The Catholic Weekly 24 April 2022

catholicweekly.com.au 2 NEWS 24, April, 2022 Call 02 9649 6423 or visit www.catholiccemeteries.com.au Consecrated lawns and chapels Sydney’s only Catholic crematorium Monthly mass for the Repose of Souls Funeral directors available for a Catholic service Bereavement pastoral care Serving the Catholic community for over 150 years Financial pain ahead, charities warn Homelessness in Sydney. PHOTO: PETER ROSENGREN I n this edition News Movies, books Archbishop’s homily Editorial & Letters 1-11 8-9 21 24-25 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Kenny (02) 9390 5348 EDITOR Peter Rosengren (02) 9390 5400 REPORTERS Marilyn Rodrigues (02) 9390 5410 Debbie Cramsie (02) 9390 5396 Adam Wesselinoff (02) 9390 5400 SUBSCRIPTIONS Rita Ng (02) 9390 5411 ADVERTISING AND MARKETING Steve Richards (02) 9390 5404 Katie Clarke (02) 9390 5402 DESIGNERS Renate Cassis Mathew De Sousa Our story begins in 1839 with the Australasian Chronicle, continuing with the Freeman’s Journal in 1850. Level 13, Polding Centre, 133 Liverpool Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. Phone (02) 9390 5400 | Vol 73, No 5231 The Catholic Weekly is published by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney ABN 60 471 267 587 and is printed by Spotpress Pty Ltd, 24-26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204. DOWNLOAD THE OUR FAITH OUR WORKS APP Your one-stop location for Mass and Confession times, spiritual reflections and meditations, podcasts, local Catholic news, the Go Make Disciples mission plan, and much more. To download the app visit ourfaithourworks.org/app or scan the QR Code. Holy Thursday faith casts light on all human fears ... He knows our hunger, grief, despair. He wept for these things. As we venture out into the darkness tonight after Communion, we know we will not be alone: we will be to- gether, and we will be with Him who is with us al- ways in the Blessed Sacrament.” - Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, Mass of the Lord’s Supper QUOTABLE CONTINUED FROM P1 “Australia’s response to the pandemic vis-a-vis tempo- rary migrants was particularly harsh by international stand- ards,” Dr Barnes said. “Australia’s response was particularly punitive, and per- sonally I would argue, racist.” Similar research on NSW found that the Delta wave lockdown in the second half of last year was much worse in terms of total job losses and labour force decline, with vac- cination mitigating the worst impacts of Delta once it ar- rived in Victoria. Dr Barnes told The Catho- lic Weekly that in addition to his research on the effects of COVID, Australia also faces a cost of living crisis in the next year that will manifest itself only after the election. Financial markets current- ly predict the Reserve Bank will “significantly increase the cash rate after the election … that will add hundreds of dol- lars a week to people’s hous- ing costs, for average mort- gage holders, which will be passed on to renters”. “Because housing costs are generally the biggest cost of living, significant rises to housing costs will cut real in- comes and cut the standard of living,” he said. “What we’re facing over the next 12 months is a falling standard of living. “That’s going to hurt every- one, but it’s going to cause se- rious pain for a significant mi- nority of householders. That is now inevitable. “Higher housing costs, higher interest rates, com- bined with higher levels of indebtedness, plus falling real wages, that’s a recipe for fall- ing living standards. “This is in an economy that’s supposedly fully recov- ered with record low unem- ployment. I don’t think so.” Dr Barnes also argues the JobSeeker rate must be at least doubled, to $80 a day, based on evidence that the coronavirus supplement vast- ly improved the wellbeing of Australia’s poorest. Catholic social justice agencies are united in calling for an increase in JobSeeker and other government bene- fits. New modelling from the Society of St Vincent de Paul, published by the Australian National University, calls for the JobSeeker rate to be in- creased by $436 a fortnight, alongside increases to the Parenting Payment and Fam- ily Tax Benefit A. Doing so “would help to lift one million people out of pov- erty and restore their dignity, and in many cases help them move towards re-entering the workforce,” said St Vincent de Paul President Clare Victory. Catholic Social Services Australia likewise said that, “In real terms, NDIS packages have been reduced, unem- ployment and health benefits eroded while at the same time some 3 million Australians, including nearly 750,000 chil- dren, now live in poverty … that should be front and cen- tre of the policy agendas of both the Coalition and Labor.” The Australian Catholic Bishops have also called for “a new social contract that focuses the economy more clearly on the common good” in their 2022 election state- ment, including a call to “raise the rate of JobSeeker to at least meet the poverty line”. Fr Peter Smith, who heads the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Justice and Peace office, told The Catholic Weekly that “economic justice for all” ought to be the number one election issue for 2022. “That is, people are given security of employment, fair pay for a fair day’s work. If people are underemployed or unemployed they should be looked after,” he said. He also added his office’s support to calls for an increase to JobSeeker. “The pandemic has shown us that there is a role for big government. Gov- ernment has to take respon- sibility for the community. In the pandemic they just had to step up and make decisions. “Whenever the govern- ment doesn’t support people, groups like the Catholic com- munity and others of good- will, step up and look after people: the Society of St Vin- cent de Paul, Jesuit Refugee Services etc. “Because we do it, the gov- ernment doesn’t have to. It becomes this vicious cycle, with the community – civil so- ciety – doing the government’s job. It’s time government took responsibility for what we’re doing.” In terms of Catholic Social Teaching, Fr Smith said this was a “failure of subsidiarity”, in which the government is failing to play its appropriate role in the economy in the wake of the widespread social crisis of the pandemic. “We all recognise the im- pact COVID has had in terms of employment, in terms of our own relationships, in terms of what we’ve been forced to do,” Fr Smith said. “It’s really shattered most of us, to think our world could be turned upside down by the Pandemic so quickly. “I also believe there’s some- thing underlying in terms of our mental health, in terms of our sociability in society we are yet to come to grips with.” The Justice and Peace office has published a “Common Good voting kit” to remind Catholics that, in the wake of the pandemic, we are “rela- tional animals”. “We’ve had a pandemic in which we’ve heard that oth- er people are a threat to us – keep away from them! I think this has a very subtle impact on the way we view society,” Fr Smith said.