Key Issues

Click here to view all of our material on Penal Policy

People in prison are amongst the most marginalised and vulnerable in our society. The majority have left school early, experience literacy and learning difficulties and have a history of unemployment. Many prisoners suffer from mental illness and experience drug and alcohol dependency. A substantial number of prisoners have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. Prisons have become dumping grounds for those rejected by society.

The Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice in early 2012 compiled a policy document on prisons in Ireland, The Irish Prison System: Vision, Values, Reality, which articulates concerns and provides an overview of the prison system. Of particular focus of the Centre is the promotion of safe and humane custody, reduction in imprisonment and appropriate services for people leaving prison. Click here to read relevant publications and articles from Working Notes. Our website whycare.ie also provides useful information on Crime and Prison.

Click here to view all of our material on Theological issues

The deep crisis that affects the Catholic Church in Ireland has its immediate origins in the scandal of clerical sexual abuse and its mishandling by Church authorities. However, the crisis has wider and deeper ramifications and causes that have to do with a male, clericalist culture and over centralised organizational structure that do scant justice to the nature of the Church as the People of God. The remedy to this crisis will involve both personal and structural renewal and reform. There is need to recover and update the vision of the Second Vatican Council, whose 50th anniversary we will be celebrating from 2012-2015.

The Jesuit Centre of Faith and Justice is committed to collaborate with other, especially lay groups within the Church, to bring about the conversion needed to implement the required changes in our Church at both national and universal levels. As one resource towards this process we offer the publication A New Vision for the Catholic Church: A View from Ireland.

Click here to view all of our material on Economics

The global economic crisis has deep effects on the lives of ordinary people, in particular those who are less well-off. We have learned that growth is not always good, that markets do not always behave rationally, that unbridled capitalism is inimical to the common good. Technical solutions, while important, are not on their own sufficient. We are challenged to create the kind of value-based, more socially responsible economic system that is envisaged in Catholic Social Teaching, among many other sources.

The Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice is engaged in a conversation with many other partners, both secular and ecclesial, in the search for an alternative, more integrated economic model which protects the poor and is in service of the ‘good life’ for all. We offer a number of publications which explore the direction in which this kind of alternative model might take.

Click here to view all of our material on Housing Policy

The right to a safe and secure place to live is one of the most basic human rights, it is fundamental to enable people to live a dignified life. Without the security provided by having somewhere to live, physical and mental health is at risk. Accessing and maintaining employment is also extremely difficult when someone has nowhere to live. The Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice has written a comprehensive policy paper, The Irish Housing System: Vision, Values, Reality, which provides the evidence and background to our work.

Our current policy focus will be an examination of how social housing is provided. Click here to read relevant publications and articles from Working Notes. Our website whycare.ie also provides useful information on Housing and Homelessness.