Faith and Justice Conference draws attendees
from across diocese
Story and photos
By David Tisdale
HATTIESBURG -- Social justice has its roots in
the word of God, and if his people do not examine the
outline of their faith principles and messages in those
words, they will fail one their main missions as Chris-
tians – serving the least of our brothers and sisters.
That was part of the message of Father Fred Kammer,
director of the Jesuit Social Research Institute at Loyola
University in New Orleans, as he addressed attendees of
the Faith and Justice Conference held Saturday, Jan. 25
at Sacred Heart High School in Hattiesburg. Presented
by the Sacred Heart Social Justice Ministry, the confer-
ence theme was “Who is my Neighbor? Journeying as
the Family of God.” Father Kammer’s presentation was
titled “The Bible, Pope Francis and the Least Among
Us: Scriptural Roots of Faithjustice.”
Father Kammer added that Pope Francis is doing a
great job of advancing, in both word and action, what he
believes should be the message of the church – to give
ourselves fully to those on the margins. In doing so, we
connect more with Him. This effort, he said, can also be
traced back to the message by Pope John XXIII in 1955
when he said “I want the church to be seen as for all
people, but especially the poor.”
A culture of consumerism - “we define ourselves by
our consumption” Father Kammer said - and attitude
that “what’s mine is mine,” along with what he called a
“globalization of indifference” to the plight of the poor
worldwide - is hampering us from being the best we can
be as followers of God. To turn that around, we need
to bring healing and hope – justice - to those who are
the least among us. “Without doing justice, you do not
know God,” Father Kammer said.
Following Father Kammer as the other conference
keynote speaker was Dr. Wes Johnson, a criminal jus-
tice professor at The University of Southern Mississip-
pi. Johnson spoke about the impacts of the stigmatiza-
tion of mental illness in our society, what’s being done
and not done in addressing the issue, including within
state and federal corrections systems. His presentation
was titled “Criminalization of Mental Illness: Crisis
and Opportunity for Faith-Based Communities.” Today,
some of the mental health service operations are actu-
ally located in the nation’s largest prisons.
Johnson said that for us to succeed in effectively
treating those with mental illness, we must fight stig-
matization of the condition and view it with the same
seriousness that we look at treating physical ailments,
and with the compassion and dedication exhibited in the
day-to-day work of the human service practitioners who
attended the conference.
“The primary thing is that this group (supporters of
social justice who attended the conference) can effect
Father Fred Kammer, director of the Jesuit Social
Research Institute at Loyola University in New Orleans,
address attendees of the Faith and Justice Conference
held Saturday, Jan. 25 at Sacred Heart High School in
Hattiesburg. Presented by the Sacred Heart Social Justice
Ministry, the conference theme was “Who is my Neighbor?
Journeying as the Family of God.” Father Kammer’s
presentation was titled “The Bible, Pope Francis and the
Least Among Us: Scriptural Roots of Faithjustice.”
University of Southern Mississippi criminal
justice professor Dr. Wes Johnson was one
of two keynote speakers, along with Father
Fred Kammer of Loyola University, New
Orleans, at the Sacred Heart of Hattiesburg
Faith and Justice Conference Saturday,
Jan. 25. Johnson’s presentation was titled
“Criminalization of Mental Illness: Crisis and
Opportunity for Faith-Based Communities.”
change,” Johnson said. “Stigma kills, and in their daily
work they can stand against stigma regarding mental
illness.”
Sherry Finneran with the social services ministry
at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Hattiesburg said the
conference was beneficial for her and for the church’s
work in helping the poor and disadvantaged. “It’s a
great way for us to get ideas to take back to our group
that we can implement to help us help the causes and
people we serve.”
Kathy Zipple and Sandy Kinnan, members of the
Sacred Heart Church Social Justice Committee, praised
all who participated as speakers and workshop present-
ers, as well as volunteers who made the event happen.
“So many people came together to make this possible,”
Zipple said. “We had a great keynote speakers and
breakout session presenters, and participants from all
over the diocese, from the Gulf Coast to the Pine Belt.”
8
Gulf Pine Catholic
•
January 31, 2014
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Thank you,
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