Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Challenge on Discrimination

byStaff writers
16 July 2000 - Updated on 16 March 2021
Reading Time: 2 mins read
AA
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

AUSTRALIA’S Churches have been challenged to give more moral leadership on reconciliation and against racism, discrimination and unfair treatment of migrants and refugees.

The challenge came from Council for Multicultural Australia chairman Neville Roach in an address to a conference organised by the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office and Australian Catholic Social Justice Council.

The conference was held in Sydney on July 8-9 with the theme “Building Bridges: Communities of Faith Working Together in Multicultural Australia”.

Mr Roach said Church teachings lacked “clarity, strength and relentlessness” in several fundamental moral areas:

Religious tolerance, where he called for a code of conduct to help Christian Churches balance respect for other religions with missionary activities aimed at conversion. Gender inequality, where the unequal participation of women, particularly in the Catholic Church, conflicts with the inclusive values of multiculturalism and the celebration of diversity. Employment agency contracts, where there is a risk of discrimination in Church-based organisations with Job Network contracts if they insist on potential employees having a Christian ethos. The Olympic athletes’ families home-hosting program, which he believed was in danger of conflicting with the principles of multiculturalism because of the overt propaganda of some major host organisations, which promote hosting as an opportunity for the hosts to preach Christianity to their guests. Ignorance of Islam, which leads to intolerance, one of the greatest challenges to multiculturalism and a serious threat to community harmony. On reconciliation, Mr Roach suggested simple practices which could make a big impact.

These included acknowledging at the opening of a liturgy the original owners of the land where the Church stands, in the penitential rite saying sorry to indigenous people “for what we have done and for what we have failed to do”, asking in the prayers of the faithful for generosity of spirit, and having symbols such as statues, holy pictures and the Christmas crib, now “almost exclusively white European”, reflect Australia’s indigenous and multicultural communities.

Archbishop Barry Hickey of Perth, who recently stepped down as chairman of the Bishops’ Committee for Migrants and Refugees, opened the conference and said attitudes towards migrants and asylum seekers had hardened.

“The Government has progressively restricted migration,” he said, “and has taken a very hard line on border arrivals, both in terms of conditions in detention centres and the limits placed on those who succeed in obtaining a three-year visa”.

“This situation raises problems that must be resolved. One of these is talk of an identity crisis, of knowing who we are and what it is that distinguishes Australian society from other nations.”

Related Stories

Cleanup begins after floodwaters swamp South East Queensland again

Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

The Church canonises 10 new saints who shared God’s love

ShareTweet
Previous Post

ONEGIN

Next Post

Happy Birthday, Mater

Staff writers

Related Posts

Cleanup begins after floodwaters swamp South East Queensland again

Cleanup begins after floodwaters swamp South East Queensland again

16 May 2022
Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport
QLD

Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

16 May 2022
The Church canonises 10 new saints who shared God’s love
Vatican

The Church canonises 10 new saints who shared God’s love

16 May 2022
Next Post

Happy Birthday, Mater

Nun's Bid to Start New Order

Embryo Culling Deemed Abortion

Popular News

  • Here are the stories of 10 new saints being canonised this Sunday

    Here are the stories of 10 new saints being canonised this Sunday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Church canonises 10 new saints who shared God’s love

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Hearts ‘fused’ together living their vocation

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Queensland election: The pro-life political parties committed to abortion law reforms

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Cleanup begins after floodwaters swamp South East Queensland again

Cleanup begins after floodwaters swamp South East Queensland again

by Mark Bowling
16 May 2022
0

LAIDLEY parishioners in the Lockyer Valley west of Brisbane are relieved after floodwater rose to the top...

Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

16 May 2022
The Church canonises 10 new saints who shared God’s love

The Church canonises 10 new saints who shared God’s love

16 May 2022
Hearts ‘fused’ together living their vocation

Hearts ‘fused’ together living their vocation

15 May 2022
Link between porn and partner violence growing

Link between porn and partner violence growing

14 May 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping