AUSTRALIA’S Catholic bishops have released a statement Lazarus at Our Gate: A critical moment in the fight against world poverty calling on a renewed commitment by the Federal Government to address global poverty.
The statement has been released ahead of Social Justice Sunday being celebrated in Catholic churches around the nation on September 29.
Australian Catholic Social Justice Council chairman Bishop Christopher Saunders said Australia “has a historic opportunity to be a force for peace and generosity in the global response to poverty”.
He criticised the new Abbott government’s proposal to cut $4.5billion from the foreign aid program, noting “our nation has a historic opportunity to be a force for peace and generosity in the global response to poverty”.
“Australia has taken a seat on the United Nations Security Council,” Bishop Saunders said.
“And next year, Australia will host the G-20 economic summit in Brisbane.”
ACSJC executive officer John Ferguson was reported in other media to have said the Abbott Government’s policy, unveiled just two days before Saturday’s federal election, “was unworthy of a civilised nation”.
“Twenty per cent of the world’s poorest live in our region,” he said.
“It’s clear that Australia is the rich man and Lazarus is at our gates.
“A reduction in aid funding could be seen as the rich man pursuing Lazarus to take back the crumbs that have fallen from the banqueting table.”
Bishop Saunders said Australia was “a rich country whose economy is healthy by comparison with most others in the world”.
“As we approach the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals, this is the time for a recommitment to eradicating extreme poverty,” he said.
“Australia is a rich country whose economy is healthy by comparison with most others in the world.
“The Government’s proposal to cut $4.5 billion from the forward estimates for the foreign aid program represents a serious departure from Australia’s commitment to lift aid funding from 0.3 to 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income.”
The statement and associated resources can be downloaded at www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au.
