Sir John Battle, former MP for Leeds West and a patron of the the National Justice and Peace Network, chaired the 46th Annual Conference of the NJPN at the Hayes Conference Centre in Derbyshire from 19-21 July.
He said at the start that the weekend was “about active, practical hope,” coming so soon after the General Election and with the theme, ‘Just Politics’. He stressed that Catholic Social Teaching inspired vision and social action by Catholics.
The conference was an opportunity for nearly 200 participants to network – all activists in justice, peace, advocacy and social action. Participants travelled from many dioceses across England, Wales and Scotland – bringing with them a wealth of experience of local, national and international action and concern. Religious orders were also represented. The wide range of age groups was also notable.
“Politics creates the world we see around us and can shape our society towards more, or less, Christ-like ends,” said Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, the Anglican Bishop of Chelmsford and member of the House of Lords. In her keynote address, she said politically-engaged Church groups are inspired by the Gospel message of Christ “which is inherently political” and affirmed Caritas groups and others who are already engaging with MPs. She herself has been active on such social issues as Housing, Immigration and Asylum.
Further talks and presentations were given by Dr Molly Scott Cato, Professor Emerita of Green Economics and a former member of the European parliament, and Steve Whiting, a peace activist in the Quaker tradition. Professor Scott Cato called for more citizenship education, Citizens Assemblies, and engaging with the democratic process. Steve Whiting underlined the importance of political lobbying on justice and peace issues. Many of these issues were highlighted on stalls in a ‘Just Fair’ which included Palestinian goods and Fairtrade chocolate. The work of the Columbans, SVP, Pax Christi, CAFOD, Christian CND, Operation Noah, and many more were showcased.
Eight young adults led ‘Perspectives from Emerging Leaders,’ a question-and-answer session which received a standing ovation in recognition of the quality of their input. It was chaired by Michael Chambers of Million Minutes, who reported on its research findings that only 47 percent of young people felt the Church cared ‘a lot’ about social justice.
The panel valued regular participation in the annual NJPN conference, which addresses issues of concern to them, particularly Conflict, Wellbeing, Equality, Racism, Discrimination and Environment. Intolerant language towards refugees by politicians was singled out for criticism and also sexism in churches, such as the use of non-inclusive language.
Raymond Friel, Director of the Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN) said afterwards: “Where are all the young people in the Church – we (my generation) often ask. Well, here are some of them speaking at the NJPN conference with great passion and wisdom about Just Politics and a vision for a better society.”
From the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, Fr Chris Hughes brought a team to share the innovative work of Tyne & Wear Citizens which he co-chairs. The words of Sara Bryson, an Assistant Director at Citizens UK, resonated strongly with everyone when she said: “We do not have a crisis of good people… all of us are capable of building relational power to bring about change.” Together with Citizens UK, schools, community groups and other faith communities, Tyne & Wear Citizens has achieved significant local change. Through community-organising models, they have addressed living wage provision, mental health support and the free school meals systems. Catholic medical student Shantel Suneesh recounted her campaign on equitable bus fares for young adults in education across the North-East – a transformation which now positively affects 23,000 young people.
In the final plenary that followed, eleven diocesan contacts promised to push for their dioceses to make a commitment to the Living Wage. Currently seven out of 30 Catholic dioceses in England, Wales and Scotland pay the national Living Wage. Birmingham would look into Citizens UK work in their diocese. Several dioceses fed back they would be lobbying against the two-child cap on benefits, which has pushed many families into poverty. Pax Christi England and Wales expressed interest in community organising techniques for planning its Autumn campaigning against arms fairs.
High-quality workshops gave delegates an opportunity to update their understanding of issues like UN Sustainable Development Goals and Nonviolence. Among them was a CAFOD/SVP one introducing their ‘Year of Encounter’ programme, following up on their successful mobilising of the Catholic voice in the General Election in more than 300 parishes and 200 constituencies; 123 parishes organised hustings. Another workshop was led by CSAN, promoting its ‘Do Justice’ campaign and encouraging ongoing political engagement. These two workshops involved Justice and Peace activists from ten dioceses and four religious orders.
The gathering was further enriched by thoughtful liturgies prepared and animated by members of the Lay Community of St Benedict, church musicians and singers drawn from many parts of the country – and indeed other countries. The conference Mass was celebrated by Fr Dominic Robinson SJ, Chair of Westminster Diocese Justice and Peace Commission. He urged the congregation “to pass on a message of great hope, proclaiming a Kingdom of Justice and Peace.” Bidding prayers called for “just and caring politics” and for Justice and Peace campaigners “to model a better way of living and being in our communities so that we can be an inspiration for a just politics.”
Recordings of the main talks will be available on the NJPN website shortly www.justice-and-peace.org.uk
