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Thought for the Day

“If a person hasn’t discovered something he/she will die for, s/he isn’t fit to live.”

Martin Luther King

From the Director General

The peace and joy of Christmas and health and happiness in the New Year

Peace be to you
And peace to your house
And peace be to all that you have
1 Sam.25:6

The Mystery of Christmas

By Thomas Merton

The mystery of Christmas lays upon us all a debt and an obligation to the rest of humankind and to the whole created universe. We who have seen the light of Christ are obliged, by the greatness of the grace that has been given us, to make known the presence of the Saviour to the ends of the earth. This we will do not only by preaching the glad tidings of his coming, but above all by revealing him in our lives. Christ is born to us today, in order that he may appear to the whole world through us. This one day is he day of his birth but every day of our mortal lives must be his manifestation, his divine Epiphany, in the world which he has created and redeemed.

Dates for your Diary

January 8, 2009
Symposium organised by CORI Health
Booking essential

February 2, 2009 (or other day suitable to Congregation)
Prayer service available in mid January

March 24, 2009
Gregory Collins osb
Details later

EU to emphasise the need for solidarity and social protection in addressing economic crisis

The European Commission has proposed that solidarity and social protection should be built on so as to smooth the impact of the economic crisis and to help recovery. In its proposals for the Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2009 to be agreed by the Council of Minister dealing with employment, social policy, health and consumer protection (known as EPSCO) the Commission has identified ten key messages to be accepted by governments across the EU.

Other issues addressed in the Commission’s proposals are unemployment, active inclusion strategies, child poverty, homelessness, disability, pension adequacy, health and long-term care. CORI Justice welcomes the thrust of these proposals as they highlight the importance of protecting the most vulnerable at a time of major economic difficulty. They also go some way towards recognising that economic development and social development are interdependent and must be addressed simultaneously if development is to be sustainable in the long term.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has issued an instruction on certain bioethical questions entitled Dignitas Personae (The Dignity of the Person).

This document addresses the moral implications of a range of "biotechnical" treatments including issues such as genetic engineering and cloning. It argues that many of the latest developments in the field of biotechnology raise serious moral problems for doctors and researchers.

To read the full text of ‘The Dignity of the Person! Download Pdf

Book on Values, Catholic Social Thought and Public Policy published by CORI Justice

Given the current economic upheaval many have asked if the Catholic Social Thought tradition has anything to offer to the ongoing discussion. One useful starting point might be a book on Values, Catholic Social Thought and Public Policy published by CORI Justice Download Pdf. It addresses a wide range of issues including economics, corporate social responsibility, globalisation and the common good, work, the history of the Catholic Church and social policy in Ireland, and the challenge of addressing public policy from a Catholic Social Thought perspective. Contributors include David Begg, Charles M. A. Clark, Tony Fahey, Lorna Gold, Andre Habisch, Sean Healy and Brigid Reynolds.

Everyone is invited to take part in an online consultation on the economic and social future of Europe. The 2009 European Citizens’ Consultation, a pan-European debate among citizens from every EU Member State was launched in Brussels on Wednesday 3rd December 2008 with websites in all 27 Member States going live on Thursday 4th December.

Eurobarometer opinion polls show that rising inflation and unemployment are now the public’s main concerns. But what role can the EU play in addressing these and other concerns about our economic and social future? Does the EU take a balanced approach to economic, social and environmental development? What should the EU do to ensure that every person in the Union has the resources to live life with dignity? These are just some of the questions that you can address in this consultation. The website dedicated to the debate in Ireland is www.european-citizens-consultations.eu/ie or www.comhairliuchan-eorpach-do-shaoranaigh.eu

CORI Justice welcomes the reduction in Ireland’s poverty rate. This reduction vindicates the campaign conducted by CORI Justice for many years to benchmark the lowest social welfare rates at 30% of gross average industrial earnings (GAIE) for a single person. In welcoming the reduction in Ireland's poverty rate by almost one fifth over a three-year period CORI Justice notes these figures cover the period to end-2007 and they highlight Government's failure to maintain the anti-poverty momentum in Budgets 2008 and 2009.

The study by the Central Statistics Office (entitled: Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2007) 2007 published on December 3, 2008, shows that the proportion of the population at risk of poverty fell from 17.0% to 15.8% in 2007. Two years earlier it had been at 19.4%.

Government publishes Finance Bill

Government published the Finance Bill on November 20th, 2008. They also published an explanatory memo and list of the items contained in the bill. All of these can be accessed from this site.

Finance Bill Download Pdf
Explanatory Memo, Finance Bill 2008 Download Pdf
Finance Bill - List of items Download Pdf

NESF to study child literacy and social inclusion

The National Economic and Social Forum (NESF) has been asked by the Government to focus on the Irish experience of successful and unsuccessful implementation of official policies. As part of this, an NESF Project Team, chaired by Professor Áine Hyland, has been set up to examine policies on child literacy and social inclusion.

Have you information and stories to share with the Project Team?

The NESF would like to know more about your experiences of child literacy initiatives in primary schools and communities experiencing social exclusion.They are particularly interested in hearing from teachers, support teachers, principals, parents and members of the community.

“Santa, the Holy One” - Public Lecture

“Santa, the Holy One” is the title of a public lecture to be given by Thomas Moore, international best selling author, at Nazareth House, 516 Ravenhill Road, Belfast, BT6 0BW on Thursday, 11 December 2008 at 7:30 pm. Thomas Moore is author of international best sellers 'Care of the Soul' and 'Dark Nights of the Soul' as well as the recently published 'A Life at Work'. All are welcome. This lecture is sponsored by CORI (NI) and Drumalis.

Read more…html or Download Pdf

Rich-poor divide widens, says OECD

The gap between rich and poor has widened in most developed countries over the past two decades as economic growth has benefited the wealthy more than the impoverished, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The OECD report entitled ‘Growing Unequal?’ published October 21st, 2008 shows that Ireland’s level of inequality is almost as bad as it was in the mid-1980s having fallen in the period between then and the start of the present decade.

Ireland was seventh most unequal country – more than 5 per cent above the OECD average – using the Gini scale, which measures disposable household income adjusted for household size. The UK was ranked sixth with inequality 8 per cent above the OECD average.

Choosing Ireland's Future

The past few weeks have seen dramatic events ranging from the virtual collapse of the international financial system to the election of Barak Obama to the reversal of Budget decisions following protests by over-70s at proposed changes on entitlement to medical cards. We certainly live in interesting times - times that require major choices that will shape the future for decades to come.
Read more...

Number of people without enough food is rising

There is growing concern that the numbers of people without enough to eat in the coming months will rise, especially as the global economic downturn threatens to undermine recent efforts to alleviate the global food crisis.

The United Nations says the number of people living in hunger and poverty grew in 2007 by 75 million. The growing global food crisis according to analysts is being caused by a number of events, including rising fuel costs, erratic weather patterns, the widespread diversion of food crops for biofuels and escalating livestock production.

People at risk of poverty are much more likely to have higher levels of chronic illness according to a recent report produced by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) and Combat Poverty. Poorer people’s health outcomes are very influenced by social factors, such as poor housing, nutrition and education (known as the social determinants of health) which explains the higher level of ill-health found among poor and socially excluded groups in Ireland, North and South.

CONTACT Issue Number 46

The latest edition of the CORI Justice newsletter CONTACT addresses a range of issues including: the failures of the Celtic Tiger, the review of the National Social Partnership Agreement, the EU Social Agenda, the origins of the present financial crisis, health and the poor, corruption, zero carbon in Denmark and the importance of reclaiming our time in today's very busy world. Download Pdf

CORI Justice Analysis and Critique of Budget 2009

Working Poor and Children Lose Out in Budget 2009 Download Pdf

Budget 2009 did not protect the vulnerable. The working poor and children lose out in Budget 2009. Other social welfare recipients will also be worse off in real terms in the coming year.

This happened despite the fact that the distribution of resources in Budget 2009 was very progressive with the only net beneficiaries being people in receipt of social welfare payments.

On October 11, the Government published its White Paper in advance of Budget 2009.Without taking into account changes to be introduced on Budget Day it shows an expected Budget deficit of nearly €15bn in 2009, a reduction in capital spending of 6.3% and an expected fall in tax revenue of more than €1bn in 2009. Initiatives to be announced on Budget Day will cause these numbers to change. Download Pdf

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