We are the Saint Joseph’s Justice and Peace parish group. Our aim is to work within the Justice and Peace structure to formulate a response to justice issues locally and globally. We aim to do this by encouraging parishioners to take action through prayer, letter writing and/or appropriate non-violent actions.
Within this framework we have recently formed the parish Care of Creation deanery group and are at present recipients of the bronze eco-congregation award. We have formed a deanery group with Saint Bridget’s and Saint Cadoc’s and welcome parishioners from their parish to our meetings. Our aim is to encourage all to lead more environmentally friendly lives in a spiritual and practical way.
All are welcome.
Join us for our next meeting on the Tuesday 28th of January 2025 at 7.30pm in Saint Joseph’s Church in the small Sacristy.
There are no current events we hope to have more in the New Year.
This month concern is the War in Gaza, please find below two statements:
- A statement issued jointly by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
From Glasgow to Gaza: A Cry for Peace in the Holy Land – A Declaration to mark the visit of Fr Gabriel Romanelli to Scotland
On the occasion of Fr Gabriel Romanelli’s visit to Glasgow on 26th April 2024, we, the undersigned, express our solidarity with the people of the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, the Christian community of the Holy Land and people of all faiths and none across the region tormented by war.
In recent months, millions of innocent people have suffered the consequences of violence and war. Families and communities have been devastated. Many have lost hope for a peaceful future. Men, women and children have been robbed of their innate human dignity and their right to survive and thrive. Our cry is “Enough is enough”.
- We stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Gaza and across the Holy Land. May they feel our solidarity and Jesus’ loving embrace.
- We stand in solidarity with all the sons and daughters of Abraham, the peoples of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths in the Holy Land, that all may know deep peace and reconciliation in their lifetimes.
- We stand in support of agencies and individuals who are serving those suffering at their time of greatest need. May they be rewarded for their courage and compassion.
- We stand united with all people of good will who are campaigning for an end to this violence. May we never lose hope and may our resolve not falter.
- We stand together as disciples of Jesus Christ, who, in the very lands that are lacerated by hostility and violence today, called on his followers to be peacemakers. In the name of God, we call for an end to war, closure of heart and hatred to be replaced with dialogue, reconciliation, and peace.
Today we cry out to all people in positions of power to end this senseless violence. We pray to Almighty God that their hearts may be turned towards compassion, and that they may have the courage and wisdom to pursue the path of justice and peace for all who call the Holy Land home.
Most Rev. Archbishop William Nolan, Archbishop of Glasgow
Right Rev. Sally Foster-Fulton, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
2. A letter addressed to the Prime Minister by Michael Yuille (Convener) and Rev Alistair Cumming (Vice-Convener), Israel Palestine Committee, Church of Scotland.
Dear Foreign Secretary
Congratulations on your appointment to HM Government and be assured of the interest of the Church of Scotland in the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Please know that the Church of Scotland regularly prays for our leaders and representatives and we will continue to do so as you take on your duties of public service and in working for a world which is fairer and more peaceful.
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has called on members of the Church to pray for peace in the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas and in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, and has instructed us to urge the UK Government:
- to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza;
- to cease granting export licences for the sale of armaments to Israel;
- to reinstate funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA); and
- to recognise without delay the State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, as a contribution to securing lasting peace and justice for all.
We were glad that during your first visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in July, you called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and a rapid increase of humanitarian aid into Gaza. We were also glad that on the 19th of July you announced that the UK would restart funding to UNRWA.
However, we believe that there should be a clear reference to a permanent ceasefire in your ongoing discussions, in order to stop the suffering of the people of Gaza, and to help avert the very real fear of a wider regional war. This permanent ceasefire should also be agreed to by Hamas. There is still time for Israel to change course, but that needs pressure from the UK Government in collaboration with other countries. We also firmly believe that a ceasefire will enable the hostages currently held in Gaza to be released.
On that note, we would like to raise the case of Layan Nasir, a member of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, who is currently being held in administrative detention. Having been arrested at gunpoint in her home in April, her detention has just been extended by a further four months, still without being charged. She is being held in Haifa and her family and priest are not allowed to even visit with her. We would ask that the UK Government acts to secure her release, along with thousands of others who are in a similar situation and held without charge.
We were very disappointed to read last week that the UK Government has put off a decision on suspending arms export licences to Israel, despite initially being in favour of doing so. It is clear from the recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that Israel has violated international law in Gaza and in the West Bank. Whilst it is understood that UK companies provide only a small amount of the total number of arms to Israel, it still makes them complicit in Israel’s ongoing violations of international law. We call on the UK Government to immediately suspend arms export licences to Israel.
During your visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, you made the urgent case for a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution. We ask, however, that the UK Government goes further and recognises the State of Palestine, thus bringing the UK in line with the other 145 countries around the world who have done so. This has been the policy of the Church of Scotland for many years, and it is disappointing to us that recognition has not yet happened. It is even more vital now, given the Israeli Knesset’s recent overwhelming decision to oppose any ‘unilateral’ recognition of a Palestinian state.
The Church of Scotland has had a presence in Israel for many years, and we continue to run two churches, a school, and two hotels there. We also maintain close partnerships and relationships with projects, initiatives and faith groups in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories where we have shared aims of peace, justice and human rights. The commitment of the Church of Scotland to peace with justice is strengthened by the many members and ministers who have had the opportunity to visit Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, for work, pilgrimage or volunteering. Amongst many projects, one that we have supported for many years has been the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, where Christians from around the world visit to support Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories, show solidarity, and bring back stories of what they have witnessed.
We also stand as part of a growing multifaith and international cry for an end to the conflict as soon as possible: a release of Israeli hostages, a permanent ceasefire for the civilians in Gaza, an end to our nation’s arming another when those weapons are used for offensive rather than defensive purposes, and for an urgent increase in humanitarian aid to alleviate the suffering and desperate need which has arisen.
We would be happy to meet with you or your colleagues to talk further about our work in Israel and to share some of our experience.
We look forward to hearing from you with a response to this letter, which we can share with our members.
Yours sincerely
Michael Yuille (Convener) Rev Alistair Cumming (Vice-Convener), Israel Palestine Committee
Church of Scotland, 9 August 2024
About Justice and Peace Scotland
The Scottish Justice and Peace Commission was formed in 1979. Its function is to act as the bishops’ advisory body on issues of social justice, human rights, peace, development and integrity of creation. It also has the responsibility of raising awareness of these issues within the Catholic community in Scotland. It does this through networking and offering support to both existing and newly formed local Justice and Peace groups. Policy is formulated in the context of the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching under the supervision of the Bishops’ Conference.
The constituency of Justice and Peace is over a thousand people out of an active Catholic population in Scotland of slightly less than 200,00. Each of Scotland’s eight dioceses is entitled to send an official representative to the National Commission. There is also space for youth and ecumenical representatives as well as representation from religious, clergy and SCIAF.
There are several ongoing campaigns, including environment, human rights and social justice.
For more information on Justice and Peace and their campaigns, see justiceandpeacescotland.org.uk.
JUSTICE AND PEACE SCOTLAND STATEMENT ON THE PASSAGE OF ‘THE SAFETY OF
RWANDA (ASYLUM AND IMMIGRATION) BILL’ – 24th APRIL 2024
Justice & Peace Scotland are dismayed at the passing of the Safety of Rwanda Bill. This marks a terrible day for the upholding of international law, respect for human rights, and the progression of UK politics. Refugees and all who come to our shores are made in the image and likeness of God and should be treated with the dignity they deserve, not cruelty and inhumanity.
The Rwanda scheme would enable the Government to forcibly expel people seeking asylum – including children, torture survivors, and victims of war – putting them at grave risk of further harm and human rights abuses. People will be removed to a country they have no connection to, despite the ruling of our own country’s Supreme Court that it is unsafe for them.
It is a human right to seek asylum and those who come to the decision to leave their homes behind do not make the choice lightly. Human beings seeking asylum or migrating for a better life do so because of problems that other human beings create: they move because of violence, war, torture, oppression, persecution, political instability, poverty, hunger, and ultimately because they have no alternative.
The passing of this morally questionable act, that serves to only further traumatise some of the most vulnerable members of society, betrays who we are as a nation that has historically provided refuge to those in need, and undermines long-standing UK values of hospitality, welcome, friendship, and compassion.
The Rwanda scheme evidences a blatant disregard for international law as it violates the UK’s international legal obligations as a state party to the Refugee Convention. Protecting refugees requires cooperation and responsibility sharing from all countries, not just those adjacent to crisis zones, as clearly defined in the Convention and its associated legal instruments. The UK government, instead of continuing to sow seeds of division and hostility, should be pursuing practical measures to address irregular flows of refugees and migrants, based on international cooperation and respect for international human rights law.
In place of this inhumane and cruel policy, we echo calls for a new plan for supporting
refugees and an approach to asylum in the UK that is fair, kind, and gets the system working again for everyone. Specifically, we call for hospitable alternatives to the Rwanda plan that will safeguard refugees and their rights such as provision of a humanitarian visa scheme, allowing people to travel easily and access protection quickly; the expansion and better management of country resettlement schemes, such as those implemented for Syrians and Ukrainians; and the opportunity for those in need to apply for asylum before arriving in the UK, all of which would eliminate the need for people to travel here via irregular means.
Justice and Peace Scotland
e-mail: office@justiceandpeacescotland.org
Saint Joseph’s Justice and Peace
The Saint Joseph’s Justice and Peace group was one of the first to be formed after the formation of the Justice and Peace commission.
We have had much success over the years, campaigning through letter writing and lobbying. We have also moved to hosting open evening talks on a range of topics. These are under the heading of Integrating Life and Faith.
Current campaigns
Say No to Assisted Suicide
This bill is proposing that anyone over the age of 16 years old, who is terminally ill, mentally competent and wishes to die can end their life.
The Bishop’s of Scotland have published a pastoral letter, “Called to care, Not to Kill”. They describe the proposals as dangerous and urge us to write to our MPs and MSP in opposition of this bill.
For more details and a letter/email template visit: Assisted Suicide – Catholic Parliamentary Office (rcpolitics.org)
Currently the Assisted dying bill is at Stage 1 at Holyrood and has been given to the lead committee. For more information on what this means and the proposed evidence timetable, click here.
Currently the bill is in the committee stage at Westminster. For more information on what is happening and recent updates, click here.
SCIAF
A SCIAF campaign appealing for spiritual and financial support for the people in Gaza and encouraging us to write to MPs condemning the violence, calling for an immediate ceasefire and asking for signatories to their petition.
To sign the petition and more details visit: What does 2024 have in store for Gaza? | SCIAF
Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC)
We are currently concerned about the proposed bill of introducing ‘Safe Access Zones’ around abortion clinics. This “buffer zone” law would be the most extreme of its kind in the world and anticipates criminalising ‘audible prayer‘ and ‘silent vigils‘ and will even criminalise certain actions within private homes.
We are encouraged to write to our local MSPs to show our opposition to this ban.
This has been made an act in the Scottish Government.
Conversion Therapy Ban
The Scottish Government is consulting on banning so-called “gay conversion therapy” with a view to bringing forward legislation
The Scottish Bishops are not alone in raising concerns that, as it stands, it will have the effect of criminalising sensitive conversations between parents and their children as well as mainstream prayer, preaching and pastoral conversations which uphold church teaching on sexual ethics and gender.
For more information click here
There is currently a bill coming through the UK parliament which is in it’s second reading. To read the bill and current status, click here.
Care of Creation Group (Deanery Group)
The newly formed parish deanery group, with Saint Cadoc’s and Saint Bridget’s hopes to heighten awareness of environmental issues and respond by leading more environmentally friendly lives. We use references from the Holy Father encyclical “Laudato Si” and “Laudato Deum”. Working within the eco-congregation framework we are hoping to work our way to a silver award in the future.
More information about eco-congregation and its aims can be found here: ecocongregationscotland.org.
The scrapping of Climate Targets by the Scottish Government
On the 18th of April 2024, the Scottish government announced that it was scrapping the target of reducing emissions by 75% by 2030. The 2045 target of Net Zero will remain in place. The government had missed 8 out of 12 of their annual targets and were warned that this made the flagship goal unachievable. This is of great concern to us as we are required to act now to prevent significant impact to our world.
As a community, we must focus on making active choices in our lives, that are better for our environment and promote a green lifestyle. This can be achieved in several ways. As your eco-committee we hope we can provide information and assistance to help live a more eco way of life.
Meeting details and recent minutes
Our next meeting: Tuesday 17th December in Saint Joseph’s meeting room at 7:30pm.
Click Here to access the most recent minutes
Previous minutes
Contact us
We welcome all new members, please contact John Seenan if you are interested.
Telephone: 01416442725.