Office For Justice, Ecology and Peace

World Day Against Child Labour
2022-06-12 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Sydney)

1988: Barunga Statement presented by Aboriginal leaders to Prime Minister Bob Hawke
2022-06-12 00:00 - 23:59
The presentation of the Barunga Statement to Prime Minister Bob Hawke was an important moment in the movement for a treaty. Learn more about how the Statement came to be presented at the Barunga Festival here.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
2022-06-15 00:00 - 23:59
Today is a good day to revisit the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Social Justice Statement for 2016–17 ‘A Place at the Table: Social justice in an ageing society’. It celebrates the value, dignity and significant contributions of older people to the life of the community. In solidarity with all generations, older people have a rightful place in the heart of community life. The Bishops consider the circumstances of those who are approaching the end of their lives and warn of the loneliness, ageism and abuse that older people can experience. In particular, the Bishops warn about implications of the current community debate on euthanasia. The Bishops call for communities of mercy and love – where people reach out and minister to vulnerable older people, where bonds between generations are built up, and where no one is cast as being a burden or as rivals to younger generations.

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
2022-06-17 00:00 - 23:59

International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict
2022-06-19 00:00 - 23:59

1969: Affirmation by Arbitration Commission of the principle of equal pay for women performing equal work
2022-06-19 00:00 - 23:59

World Refugee Day
2022-06-20 00:00 - 23:59

Sts John Fisher and Thomas More
2022-06-22 00:00 - 23:59

Olympic Day
2022-06-23 00:00 - 23:59

Nativity of John the Baptist
2022-06-24 00:00 - 23:59

Day of the Seafarer
2022-06-25 00:00 - 23:59
As the Day of the Seafarer celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, seafarers are on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read about the Church in Australia’s support for seafarers on the Ruby Princess here. Find out more about the work of the Apostleship of the Sea here.

1950: The Korean War begins
2022-06-25 00:00 - 23:59

International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
2022-06-26 00:00 - 23:59

Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
2022-06-29 00:00 - 23:59

2009: Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth)
2022-06-29 00:00 - 23:59
“Knowing that we, as persons and communities, are part of God’s family gives us a vision and energy to serve a truly integral human development.” Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, n 78.

Read a general introduction to Caritas in Veritate here.

World Social Media Day
2022-06-30 00:00 - 23:59
Can you imagine living through a pandemic without social media? World Social Media Day is a time to recognise and celebrate social media’s impact of global communication.

Here are some ideas for activities:

Revisit the Social Justice Statement Making it Real: Genuine human encounter in our digital world with your parish, school or community group.Share examples of positive uses of social media to promote social justice.Review the social media policy or guidelines of your parish or community group.Write reviews of your favorite spirituality apps for your parish Facebook page or Catholic magazines – you can submit them for our Social Justice Trends!

1945: Introduction of unemployment benefits in Australia
2022-06-30 00:00 - 23:59

Coming of the Light Festival
2022-07-01 00:00 - 2022-07-04 23:59
The Coming of the Light is a holiday celebrated by Torres Strait Islanders on 1 July each year. It recognises the adoption of Christianity through island communities during the late nineteenth century. Find out more here.

2012: Commencement of the Fair Work Amendment (TCF Industry) Act
2022-07-01 00:00 - 23:59
Many of the outworkers in the garment industry are migrant women. They are often vulnerable to exploitation due to limited English language skills or lack of knowledge about their rights as workers. The 2012 amendment to the Fair Work Act aimed at ensuring fair pay and conditions for them. Find out more here.

The amendment was the result of an extensive fair wear campaign by trade unions and community groups. At the international level, the Fair Wear Foundation continues to work for safe, dignified and properly paid work in the garment industry.

Check out the website of Ethical Clothing Australia to find out how to ensure that your clothing was not made in just conditions.

1971: Yvonne Goolangong Crawley wins Wimbledon
2022-07-02 00:00 - 23:59

1970: Death of women's rights activist Jessie Street
2022-07-02 00:00 - 23:59
Who was Jessie Street?
Jessie Street (1889-1970) was an activist, a feminist and a lifelong campaigner for women’s rights, the peace movement and the elimination of discrimination against Aboriginal people.

2016: Election of Linda Burney as first Aboriginal woman member of the Australian Parliament
2022-07-02 00:00 - 23:59
The Hon Linda Burney MP has contributed significantly to the development of Indigenous communities locally, regionally and nationally as an educator, championing reconciliation in Australia, as Member of the NSW Parliament, and as the Federal Member for Barton.

In 2014 she received a NAIDOC Week lifetime achievement award. You can read the citation here.

International Day of Cooperatives
2022-07-02 00:00 - 23:59
The United Nations International Day of Cooperatives is celebrated annually on the first Saturday of July. This year, the theme of the International Day of Cooperatives 2020 is Cooperatives for Climate Action. Since 1995, the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and the United Nations have been setting the theme for the celebration of the International Day through Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC).

Find out more here.

St Thomas, Apostle
2022-07-03 00:00 - 23:59
We feel great kinship for the apostle Thomas because, like him, most of us curiously combine faith and doubt. We sometimes share the enthusiasm St. Thomas expressed when upon Lazarus’s death Jesus decided to go to Bethany. “Let’s go too,” Thomas said to the other disciples,“that we may die with him” (see John 11:16). But also like him we sometimes wonder where Jesus is headed and where he is taking us (see John 14:5).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday
2022-07-03 00:00 - 23:59
Bishop Don Sproxton’s Message for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday is the first Sunday in July. NAIDOC Week follows because it is always celebrated in the first full week of July. This year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, there will be an online Mass for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday steamed live from the Adelaide Cathedral.

Here is an online Acknowledgement of Country that you can use at your own events.

Online Acknowledgement of Country from NATSICC

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) is producing materials to help parishes organisations and schools to celebrate this special Sunday in an appropriate manner. Check out this page on their website for videos and images that you can use in your own liturgical celebrations, whether face to face or streamed.

Find out more about NATSICC’s concerns for First Nations communities facing COVID-19 and the ways in which NATSICC is responding here.

NAIDOC Week
2022-07-03 00:00 - 2022-07-10 23:59
Here is an important announcement from the National NAIDOC Committee:

The National NAIDOC Committee has decided to postpone NAIDOC Week 2020 (5 July – 12 July) in the interest of safety for our communities. This decision was not taken lightly. We have taken on-board the advice from the Federal Government, health experts, our key partners and from leading national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health organisations. We all believe that an escalating COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis as we head into winter would have disastrous impacts on our mob – especially for our elders and those in our communities with chronic health issues. The National NAIDOC Awards scheduled for Saturday 11 July in Alice Springs will not go ahead as planned. We have suspended the nomination process for the National NAIDOC Awards 2020 and announcement of the winner of the poster competition until further notice. The 2020 NAIDOC Local Grants Round has also been closed until further notice. We are in the process of finalising a new date for NAIDOC Week 2020 – towards the end of the year – and we’ll continue to work closely with the National Indigenous Australians Agency and our partners for NAIDOC Week 2020. We will keep you updated. National NAIDOC Committee

The NAIDOC 2020 theme, Always Was, Always Will Be, recognises that First Nations people have occupied and cared for this continent for over 65,000 years. This is also a great time to get in touch with your local Aboriginal Catholic Ministry or to check out NATSICCTV to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experiences, perspectives and contributions to life of the Church here.

1935: Birth of the Dalai Lama in Tibet
2022-07-06 00:00 - 23:59

1839: Massacre of Aboriginal people at Chimney Pots, Grampians, Vic: 60 people estimated killed
2022-07-06 00:00 - 23:59

1945: Blessed Peter To Rot
2022-07-07 00:00 - 23:59
On this day in 1945 Blessed Peter To Rot was martyred in Papua New Guinea. Find out more about his life here.

St Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions
2022-07-09 00:00 - 23:59
Augustine Zhao Rong was a Chinese soldier who accompanied Bishop John Gabriel Taurin Dufresse of the Paris Foreign Mission Society to his martyrdom in Beijing. Not long after his baptism, Augustine was ordained as a diocesan priest. He was martyred in 1815. Beatified in groups at various times, these 120 martyrs were canonized together in Rome on October 1, 2000. https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-augustine-zhao-rong-and-companions/

Find out more here.
