
Another challenge confronting players and administrators is the increasing use of performance and image-enhancing drugs.
“However much we can understand the pressures that might lead athletes to consider using performance-enhancing drugs, we can never condone that use.”
“Drugs damage the player, undermine the sport and expose individuals, teams and entire codes to criminal exploitation.”
The other area of growing concern is the increasing commercialisation of sport.
“Modern professional sports require enormous investments – both personally, from athletes themselves, and from governments and corporations to build venues and support the enterprises that sports have become. The face of sport has been altered by big money.”
“Most recently, there has been a public outcry over the dramatic rise of sports betting, particularly the intrusion of advertisements for online bookmakers. The impact and language of betting are reaching a wider public than ever before – and affecting the young. It is commonplace to hear children predicting the outcome of a match by quoting odds rather than analysing players’ form.”
And one of the most confronting forms of exclusion is the racism witnessed on and off the field, across sporting codes and at professional and amateur levels.
“We think particularly of the racist taunts against Indigenous players by players and spectators.”
“Many have shown enormous courage in confronting racist attitudes, advocating for Indigenous rights and working for the betterment of their codes and communities. While they have suffered the indignity of racism, they have worked admirably to change their sport and their society.”
The full version of the Social Justice Statement will be released September 2014.
Copies will be available at www. socialjustice.catholic.org.au/
Social Justice Week New Zealand - Sept 14-20This year's theme is Catholic Social Teaching (CST) which provide us with key ethical principles through which we can interpret social issues around us and take action to seek justice. Seven of the principles are brought to life through video: human dignity; solidarity; subsidiarity; stewardship; common good; participation; and preferential option for the poor. The Videos are prepared by Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand which is the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Agency for Justice, Peace and Development. See www.caritas.org.nz for Resources for parishes and schools. |
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LISTEN TO: Reflection - A Crown for Australia - Striving for the best in our sporting nation (Duration: 4:00mins, MP3, 1.83MB) |