Why is Justice and Peace a priority for us?

Jesus was continually concerned about the poor, the suffering, and any disregarded or marginalised people. We know this by reading the Gospels. When we extend this to the whole Bible, we discover that this has always been an essential element among the People of God.

In the days of ‘apartheid’ South Africa, the main injustice was the racist behviour of those in power. We preached against that injustice. Today there are various other forms of injustice in our society. We list some of them;

  • prejudice against people with HIV/AIDS.
  • the ever widening gap between the rich and the poor.
  • discrimination against women.
  • dislike of refugees from other countries.
  • crime, and the general lack of social security.
  • the enormous amount of unemployment and consequent lack of income for so many.

There are many ways of attempting to combat such injustices. Many organisations exist to work on improving the situation. Our special way, as Dominicans, is to preach about them, make people aware of them, show what the Bible has to say about such things, and to motivate people to become involved in campaigning for change.