The Catholic Weekly 9 August 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 4 NEWS 9, August, 2020 catholicsuper.com.au We’re here to help you BISHOP TERRY Brady is call- ing on all Catholics to take up the message of the Australi- an Catholic Bishops’ Confer- ence Social Justice Statement for 2020-21, which focuses on raising awareness of commu- nity and individual mental health during COVID-19. “This is a timely message in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is affectingmany members of our parishes, schools and communities,” said Bishop Brady, who is the Australian Catholic Bishops’ delegate for social justice. “Understanding mental health will help us to be aware of those who most need our support. “The personal feelings of anxiety and despair we all share at this time provide an opportunity to become more aware and active in fostering the mental health of all.” The statement, To Live Life to the Full: Mental Health in Australia Today , encourag- es faith communities, gov- ernments and individuals to make mental health a prior- ity during what it deems the most tumultuous time to- date in this century. “Over the past year Australia has been ¾ ¾ David Ryan A pandemic of anxiety TheAustralian Bishops’ annual social justice statement focuses on mental illness caused or exacerbat- ed by the COVID pandemic. facing tumultuous upheavals unprecedented in our life- times. Prolonged drought has hit rural communities,” the statement says. “The recent bushfires wiped out entire communi- ties. We now face the COV- ID-19 pandemic. “Over a million people have lost their jobs. Anxie- ty and fear of the unknown are normal psychological re- sponses.” In response to the collec- tive traumas facing the nation and the world community, the statement invites all Aus- tralians to respond positive- ly to the unjust stigma often imposed on individuals and communities suffering men- tal health traumas. Such a stigma is at odds with the Christian message. “Our society tends to draw away from, or to push away, those who confront us with our frailties and limitations,” the statement says. “It is a dy- namic that is completely at odds with the story of Jesus. In the incarnation Jesus takes on the frailty of the human condition. “Our parishes, organi- sations and communities should be places of accept- ance, care, and healing.” The statement calls on govern- ments and policy-makers to also make proactive solutions to further prevent vulnerable falling through the cracks of the mental health system –in- cluding First Nations Austral- ians and asylum seekers. “A healthy and sustainable culture breaks through the material entrapments of con- sumerism and limitations of self-interest,” it says. “As creatures made in the image and likeness of God we stand before the mystery of The Transcendent. We feel deeply connected to some- thing and indeed someone beyond ourselves.” The statement was re- leased in the lead-up to Social Justice Sunday on 30 August. To download or read the statement in full visit social- justice.catholic.org.au If you are struggling with mental health call Lifeline on 13 11 14 In brief Network warns of slavery AUSTRALIAN CATHO- LIC Religious Against Trafficking in Humans is warning of an increased vulnerability to traffick- ing as a result of the COV- ID-19 pandemic. At a Zoom prayer ses- sion on 30 July ACRATH founder and President Sr Louise Cleary CSB, said COVID-19 is contribut- ing to slavery because of desperation caused by the economic collapse caused by the pandemic. “Hundreds of thou- sands of people are being drawn to the promise of work simply to put food on their family’s table – work that often turns out to be a job in slave-like conditions,” she said. She said those most vulnerable to traffick- ing come from endemic poverty, often in nations that lack social security infrastructure. To sup- port victims of human trafficking, donations can be made to https:// acrath.org.au/donate Enquiries: [email protected] www.michaelgalovic.com The Dormition & Assumption of Theotokos, an icon by Michael Galovic