The Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice works to combat injustice and marginalisation in Irish society, through social analysis, education and advocacy. The Centre highlights complex social issues, informs opinion and advocates for governmental policy change to create a fair and equitable society for all.
Economic justice is perhaps the fulcrum around which all social justice debates in contemporary society rotate. In our political discourse, every question of human flourishing seems to be reduced to bottom-line thinking.
Care of creation or protection of the environment emerged as a key element of social justice in recent decades. The science of ecology has described the intricate web of relationships in which people play an active part for good and bad.
The right to a safe and secure place to live is one of the most basic human rights, it is fundamental to enable people to live a dignified life. Without the security provided by having somewhere to live, physical and mental health is at risk.
People in prison are amongst the most marginalised and vulnerable in our society. The majority have left school early, experience literacy and learning difficulties and have a history of unemployment.
One can only imagine that Minister for Housing, Eoghan Murphy, breathed a sigh of relief. In the midst of a difficult General Election campaign, his Department was able to publish homelessness figures for December, which for the first time in a year, saw a reduction.
Housing has remained firmly on the agenda throughout the General Election 2020 campaign. Previously, the JCFJ proposed three questions about housing which could be used in conversations with canvassers, to see what each party’s housing policy is, beyond slogans. To close this loop, answers about housing policy were also taken from their current manifestos.
It isn’t that this election has failed to become one about the climate emergency. In many ways, it is worse than that. It is one where our main political parties have failed to understand how to address the growth in social injustice and the interconnectivity of the issues creating the climate and biodiversity crisis.
Working Notes is a journal published by the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice. The journal focuses on social, economic and theological analysis of Irish society. It has been produced since 1987.
