By Joe Burns, Commission MemberJust prior to Christmas the Commission held a ‘Listening’ event at Wheeler Hall, Leeds. People coming along welcomed the opportunity to share their varied social justice concerns and we determined that, as a Commission, we should hold further events like it.At the end of April, we met at St Mary & […]
UK Poverty
11 Jun – Progress on the Journey to 2030
As indicated last month, the Commission hosted a meeting of the Northern Dioceses’ Environment Group on 08 June, at Wheeler Hall in Leeds. This is an open group of interested people from each of the Northern Dioceses, and they meet about 4 times a year Five out of the seven dioceses in the North were […]
The Poor Pay the Price
I vividly recall a mother at a meeting of MP election candidates challenging them over the levels of tax and benefits. One of the panel tried to brush her off declaring tax and benefits “so complicated it was a matter best left to financial experts”. She interjected tellingly; ” those of us who have to […]
Protect the Poor
Three of the four horsemen of the apocalypse seem to have ridden into our society. We have had two years of the Coronovirus ” plague” and now ” war” and for ten years ” austerity ” which hit the poor hardest and shrank basic public services. Now the consumer expert Martin Lewis has warned that […]
In-work Poverty & the SVP (Pt2)
In part two of ‘In Work Poverty’ and, as we face further restrictions due to the new variant of Covid 19, John Battle discusses what we can do to truly help the working poor.Even before the pandemic one in four families receiving Universal Credit had cut food intake or had meal patterns disrupted because of […]
In-Work Poverty & the SVP
Roy, in his forties, has spent long periods trying to get work as he has no recognised qualifications. The DWP signed him up to an employment agency to be available as a cleaner. He worked on a zero hours contract at irregular hours at the O2 Arena in Leeds until the Covid-19 lockdown. The O2 […]
Housing the Homeless
by John BattleChair J&P Commission LeedsThere are scores of empty newly built flats down alongside the River Aire in Leeds City centre waiting for wealthier buyers. Perhaps they should have been handed over to the council to help deal with the housing shortage and to tackle rough sleeping on the streets. In Leeds to be […]
08 Mar – SVP Response to the Budget
By Elizabeth Palmer, CEO of the St Vincent de Paul Society (England and Wales) We reproduce, and endorse, all that the SVP say in the press statement below. Today’s Budget delivered by Chancellor Rishi Sunak represents one of the most important political statements of recent times and comes at a critical time for the nation. […]
03 Feb – Poverty Sunday on 21 Feb
Give, act and pray to ensure people on the margins are fully involved as we journey togetherChurch Action On Poverty“No one puts new wine into old wineskins.”(Mark 2:21-22)We live in tough times. The pandemic continues to highlight the inequalities that sweep too many people into poverty. But we have also been reminded of the values […]
25 Nov – Time to reset the debt?
By Liam Purcell, Communications Manager, Church Action on PovertyAn estimated six million people in the UK have fallen behind on one or more household bill as a result of Covid-19, with the biggest increases in debt amongst the poorest households.People who were previously able to keep their head above water are now in severe difficulty. […]
The Food bank
Arranged by John Duffy, Commission MemberAll the words that follow (apart from Luke’s Gospel) are taken from an article by a Guardian reporter who spent a month with Huddersfield’s food bank. As well as the grim poverty, she describes the dedication of the workers, and the decency of ordinary people, supporters, volunteers and clients.Every morning […]
New Economic Relationships?
In a recent video message to a forum of young people in Assisi, Pope Francis said the worst reaction to the Coronavirus crisis would be to “fall even more deeply into feverish consumerism and forms of selfish self-protection “. He called instead for the world’s poor to be involved in creating a “different economic narrative” […]
Was Jesus in favour of a Universal Basic Income?
I recently sat in on a Citizens UK training Zoom meeting about campaigning during the current pandemic. In a breakout ‘room’ about 30 of us listened to Mike Pugh talk about the idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI). He was very enthusiastic and enthused those who had joined this breakout group – with plenty […]
22 Apr – Charitable Action?
By John Battle, chair of the Commission The Easter Alleluia hymn for morning prayer could not be more prescient in these times: “Then Life and Death together fought, alleluia, Each to a strange extreme were brought, alleluia”. Certainly, the coronavirus pandemic is not allowing us to move too quickly through the Paschal Mysteries this year. […]
2020 Budget – A budget for the poor?
Encouragingly, at Catholic meetings in the last couple of months – whether with the SVP, parish meetings or gatherings of Catholic teachers – invariably I have found the need to keep our focus on the marginalised and poor has been raised. Tackling poverty in the UK is one of our Justice and Peace Commission’s top […]
05 Mar – SPARK Social Justice Project Update
An update from Aoibheann Kelly, Project Director Last time I wrote, we were just about to begin our SPARK social justice journey – since then, we have delivered workshops to almost 300 young people within the Diocese and are coming to the end of our first phase. We have explored a number of pertinent issues […]