RITE AND REASON: Father Tom Jordan writes about the justice commission of the Conference of Religious in Ireland, frequently described as the only real opposition in the State and now celebrating its 21st year
After the second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI called a synod of bishops. The theme chosen was that of Justice in the World. The synod, which met in 1971, declared that justice was a constitutive part of preaching the gospel, and issued a call to the whole church to action for justice.
The call was soon answered by many religious orders and congregations when in revising their constitutions, they pledged themselves to work for justice. Terms like "option for the poor" became familiar to many.
In 1981 the Conference of Religious in Ireland - CORI - (or the Conference of Major Religious Superiors - CMRS - as it was then called), established a Justice Commission. A year later, a justice office was established under the directorship of Father Bill McKenna SJ. He was soon joined by Sister Brigid Reynolds SM and a year later, in 1983, by Father Seán Healy SMA.
I had returned to Ireland in the mid-1980s, having lived abroad for 10 years, and was invited to join the justice commission.
I soon became aware of the cultural changes already under way. No one back then could have foreseen the rapid pace of change now familiar to us all. During those early years, the work of the commission focused on raising awareness through workshops and seminars, researching issues of poverty, injustice and social exclusion.
Between 1984 and 1986, a process to develop a mission statement for the whole conference was undertaken. The social reality of Ireland and the wider world was reflected on in the light of the gospel and the social teaching of the Church. It soon became apparent that the world we lived in was far from the ideal envisaged in New Testament teaching.
The conviction grew that building the kingdom or the reign of God involves doing whatever is possible to move the present reality from where it is towards the vision the scriptures. Put simply, it meant working for the transformation of the world.
It was at that time that the commission was asked at an a.g.m. to take a more public stance on justice issues. This was initially done in two ways; firstly, by sending a well-researched pre-budget submission to the Government and all members of the Dáil and Seanad, and secondly, an annual social policy conference, initiated in 1988, at which politicians and policy-makers listened to position papers and debated the issues.
During my eight years membership of the commission, I became aware of not only the extent of poverty and deprivation in Irish society but also the extraordinary work being done by people all over the country, particularly by religious sisters.
It was they who were bringing their concerns to the commission; and the commission in turn would ask the justice office to research the issues and arrive at a position in accord with the conference's stance.
What particularly struck me was how influence for good could be achieved at local level by people who have no power and this surely is the way of the gospel.
In practice, the commission functions in the following ways: it does the research to identify the present reality; it develops some awareness of what alternatives to the present situation are viable and possible; it seeks to discover which of these is closest to the vision of a just society, and it takes action to move towards these alternatives.
While engaging in this task, the commission realises it does not have all the answers but it continues to struggle to get more accurate answers to the questions posed and seek out and develop better alternatives.
The commission offers its vision, analysis and proposals for action to the wider society for comment and critique. Sometimes the response can be swift and strong which means the debate is happening - politicians and bishops have not always been happy with the critique offered.
Since 1996, the commission has been a partner in the community and voluntary pillar of social partnership and has taken part in negotiating and signing the last two national agreements.
The area of spirituality is seen as critically important as a means of underpinning the work for justice. A series of conversations on Spirituality, Justice and the 21st Century have been facilitated. Papers delivered at these conversations have been published in Doctrine & Life.
Today the justice commission has become a familiar voice in Irish society. Dialogue is essential; the commission wants to be in continual dialogue with those who share our faith as well as with the wider society. It also wants to be involved in a real way in Irish society: being a voice is not enough. The commission has grown and developed over the past 21 years.
We can confidently look forward to many fruitful years ahead.
Tom Jordan is a Dominican priest and former chairman of the CORI Justice Commission. He is also editor of Spirituality