The Record Newspaper 12 September 1996

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Record WA's only Catholic weekly newspaper

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Perth: September 12, 1996

Nation reminded again of option for the poor By Peter Rosengren The chairman of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, Bishop Kevin Manning, criticised the Federal Budget this week for failing to produce programs aimed at eliminating poverty as the Australia's Catholic bishops were about to release a statement calling for the eradication of poverty. Bishop Manning accused the Howard Government of retreating from the fight against poverty and said it was ironic the Budget should be brought down in the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. The Archbishop of Canberra and Goalburn, Archbishop Francis Carroll, released the bishops' statement on global poverty and poverty in Australia. A New Beginning, Eradicating Poverty in Our World, at the National Press Club in Canberra today. Acknowledging some of the Budget's positive measures, such as better targetted family tax packages, Bishop Manning said

the fundamental moral measure of the Budget was how it had effected the poor. "It is clear that the unemployed, indigenous people, poor families, the aged, students, the sick and new migrants will suffer because of the Budget cuts," he said. "They have to bear a disproportionate amount of the pain of this budget." Bishop Manning criticised the Budget on a number of fronts, saying unemployment was the greatest cause of poverty in Australia and questioning the Federal Government's approach to solving the problem. "No government can disagree that the most urgent priority of economic policy must be to create jobs with adequate pay and decent working conditions. It is the present government's means to achieving this goal that is questionable," he said. The Bishop also said the unemployed had effectively been abandoned to the forces of the free market, with no specific targets for reducing unemployment and no replacements for the cuts in labour market programs. "The government is retreating from the fight against poverty," Bishop Manning said.

The document released by the bishops makes a number of recommendations for what it describes as a new beginning in the struggle against poverty, and calls for the widespread adoption of the 'preferential option for the poor' as the guiding principle to action on poverty. Cardinal Edward Clancy of Sydney in the foreword to the document said it had been offered as a contribution to the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. Describing poverty as a structural problem, Cardinal Clancy said the central message of the document was that the post-war struggle against poverty was still continuing and required a total response from all sectors of society. "We propose that poverty can be eradicated only if governments, public institutions, non-government organisations and each of us as individuals adopt a new beginning based on that preferential option for the poor people which Christ demonstrated through his actions," the cardinal wrote. Reliance by governments on market forces on their own to provide a just dis-

tribution of economic profit, prosperity and power could not determine the common economic good of nations, he wrote. Other recommendations included a call to Catholic organisations to develop strategies for implementing the 'preferential option for the poor' in their own contexts and for Catholic social agencies to develop their capacity for policy analysis. Catholics were urged to participate in courses and programs designed to educate about poverty's causes and take appropriate actions such as purchasing goods from Third World sources. The document also calls on the government to increase the level of Australia's aid to poorer countries to match the internationally agreed level of 0.7 per cent of GNP and to devote 20 per cent of the overseas aid budget to the eradication of poverty. Domestically, the statement calls on State and Federal governments to devise clear poverty eradication strategies with an explicit timeline attached to them and to address what it describes as "the national disaster" of unemployment and long term unemployment.

Perth charismatics rally High Court appeal bid to praise the Lord

Charismatics pray last Sunday at WA's Catholic Charismatic Renewal rally at St Kieran's Church in Osborne Park. Approximately 200 people from Perth prayer groups met for the first rally of the movement in several years. A highlight of the rally was the visit of the Australian representative on the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Committee in Rome, Alan Panozza, from Melbourne. He was on his first official visit to the WA prayer groups.

Performing Arts 696 impresses all - Page 8

The Australian Catholic Australian Catholic Health Care viding full opportunity for aborHealth Care Association and the Association, which represents tions or abortion referrals and Australian Catholic Bishops' Catholic hospitals and hostels consequently sued. Conference this week sought to across the nation, Mr Francis SulMr Sullivan also said there Intervene as 'friends of the livan, said the ACHCA was seek- could be significant implications court' in a High Court appeal ing involvement in the case for State and Federal health care case which could possibly see together with the Catholic bish- budgets. Catholic doctors and hospitals ops because of the possible impliHe said that with Catholic hosliable to be sued for failing to cations of the Court's decision. pitals comprising somewhere "We're seeking to intervene provide opportunities to between 10 and 13 per cent of the because the implications of this women for abortion. Australian health care system the The two bodies have sought to ruling, if the appeal is dismissed, implications for Federal and intervene as the decision may we're advised that Catholic hos- State-funded hospitals would be directly impact on the operation pitals, particularly, will have to "huge" if the hospitals were of Catholic hospitals. Catholic demonstrate that they are not placed in a situation where they teaching demands that Catholic liable for not providing the full could no longer operate. health care institutions have noth- opportunity for termination [of The term 'friend of the court' ing to do with abortion services pregnancies)" he said. or referrals for them He said the possibility of hospi- meant that a party was effectively saying to the court it had a parDepending on the decision of tals and doctors being sued was a the court, Catholic hospitals could clear possibility that the Associa- ticular view relevant to the case which no-one else would be be forced to close down materni- tion was worrying about. putting, he said. ty facilities serving pregnant "It's certainly one of the probHe said if the court did not grant women rather than provide abor- lems that we're worrying about. tion services and referrals. That sort of clarity has to be leave to to intervene in the case The case being heard is an sought after the decision's made. there would not be an implication appeal by Sydney medical clinic, That's why we've decided to inter- it was in favour of abortion. Superclinics, against a full bench vene at this point," he said. "All it means from our perspecdecision of the New South Wales He said the association was tive is that the Court does not Supreme Court in September aware the High Court had to keep believe that it needs to hear our 1995 which found that a doctor in mind many different factors particular point of view separatecould be held liable for 'wrongful when making its judgement but ly to the other submissions [if that birth' through failing to diagnose the association was concerned happens)," he said. a pregnancy in time for the moth- that if the appeal was dismissed, - Peter Rosengren er to have an abortion. Catholic health care institutions Radical feminism and Catholic The executive director of the would be held liable for not prowomen - Pages 10-11

Education for the hearing impaired - Page 9

CEO orders State sex ed material out of schools - Page


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