August 10. SEE.   Taxes. On a very practical level the groups were discussing taxes. There is income tax, VAT, and property taxes but there are also the different grants.  Comments came thick and fast.  “We give, but it is mostly others who get.  Is that fair?”  “I think the principle of the common good is the right one.  For me it puts a positive spin on the fact that life isn’t fair.”  “Don’t women often carry heavier financial burdens, as so many of our families are headed by single mothers?” “But what about young girls who they say get pregnant just so that they can get a child grant, which they don’t always even use for the baby?”  “I think we need to look more holistically at family units rather than at men’s or women’s perspectives in isolation. What about family income tax and family grants?”  “Shouldn’t all financial matters be balanced out for the common good?”   

JUDGE. Reflect, share, act. Scripture: “The collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, “Does not your teacher pay the tax?”  Matthew 17:22-27. Pope Francis: Families have the right to be able to count on an adequate family policy on the part of public authorities in the juridical, economic, social and fiscal domains.  Families and homes go together.  This makes us see how important it is to insist on the rights of the family and not only rights of individuals.   AL 44. Pope Leo: Fidelity to the truth requires integrating the possibilities offered by technology within a framework marked by wisdom, which is capable of safeguarding both the dignity of each person and the future of our common home. MH 237. 

ACT AND PRAY.  Reflect and share as appropriate. Pray St Francis Peace Prayer and pray: Mary, Queen Assumed into Heaven, Patroness of South Africa, pray for us.