This section explores how you can put your catholic faith into action through acts of service like volunteering.
And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8
The Catholic Church is one of the greatest providers of voluntary and charitable services across England and Wales. Catholic volunteering schemes such as helping at L’Arche centres, soup kitchens, prison support, food banks or befriending the elderly are a crucial means of social action. Not only do these organisations model the gospel imperative that Jesus proclaimed so clearly, but they are found in every diocese where the need is there.
‘In the social sphere, the Church has always wished to assume a double function: first to enlighten the minds in order to assist them to discover the truth and to find the right path to follow amid the different teachings that call for their attention; and secondly, to take part in action and to spread, with a real care for service and effectiveness, the energies of the Gospel.’ Octogesima Adveniens sec. 48.
In this way we see how faith and social action go hand in hand. In Section 3 we highlighted the importance of the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy:
There are Catholic charities across England and Wales which respond to these works of mercy and many other social issues every day and they need our help and support.
If you would like to volunteer or get involved locally or nationally, it is helpful to think about the mission you’re most interested in, how much time you have got and how far you would like to travel. Once you have decided where you would like to offer your support, you can contact the relevant charity to see whether they need your help. They will let you know what roles are available and provide you with relevant information and next steps to becoming a volunteer.
Here are some Catholic charities to choose from:
ACN UK – Aid to the Church in Need campaigns – https://acnuk.org/our-campaigns/
CAFOD Campaign for Change – Campaign (cafod.org.uk)
Caritas – Caritas – Ending poverty, promoting justice and restoring dignity
Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN) – www.csan.org.uk
CARJ – CARJ -Catholic Association for Racial Justice
Coalition for Marriage – Coalition For Marriage (c4m.org.uk)
CYMFed – CYMFed – Catholic Youth Ministry Federation
DoCat – DOCAT | Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church (youcat.org)
Jesuit Refugee Service – JRS UK | Jesuit Refugee Service UK
L’Arche – L’Arche (larche.org.uk)
Mary’s Meals – https://marymeals.org.uk
Million Minutes – Million Minutes
Missio – Home – Missio
Order of Malta – https://www.orderofmalta.org.uk/
Pax Christi – https://paxchristi.org.uk
Santa Marta Group – https://santamartagroup.org/
Stella Maris – Home – Stella Maris
National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) – https://www.ncvo.org.uk/#/
NCVO produce a range of tools and resources for effective campaigning, from free downloadable factsheets to more detailed publications, and to guide you to useful resources produced by other organisations.
Catholic Schools
Catholic schools sit at the heart of local communities. There are many different ways that you can support and engage with your Catholic schools, from volunteering on school trips to being on the parents’ association panels. You can also live out your faith and serve your community by volunteering as a foundation governor at a local Catholic school – to find out more contact your diocese.
Model Press Release and Briefing Paper
Here are some helpful tips and templates when writing a press release or briefing paper.
Writing a Press Release
If you and your group set up a campaign to address a local issue, you may want to promote it so that others can get involved. A way to do this is through local news outlets, which can have big social media followings.
If you contact a local journalist they may ask you to send details of your campaign in an email format for consideration as a news story.
Be brief – they only want the who/what/where/how/why of a story – and no more than an A4 side or 300 words.
Always make clear the press release is on behalf of your local campaign group.
Here is a suggested template:
Writing a Parliamentary Briefing
The Catholic Church has a voice at local, national and international levels. It is important to make those with power and influence aware of the wonderful work undertaken by Catholic communities across our country and the world. One way to do this is through sending parliamentarians briefings. Parliamentary briefings are often written for one of two reasons:
MPs, MSs and Peers receive a huge amount of information each day, so it is important the briefings are kept short, concise and that it is made clear what action you want them to take.
You can include links and references if they serve a helpful purpose in explaining your points.
If you have a published press release, you may wish to include a link to it within your briefing.
Please see a suggested structure below to help you write briefings for parliamentarians:
Websites
Here is a selection of websites, organisations and useful resource ideas to help you and your supporters be as effective as you can in your social action.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales:
Key Issues, Policy papers, Briefings and Contacts –
Our Work – Catholic Bishops’ Conference (cbcew.org.uk)
The Care of Creation and Love the Stranger documents can be found here:
https://www.cbcew.org.uk/documents-and-publications/
Social Justice –
Social Justice – Catholic Bishops’ Conference (cbcew.org.uk)
International Affairs –
International Affairs – Catholic Bishops’ Conference (cbcew.org.uk)
Dialogue and Unity –
Dialogue and Unity – Catholic Bishops’ Conference (cbcew.org.uk)
Main Political Parties
Conservative Party – About us | Conservatives
Labour Party – The Labour Party – Home
Liberal Democrat Party – Liberal Democrats (libdems.org.uk)
Welsh Conservatives – The Welsh Conservative Party | (conservatives.wales)
Welsh Labour – Homepage – Welsh Labour – Welsh Labour | Llafur Cymru
Welsh Liberal Democrats – Welsh Liberal Democrats – Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru (libdems.wales)
Plaid Cymru – Party of Wales
Green Party – https://greenparty.org.uk/
Political Institutions
UK Parliament – UK Parliament
UK Parliament Live TV – Parliamentlive.tv – Commons
Senedd Cymru (Welsh Parliament) – Senedd Cymru | Welsh Parliament
UK Unions
Unison – UNISON – the public service union
Unite the Union – Trade Union, Unions UK, Workers Union – Unite the union
TUC – TUC: Trades Union Congress
Alliances, Networks and Thinktanks
Care – Home | CARE
Care for the Family – https://www.careforthefamily.org.uk/
Centre for Enterprise, Markets and Ethics – https://theceme.org
Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) – https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/
Citizens UK – Home – Citizens UK
Electoral Reform Society – www.electoral-reform.org.uk
Fabian Society – The future of the left since 1884 | Fabian Society
Fairtrade Foundation – Home – Fairtrade Foundation
Institute of Economic Affairs – IEA — Institute of Economic Affairs
Institute for Public Policy Research – Home | IPPR
Joseph Rowntree – JRF | The Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Liberty – Home – Liberty (libertyhumanrights.org.uk)
Living and Dying Well – https://livinganddyingwell.org.uk/
Policy Exchange – Policy Exchange – The Iran Question and British Strategy
Politeia – Home – Politeia
Right to Life – https://righttolife.org.uk
Theos – https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk
The Social Market Foundation – https://www.smf.co.uk
Together for the Common Good (T4CG) – Home – Together For The Common Good
Working Families – Working Families | Changing the way we live and work
Ecumenical organisations
Christians in Parliament – Christians in Parliament
Church Action on Poverty – https://www.church-poverty.org.uk/
Churches Together in England (CTE) – https://cte.org.uk/
Just Money Movement – https://justmoney.org.uk
Pact – https://www.prisonadvice.org.uk/
Young Christian Worker movement – YCW (ycwimpact.com)
Quakers Peace and Social Witness (QPSW) – Our work | Quakers in Britain
Campaigning in Collaboration – Campaigning in collaboration | NCVO
Christian Media
The Tablet – https://thetablet.co.uk
The Catholic Herald – Catholic Herald – Catholic Herald
The Universe – Home – Universe Catholic Weekly
Church Times – https://www.churchtimes.co.uk
News Media Association –https://newsmediauk.org
Diocesan Social Action websites
If you want to find out what’s happening in your diocese visit your diocesan website.
Key Social Justice Bible Texts for further reflection and prayer
Genesis 1-2
Exodus 2:23-25; Exodus 3:7 ; Exodus 19:4; Exodus 20:2-17; Exodus 22:21-23
Leviticus 19:15; Leviticus 19:18; Leviticus 24:22.
Deuteronomy 5:6-21; Deuteronomy 5:12-15; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Deuteronomy 24:6-22
1 Samuel 8
2 Kings 24-25
Psalm 9:5; Psalm 33:5; Psalm 36:6; Psalm 37:6; Psalms 95-99; Psalm 145:9
Proverbs 31: 8-9
Isaiah 5:8-24; Isaiah 10:1-2a; Isaiah 61:1-7
Jeremiah 22:13-16; Jeremiah 34:8-16
Ezekiel 18:5-9
Amos 5:10-15; Amos 5: 21-24; Amos 8:4-6
Micah 6:8
Zechariah 7:9-10
Matthew 6:24-34; Matthew 18:23-35; Matthew 25:14-30; Matthew 25:40
Mark 10:42-44; Mark 12:28-34
Luke 6:20-26; Luke 10:29-37; Luke 16:19-31; Luke 18:1-8
John 2:15b-16; 4:7-30
Acts 2:44-47; Acts 4:32-35
Romans 12:4-8; Romans 13:1-7
1 Corinthians 12
Galatians 3:28
James 2:14-26
Revelation 21
Key Vatican documents on social justice issues
Rerum Novarum (On Capital and Labor) – Pope Leo XIII – May 15, 1891
Quadragesimo Anno (After Forty Years) – On Reconstruction of the Social Order –
Pope Pius XI – May 15, 1931 (40th anniversary of Rerum Novarum)
Mater et Magistra (On Christianity and Social Progress) –
Pope John XXIII – May 15, 1961 (60th anniversary of Rerum Novarum)
Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) – Pope John XXIII – April 11, 1963 –
on Establishing Universal Peace in Truth, Justice, Charity, and Liberty
Populorum Progressio (On the Development of Peoples) – Pope Paul VI – March 27, 1967
Octogesima Adveniens (Eightieth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum) – Pope Paul VI – 14th May 1971
Dives-in-misericordia.html (On mercy) – Pope John Paul II – November 30th, 1980
Laborem Exercens (On Human Work) – Pope John Paul II – September 14, 1981
(90th anniversary of Rerum Novarum)
Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (20th Anniversary of Populorum Progressio) – Pope John Paul II – December 30, 1987
Centesimus Annus (The Hundredth Year) – Pope John Paul II – May 1, 1991
(100th anniversary of Rerum Novarum)
Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) – Pope John Paul II – March 25, 1995
Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason) – Pope John Paul II – September 14, 1998
Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love) – Pope Benedict XVI – December 15, 2005
Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth) – Pope Benedict XVI – June 29, 2009
Laudato Si’ (On Care for Our Common Home) – Pope Francis – May 24, 2015
Fratelli tutti – Pope Francis – 3rd October 2020
Laudate-Deum (On the Climate Crisis) – Pope Francis – 4th October 2023
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< Section 4: Monitoring and Evaluation
<< Back to ‘Turning Tables: A Toolkit for Scripture and Social Action’
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Bishop Richard Moth, Chair of the Department for Social Justice and Bishop of Arundel & Brighton provides the foreword for 'Turning Tables'.
