Topic 6 - Issues In Society

Question 1

What are the three main things the Catholic Church stands for?

Answer 1

Human Dignity - human dignity means that all people have the same rights and that every child of God has the same worth and value.

Option For the Poor - Catholics believe that it is our responsibility to meet the needs of all in society.

Common good and solidarity - we as humans are ONE human race and all decisions should be centred around providing everyone with basic human needs.

Question 2

What is meant by the term ‘nature’?

Answer 2

The characteristics, qualities and perspective of something

Question 3

Describe the nature of one current issue in Australian society

Answer 3

Comment on what defines an asylum seeker and why it is a problem within society.

• Australian society has been divided by the debate of asylum seekers
• asylum seekers are people that flee their country mainly by boat in search of a safe country (often without identification)
• this is an issue because many asylum seekers die on this journey later to be imprisoned or refused. What to do with these asylum seekers is often debated between groups in society

Question 4

Provide some quotes and statistics about asylum seekers

Answer 4

Immigration detention in Australia
- On the 31st March 2015 1848 people were held in immigration detention facilities in Australia, of whom 1031 were asylum seekers who had arrived by boat

• The number of people displaced by persecution and conflict as of 31st December 2014 was 59.9 million asylum seekers by the UNHCR
• 3,500 people lost their lives at sea in 2014

Question 5

How does the Catholic Church respond to Asylum Seekers?

Answer 5

• Pray regularly for refugees and asylum seekers
• Envision a new way of responding
• Work to raise awareness in your parish, schools and communities