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2004: Devastating tsunami in South Asia, killing 200,000 to 300,000 people

The Indian Ocean tsunami traveled as much as 3,000 miles (nearly 5,000 km) to Africa, arriving with sufficient force to kill people and destroy property. The epicenter of the 9.0 magnitude quake was under the Indian Ocean near the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, according to the USGS, which monitors earthquakes worldwide.… Read More »2004: Devastating tsunami in South Asia, killing 200,000 to 300,000 people

Holy Innocents

Read The Story of the Holy Innocents "The Holy Innocents are few in comparison to the genocide and abortion of our day. But even if there had been only one, we recognize the greatest treasure God put on the earth — a human person, destined for eternity, and graced by Jesus’ death and resurrection." Franciscan… Read More »Holy Innocents

1987: Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (‘On Social Concerns’)

"Pope John Paul II’s 1987 social encyclical Sollicitudo rei Socialis marks the twentieth anniversary of Populorum Progressio. Sollicitudo rei Socialis is also known by the English title On Social Concerns. It was the first major Catholic Social Teaching document to mark the anniversary of a social encyclical other than Rerum Novarum." Source: Social Spirituality Read an introduction to Sollicitudo rei Socialis Read… Read More »1987: Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (‘On Social Concerns’)

photo of candle

World Day of Peace

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 2022 is Dialogue Between Generations, Education and Work: Tools for Building Lasting Peace.… Read More »World Day of Peace

1946 First UN General Assembly Opens

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.

2021: International Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons enters into force.

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.