Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

Today, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference released its second 2026 Social Justice Statement, Living the Gospel in Times of Social Division. 

Each year, the bishops invite us to reflect on issues affecting our communities and to consider how the Gospel calls us to respond. This year’s second Statement comes at a time when division, hostility and intolerance are increasingly evident in Australia and around the world. 

We have witnessed a disturbing rise in antisemitism and other forms of racism, alongside public debate that can too easily become angry and divisive. While disagreement is part of life, hatred, abuse and violence can never be accepted as its consequence.  

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to another way. 

The Gospel reminds us that every person is created in the image and likeness of God. We do not have to agree with one another on every issue, but we are called to recognise the dignity of every person, to listen with open hearts and to treat one another as neighbours rather than opponents. 

This begins by remaining close to Christ in prayer and allowing Him to shape our own hearts. Before we seek to change others, we might first ask what needs to change within ourselves. 

The Statement calls us to help build a “culture of encounter”: to reach beyond the divisions that separate us, listen to people whose experiences may be different from our own and build relationships founded on respect, compassion and our shared human dignity.  

This is something each of us can do through the way we speak to and about others, particularly those with whom we disagree. It is found when we listen rather than judge, reach out to someone who feels isolated or unwelcome and stand beside those who experience discrimination. 

You can access the full statement here.

Here in our own Diocese, many parishes are already putting this Gospel call into practice through the Listening Assemblies taking place across our communities. These conversations reflect our commitment to a synodal way of being the Church; walking together, listening deeply to one another and discerning, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, how we are called to shape our parishes and our mission for the future. 

May our parishes always be places of welcome and belonging, where people of different ages, cultures, backgrounds and experiences come together as one community in Christ. 

Across our Diocese, in our parishes, schools, CatholicCare services, St Nicholas communities and ministries, we encounter people from many different walks of life. Each encounter is an opportunity to recognise the dignity of another person and make the love of Christ visible through our actions. 

The Statement also reminds us that peace cannot be separated from justice. We are called to stand with those on the margins, welcome migrants and refugees, reject racism in all its forms and continue the important work of reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.  

As we prepare to mark Social Justice Sunday on 30 August, I encourage you to read the Statement and prayerfully consider what it asks of each of us. 

We might begin with a simple question: do my words and actions help to heal division or deepen it? 

At a time when conflict and division can seem overwhelming, we rightly continue to pray for peace. But peace is also something we are called to build through the choices we make and the way we treat one another in our homes, parishes, workplaces and communities. 

May the Holy Spirit guide us, open our hearts to one another and give us the courage to be people of encounter, reconciliation and peace. 

Yours in Christ, 

Bishop Michael Kennedy

Download the Social Justice Statement Prayer as pdf
Download the Social Justice Statement Prayer as jpg