New Social Justice Statement says one in three households is struggling and urges fair wages, advocacy, and solidarity with the vulnerable.
Australia’s Catholic bishops have issued a strong call to action as the nation grapples with mounting financial pressures affecting millions of households.
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) has released its 2025 Social Justice Statement, titled The Cost of Living: Economic and Social Justice for the Common Good, warning that one in three households is struggling amid rising expenses.
Launched in Queanbeyan by Bishop Tim Harris, chair of the Bishops Commission for Social Justice, Mission and Service, alongside Catholic Social Services Australia executive director Jerry Nockles, the document describes the “lived reality” of Australians facing housing stress, food insecurity, and mounting debt.
According to Bishop Harris, 700,000 Australians are currently relying on Catholic social services for essentials such as meals, financial assistance, and housing support.
“The statement offers practical ways to respond,” he said, encouraging Catholics to donate goods, volunteer, advocate for fair policies, and support measures that ensure just wages and economic dignity.
The bishops identify several drivers of the crisis: the lingering economic impact of the COVID pandemic, high interest rates, soaring housing costs, wage stagnation, and what the statement calls “excessive corporate profits.”
ACBC president Timothy Costelloe described the document as an “invitation to listen and to act.”
“Across Australia, many of our sisters and brothers are burdened by the rising cost of life’s necessities,” he said. “As disciples of Jesus, we cannot turn away from these realities.”
Australia is on Pope Leo's travel schedule
The Holy Father is set to attend the 54th International Eucharistic Congress in Sydney, where he will preside over major liturgical celebrations including a Sunday Mass at Royal Randwick, an event anticipated to draw hundreds of thousands of Catholics from across Australia and around the world.
This visit would commemorate the 55th anniversary of the last time Sydney hosted the International Eucharistic Congress, and the centenary of its first national Congress.
According to Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Richard Umbers, organizer of the International Eucharistic Congress, the Pope reportedly said of the event during a visit this month, "Well, it's still a long way off, but I'll be there!"
The last papal visit to Australia was that of Benedict XVI in 2008, for World Youth Day, also held in Sydney. John Paul II visited in 1986 and 1995, while Paul VI visited the country during his world tour in 1970. The last papal visit to Oceania was in 2024, when Francis traveled to Papua New Guinea.
The web site of the Eucharistic congress, being called Eucharist28, is here.
Poor aren't a "distraction"
The statement includes testimonies illustrating the depth of hardship. One young mother recounts skipping meals to feed her daughter and pets while struggling to pay electricity bills for nearly two years. Single-parent families, people with disabilities, Indigenous Australians, gig economy workers, and those on fixed incomes are among the hardest hit.
The bishops frame the crisis not only as an economic issue but as a moral one. Citing Pope Leo XIV, the statement reminds Catholics that “The poor are not a distraction for the church, but our beloved brothers and sisters.”
Drawing on the Church’s social doctrine, the document highlights core principles: human dignity, the common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, the universal destination of goods, and the preferential option for the poor. These, it argues, provide a framework for understanding the current crisis in light of the Gospel.
Jerry Nockles said the statement offers more than analysis. “These principles aren’t abstract; they’re practical,” he said. “They speak to how we are connected to the Gospel today.”
A second statement will be issued ahead of Social Justice Sunday on August 30. Previous statements addressed homelessness and mental ill-health in 2025, and living the Gospel in a violent world in 2024.
As economic pressures continue to mount, Australia’s bishops are urging Catholics not only to see the hardship around them, but to respond — through charity, advocacy, and structural reform — in service of the common good.
