Social Justice Week

Social Justice Week 2011 (11-18 September) focuses on fair play and the common good. It uses the sporting metaphor 'on a level playing field' as a vision for a fair society.

The core resource booklet On a level playing field: fair play and the common good examines inequality, fairness and the common good in New Zealand society – in the light of Catholic social teaching. Additional resources have been prepared for parishes and schools.

This year we ran a blog for Social Justice Week called Level with me. It looked at all the countries participating in the rugby world cup competition and ranked them in terms of social equality and justice. Bloggers wrote about each game.

New Zealand Catholic bishops initiated Social Justice Week in 1997, with Caritas responsible for promoting it to the Catholic community and beyond. 

The core resource each year is the Social Justice Series booklet, which began with A Fresh Start: The Eradication of Poverty in 1997. Booklets in the series are available from the Caritas office, or downloadable here.

Catholic parishes and groups are organising special Social Justice Week events.

New Zealand's Catholic bishops have issued a statement on the Common Good, in preparation for the New Zealand general election on 26 November. Read it here: Securing the Common Good: Whakamaua te tikanga pai o te katoa