Discrimination In Australia

The vision and mission of the Catholic Church is “to be a sign and instrument of communion with God and unity among all people,” (Archdiocese of Sydney). "Having been divinely sent to the nations that she might be the universal sacrament of salvation,”

(Catechism of the Church, par. 849). The church works towards this mission by addressing various social justice issues, one of which is discrimination. Discrimination can be defined as the unjust treatment of an individual or a group of people based on their race, gender, ethnicity or skin colour. Some prominent examples of discrimination in our modern world include racism, ethnic and religious intolerance, and currently the national rising issue of refugees and asylum seekers. “Today, on the

The National Spokesperson for the Human Rights Council of Australia, Chris Sidoti, stated in the NSW State Conference (2002), that, “Asylum seekers and refugees in Australia experience discrimination in law and practise… most significantly based on race, ethnic origin, religion and status.” With this in mind, there are close relations to the pontifical statement which states the inviolable recognition that all are people are equal. This also emphasises the doctrines of the Church, as stated “the social or cultural discrimination in basic personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, colour, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as contrary to God’s design,” (Catechism of the church, par. 1935). Another Vatican document written by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace sought, “to promote non discrimination against refugees and migrants in various parts of the world.” Both these quotes from the Vatican documents reaffirms the Church’s mission to seek peace and unity among all

105). This teaching is in intent agreement to the pontifical statement as Pope John XIII also stated that “men are equal in natural dignity”. This statement along with the general recognition of asylum seekers reflects the mission of the church, which is to be an instrument of communion with God, and the sacrament of salvation. The Beatitudes of Christ perfectly highlights this mission and in particular “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy,” (Matt 5:7, NIV).“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,” (Matt. 25:35, NIV). At the end of 2013, 16.7 million asylum seekers and close to 1.2 million refugees, fled their country because of war, fear of persecution,and because their own government is unable or unwilling to protect them. By accepting these people who hold the same equality and dignity of any human being on this planet is fulfilling both the words of Christ and the mission of the