For the last couple of years, I have been working closely with Sandie Cornish on a collaboration called the Signs of Our Times initiative. After launching that initiative in May, I fully expected to continue as Executive Officer of the Archdiocesan Justice & Peace Commission in Brisbane, but, instead, I find myself replacing Sandie as Director of the Office for Justice, Ecology & Peace.
Sandie is an insightful theologian with a great expertise in the social tradition of the Church. We have all benefitted from her extensive knowledge and rich insights. She has poured her heart and soul into this job for the last two years and I will certainly miss her.
Sandie is certainly a hard act to follow. It won’t be a surprise to many that I won’t even attempt to be another Sandie! I hope I can, however, bring something of value.
Let me share a couple of things that are important to me in the work I do in this new role.
I have been greatly influenced by what Pope Francis said in his 2013 Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel. At the heart of my attempts to live out the social mission of the Church is a commitment to a culture of encounter. The Pope speaks of us “smelling of the sheep”. For me, social and environmental action needs to be situated where those struggling to overcome injustice and oppression are. I’ll be trying to encourage that approach through the work of the Office.
Just as important to me is the way we see our relationship with people on the peripheries of society. Rather than seeing ourselves as “saviours” coming to the rescue of those who cannot help themselves, it’s in accompanying First Nations people, refugees and homeless people in their struggles that we begin to realise that they are also accompanying us and we are on a journey towards liberation together. This insight also has significant implications for the way we take action for justice.
There is much more that I could say, but that’s more than enough for now. I look forward to the challenges ahead with faith, hope and love. God is good and we will never lose sight of that reality as long as we anchor ourselves in Jesus who accompanies us every step of the way.
