Pope Paul VI instituted the World Day of Peace in 1968. It is celebrated each year on 1 January and the Pope issues a special World Day of Peace Message for the occasion. The theme for the World Day of Peace Message 2021 is A Culture of Care as a Path to Peace. Pope Francis… Read More »World Day of Peace
The Grameen Bank was founded by Professor Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh. In 2006 he won a Nobel Peace Prize for this work. The Grameen Bank, known as the 'bank for the poor', reversed conventional banking practice by removing the need for collateral. It created a banking system based on mutual trust, accountability, participation and creativity.… Read More »1977 First loans offered by Grameen Bank
Fifty one nations were represented at the opening of the first General Assembly of the United Nations in 1946. You can find out about the resolutions of this General Assembly here.
In his encyclical, Fratelli Tutti (On Fraternity and Social Friendship), Pope Francis questions nuclear deterrence as a way of promoting peace noting “the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences that would follow from any use of nuclear weapons, with devastating, indiscriminate and uncontainable effects, over time and space” (n 262). He concludes that “the ultimate goal of the… Read More »2021: International Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons enters into force.
St Francis de Sales is the patron saint of journalists. Fake news is not new as Dr Margaret van Heekeren noted at the launch of the Social Justice Statement 2019-20. 'A week after Easter, 85 years ago in 1934, the then Pope, Pius XI, gave an historic audience to all foreign press correspondents in Rome… Read More »St Francis de Sales
2021 Australia Day Reflection from the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council "We find ourselves pondering whether Australia will ever be the same after COVID-19? It might be more useful to ask whether it should be the same after the pandemic. Australia can continue to learn from the challenges of the virus and embrace the… Read More »Australia Day / Survival Day
In 2021 World Wetlands Day marks the 50th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention. Get more information about World Wetlands Day and a range of resources on how the Convention protects wetlands here. The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, is called the Ramsar Convention, after the Iranian city where the Convention was adopted in 1971.… Read More »World Wetlands Day