International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action
The United Nations established this day in 2005 through this resolution. The annual message for the day, together with other resources, are available here.
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1997: Bringing Them Home Report published
The report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families was published on this day in 1997. Read the Bringing Them Home Report here and access information and teaching resources on the Stolen Generations here.
World Youth Day
World Youth Day is celebrated every year in local churches and every two or three years at the international level. The theme for 2020 is "Young man, I tell you, arise!" (Lk 7,14). Lisbon, Portugal will host the next international gathering for World Youth Day in 2022.
International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
Find out more about why the United Nations declared this day here. A Crown for Australia: Striving for the Best in Our Sporting Nation Today is a great day to revisit the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Social Justice Statement 2014–2015. It challenges us to look at the place of sport in our lives. Where are its… Read More »International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda
For Reflection The Rwandan Genocide in 1994 saw over 800,000 Rwandans, mainly from the Tutsi minority, massacred by the Hutu ethnic majority in three months. Over two million Hutu’s later fled the country, fearing revenge attacks. Fr Marcel Uwineza SJ, a survivor of the genocide, calls these horrific events in his home country an “intimate… Read More »International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda
World Health Day
For Reflection "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." (John 10:10) Christ came to bring life in body, mind, and spirit to all people in their daily lives. Since 1950, every April 7 the World Health Organisation highlights a specific health area of concern. In 2021, the focus of the WHO… Read More »World Health Day
1963: Pacem in Terris published by Pope John XXIII
The encyclical Pacem in Terris is known in English as Peace on Earth. It was published in 1963 in the wake of the Cuban missile crisis. You can read an introduction to the encyclical and find a link to the full text here. Pacem in Terris focuses on issues of peace in a nuclear age. It… Read More »1963: Pacem in Terris published by Pope John XXIII
1991: Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Royal Commission Final Report signed
For Reflection “... and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”John 8: 32 The 1991 Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Royal Commission Final Report was a painful and key step in the process of radical truth telling in regard to the treatment of Aboriginal people in Australia, especially when in police… Read More »1991: Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Royal Commission Final Report signed
International Mother Earth Day
Mother Earth is a common expression for the planet earth in a number of countries and regions, which reflects the interdependence that exists among human beings, other living species and the planet we all inhabit. Resolution establishing Mother Earth Day adopted by the General Assembly on 22 April 2009 The United Nations designated this day… Read More »International Mother Earth Day
World Book and Copyright Day
Did you know that this date was chosen by the United Nations because it was on this date in 1616 that Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare and Inc Garcilaso de la Vega died? Read the UNESCO resolution proclaiming the day here. Access resources for celebrating the day here.