Edmund Rice Justice Bulletin

Politicians sympathetic to the plight of the world’s poor need the active support of concerned citizens in order to create a space which enables them to implement appropriate policies said Rev Jim Wallis, the visiting American evangelical Christian author and activist at a promotion of his most recent book “Seven Ways to Change the World” that I attended in Melbourne this week.

He pointed out that whilst the cost of maintaining the war in Iraq is $10 billion per month it would cost only $20 billion to educate 800 million of the world’s children who are currently denied that opportunity. He then went on to say that many of us feel uncomfortable when confronted with such statistics or when we experience at first hand the plight of those living in poverty.

The challenge is to move people from discomfort to engagement with the political process in order to make a difference.

Wallis is best known for his advocacy of peace and social justice and founder and editor of the influential publication Sojourners whose mission is ”to articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church, and the world.”