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Give care to carers Human value needs to take precedence over economics
Women who are caregivers shouldn’t suffer economically, says Vatican representative Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard law Professor. Radical social changes are needed to support working mums ■ By Tracy Early
Mary Ann Glendon, head of the Vatican delegation to a meeting of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, said on March 7 that women face an unresolved problem of “harmonizing” their “aspirations for fuller participation in social and economic life with their roles in family life.” Women can resolve the problem, but not without “radical changes in society,” she said. Glendon, a Harvard law professor and president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, said no society had yet found a satisfactory way to apply the “equality principle” to the situation of “mothers and others who give priority to caregiving roles.” To do this, she said, policy-makers
would have to pay closer attention “to women’s own accounts of what is important to them, rather than to special interest groups that purport to speak for women but often do not have women’s interests at heart.” Society should both respect caregiving as “one of the most important forms of human work” and restructure patterns of paid employment so that women do not have to pay for their economic security by sacrificing the caregiving “in which many millions of them find their deepest fulfillment,” she said. “In sum, the problem will not be solved until human values take precedence over economic values,” she added. The February 28-March 11 commission meeting, held at UN headquarters in New York, was devoted to a review of the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women and of progress in implementing its declaration and action platform. Glendon, who headed the Vatican delegation to the conference, told the commission that the family of nations had given significant “encouragement and impetus to women in their quest for recognition of their equal rights and dignity.” Continued on page 3
VOLUNTEER BOARD MEMBERS EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
Christians join to mark World Day of Prayer
Mater Christi Church in Yangebup (pictured above) was one of a number of Catholic parishes that were host to people from many Christian denominations on Friday March 4 to celebrate the World Day of Prayer, which this year had a Polish theme. Denominational representatives, above, stand around the church’s altar after PHOTO: EUGEN MATTES lighting a candle.
Centacare Employment and Training is an agency of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Perth that provides services to the unemployed in the areas of finding employment, further education or vocational skills training. Currently, the organisation is seeking Expressions of Interest from people who may wish to become members of the Board. Individuals with skills and expertise in any of the following areas – Organisational Development, Business Management, Human Resource Management, Process Improvement, Business Planning or Marketing and who are committed to the principles of social justice, are asked to apply. Early morning Board meetings are held once per month and last for two hours. Further information on the organisation is available at www.centacarewa.com.au
1 million Catholics find home in Japan The number of Catholics in Japan has topped 1 million for the first time, said a booklet from the Japanese bishops’ commission for migrants, refugees and travellers. UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand, reported this week that the pamphlet “Catholic Church in Japan: Church, Living Together With Japanese and Foreigners,” says 2004 began with more than 1 million Catholics in Japan. It breaks this figure down into nearly 450,000 Japanese and
more than 565,000 foreign Catholics. During the 1999-2003 period, the number of foreign Catholics increased by more than 100,000. While the number of Japanese Catholics is based on parish registration figures, the number of foreigners is an estimate. According to the commission’s report, the largest number of foreign Catholics, almost 235,000, come from Brazil. -CNS
Expressions of Interest kits are available by emailing probertson@centemploy. com.au or by phoning Pauline Robertson, Executive Director on 9482 7001. Expressions of Interest should be sent to probertson@centemploy.com.au or posted to P. Robertson, Executive Director, Centacare Employment and Training, 3rd Floor 641 Wellington Street Perth WA 6000
INDEX
DO YOU BELIEVE IN JESUS? Christians in Iraq are nervous about the activities of mainly American evangelicals who arrived to bring Jesus to the Middle East, even though Christians have been there for centuries.
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Editorial/Letters I say, I say The World Bride and Prejudice: review The Last Word
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