Justice in Public Life

Injustice makes us angry, and rightly so, yet there can be no perfectly just person, institution, or society. In three timely essays, Justice in Public Life shows us why and how we must strive together towards justice, even though this work is always a journey, never an arrival.

James Hawkey explains that justice is more than fairness; it requires both truth and an understanding of human identity. Claire Foster-Gilbert examines the pitfalls faced by institutions, many of which have failed to mete out justice. Finally, Jane Sinclair asks whether a just society is possible, concluding that the answer is not in our systems, institutions, or laws – but deep within ourselves.

JAMES HAWKEY is Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey and Chair of Westminster Abbey Institute. Hawkey is a Bye-Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, visiting Lecturer at King’s College London, and was Chaplain to the late Queen.

JANE SINCLAIR was Canon Rector of St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey and Chair of Westminster Abbey Institute. Earlier, she was Archdeacon of Stow and Lindsey in the Diocese of Lincoln, and worked in parish and cathedral ministry and theological education.

CLAIRE FOSTER-GILBERT is the founder director of the Westminster Abbey Institute. A current and former member of numerous ethic committees, Dr Foster-Gilbert has played an instrumental role in the medical research ethics field, and has led efforts to shift the Church’s thinking on environmental issues.

Published in partnership with the Westminster Abbey Institute.