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About Us

Ealing Abbey Justice and Peace group is a lay parish group working within the parish of St Benedict, Ealing Abbey. We meet once a month to catch up on local, national and international Justice and Peace issues, think about how we can respond to them and plan how we and the parish can put these ideas into action. Meetings are open to all. Dates are posted on the Calendar and on the J&P noticeboard in the parish. If you cannot attend meetings but would like be involved, check this website to see what we have been up to. Register your details on the Meetings page to be notified when volunteers are needed to run campaigns and events.

You may also find the Forum useful to make your voice heard, publicise issues you are concerned about, advertise items you don't need but someone else might find useful, and let others know about any help you are looking for, or skills you can offer. Please send any contributions to the website to Admin using the Contact Us page.

Finally, this is a work in progress: you make the difference, so do get involved !

The J&P Ealing Abbey Team

Disclaimer: Ealing Abbey Justice and Peace group do not take any responsibility nor endorse any of the content posted on the Forum or services and items advertised therein. This website makes use of many images, video, content and resources obtained from other websites and agencies and endeavours wherever possible to credit the original source. If you have copyright to any of these materials and object to their use on this website, please contact the J&P Ealing Abbey group who will remove them.

"Ora et Labora"

In his early life, St Benedict (480–547 A.D.) weighed up the value of a nobleman's life, romantic love, and dedication to the Gospel. Choosing the latter, he left Rome in his twenties, undertaking to escape the evils of a great city. Meeting a monk, he took on the monastic habit and lived the life of a hermit under the shadow of that monastery for 3 years.

After an unpopular and brief spell as the monastery's abbot, he montecassino

left and resumed life in his cave. News of his sanctity and miracles spread. For those who visited and wished to stay, St Benedict established 12 monasteries in the surrounding area, placing superiors in charge, and writing for them a Rule, upon which Benedictine monasticism today is based. He himself remained as Abbot over all and eventually took up residence at the 13th monastery, Monte Cassino, where he also died, and which was the site of a bitter battle between the Allies and the Germans during WWII.

The purpose of St Benedict's Rule, characterised by moderation, is to bring men "back to God by the labour of obedience, from whom they have departed by the idleness of disobedience" (Rule of St Benedict, Prologue). "The regeneration of the individual, except in abnormal cases, is not reached by the path of solitude, nor by that of austerity, but by the beaten path of man's social instinct, with its necessary conditions of obedience and work".

What's New ...

Peace Page

Read about the 100 days of peace Olympic initiative, and other events taking place for peace.

Coalition for Marriage

Sign the online petition to oppose the Government's plans to redefine marriage. See "Campaigns".

In News

Progress made by WDM's campaign against Food Speculation, and why it's worth knowing about.

In Abbey News:

More from the first London Citizens meeting to discuss the future of Ealing Hospital.

News from the Abbey's CAFOD connect-2 partner, Cambodia, following a donation we sent through.

In News: FAIRTRADE

2012 is Year of the Co-Operatives and we will be marking Fairtrade on 12th May with stalls, information, and your chance to win a hamper full of FAIRTRADE goods. Lots of people have already pledged their support to try and make Fairtrade a reality in our parish: join us, and Take a Step for Fairtrade.

Online Petitions Updated:

Your support counts - a few minutes is all it takes to click on the link, add your details and if you wish, personalise the email messages to put pressure on politicians and effect change.

What are some of the issues J&P grapples with?

Watch part 2 of the CAFOD video "Thy Kingdom Come" to find out.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Tuesday 17th April INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST THE ARMS TRADE. See Peace Page and Calendar for more info.

The Church's Social Teaching

Catholic Social Teaching is the Church's authoritative teaching, based on gospel values relating to political, social and environmental issues, with the aim of providing criteria for reflection, judgement and action. It is not an ideology or a model, but a method for facilitating faith-filled discernment of particular historical, political and cultural situations. If it has a formula, it can be summarised by Pope John XXIII's dictum: "see, judge, act", and illustrated by the cycle below:

Guiding principles are: pastoralcycle

1. The dignity of the human person: made in the image of God, human beings have a fundamental and inalienable dignity and freedom. This means the Church rejects any policy or ideology that reduces people to economic units or passive dependence.

2. The common good: we all exist as part of society and all have a duty to promote the welfare of the community and a right to benefit from that welfare. This applies at every level: local, national and international.

3. Solidarity: we are all interdependent, members of one human family, so the rich are responsible for the poor, and the strong for the weak.

4. Subsidiary: power and decision making in society shoud take place at the most local level compatible with the common good, or in a manner in which people are best served.

5. Option for the poor: seeing Christ in the face of the suffering and wounded.

Source: Catholic Social Teaching website