By Bruce Duncan, Micah (March 2006), 4-5. Pope Benedict XVI has extolled people and organisations responding to the needs of those disadvantaged in some way as crucial for Christians, since Jesus identifies profoundly with those in need, the hungry, sick and strangers. Indeed, such ‘love becomes the criterion for the definitive decision about a human […]
By Bruce Duncan CSsR Compass: a Review of Topical Theology, 39, 2 (Winter 2005), 38-44. Reflecting Pope John Paul II’s passionate engagement with the great social issues of our day, the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church will stand as a key resource for some years. Yet it is not an easy document […]
By Bruce Duncan, Micah (December 2004), 3-4. The recent elections in Australia and the USA have raised urgent questions about the relationship between religious faith, politics and social concern. Some commentators in Australia have expressed fears that a new religious Right might emerge like that in the USA, relying on a fundamentalist or literalist interpretation […]
BY Bruce Duncan CSsR. Source: Compass: a Review of Topical Theology, 37, 4 (Summer 2003), 32-38. One of the increasing problems facing the Catholic Church in Australia is the difficulty of integrating the social aspects of the Gospel as an integral part of Catholic thought and practice. The problem has been accentuated by the promotion of more […]
Bruce Duncan, The Summit (Melbourne), 28, 3 (September 2001), 16-17. In his January apostolic letter. At the Beginning of rhe New Millennium, Pope John Paul II invited the whole Church into a process of reflection and planning to chart a course into the future. He reaffirmed the Jubilee message of Jesus as the beacon […]
Haif a century on, the Split in the Australian Labor Party and the Catholic Church is still a painful memory. Yet the Santamaria Movement has left a distinctive impression on Australia’s religious and political culture, and can be seen as a remarkable attempt to respond to contemporary social, political and cultural trends, that might be […]
By Bruce Duncan, Micah (December 2006), 6-7. A seismic shift has occurred in the Church’s thinking about its role in the world since the Second Vatican Council, bringing social justice and solidarity with the very poor to the heart of its mission. On rare occasions in history, there have been such seismic shifts deeply altering […]
Bruce Duncan CSsR Source: Compass: a Review of Topical Theology, 31, 1 (Autumn 1997), 15-19. Church organisations and personnel in Australia and New Zealand face unusual difficulties in speaking publicly about questions of social justice and advocacy for disadvantaged groups. It is often difficult to win a hearing in the media because of the secularism […]
by Dr Paul Rule, Australian Catholic Social Justice Council Occasional Paper 23. Melbourne: Dove Publications, 1995, pp.32. Everyone wants peace. We want peace in our lives, in our homes, within and between nations. It is at the heart of the teachings of all religions, not the least of Christianity. There are, of course, different kinds and […]
by Bruce Duncan CSsR Source: Compass: a Review of Topical Theology, 25, 3 (Spring, 1991), 6-13. One has only to visit much of the third world today to be convinced of the continuing relevanceof Pope LeoXIII’s I89I encyclical, Rerum Novarum,especially in its supportfor improved living conditions for workers, a decent wage, the right to form […]
