Office For Justice, Ecology and Peace

2013: Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers
2022-09-05 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Sydney)
“On September 5, 2013, the ILO Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers (Domestic Workers Convention or C189) entered into legal force. This groundbreaking new treaty and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 201) establish the first global standards for the more than 50 million domestic workers worldwide—the majority of whom are women and girls, and many of whom are migrants—who clean, cook, and care for children and elderly in private households. The Domestic Workers Convention provides desperately needed and long overdue protections for domestic workers and represents a significant breakthrough in human rights, including labor rights, women’s rights, and children’s rights. Under the new convention, domestic workers are entitled to the same basic rights as those available to other workers, including weekly days off, limits to hours of work, minimum wage coverage, overtime compensation, social security, and clear information on the terms and conditions of employment. The new standards oblige governments that ratify the convention to protect domestic workers from violence and abuse, to regulate private employment agencies that recruit and employ domestic workers, and to prevent child labor in domestic work.” Human Rights Watch, Claiming Rights: Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform

Find out more about the Domestic Workers’ Convention (ILO Convention C189) here.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa)
2022-09-05 00:00 - 23:59
“The cry of Jesus on the Cross, ‘I thirst’ (Jn 19: 28), expressing the depth of God’s longing for man, penetrated Mother Teresa’s soul and found fertile soil in her heart.” Pope John Paul II, 19 October 2003

Mother Teresa served the poor for 69 years and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Find out more about Mother Teresa from Franciscan Media.

Season of Creation begins
2022-09-04 00:00 - 23:59
The idea of celebrating a Season of Creation began in the Lutheran Church in Adelaide, Australia in 2000. Now many different churches all over the world take part. In 2016 the Catholic Church joined in. The season embraces the four Sundays of September before the Feast of St Francis of Assisi – 4 October.

Norman Habel explains: “The season of Creation offers an opportunity for churches to introduce new visual elements into their worship and to be ecumenical and connected with creation in a particular context.” More information here.

Pope Francis’ Prayer Intention: Respect for the Planet’s Resources

Pope Francis’ prayer intention for September also focuses on care for creation. He calls us to respect the planet’s resources and to share rather than plunder them.

Some ways of celebrating

Watch Pope Francis’ video message for the Season of Creation.Share the video explaining Pope Francis’ prayer intention for September.Prepare prayers of intercession for use at Mass on the Sundays of September.Plan a prayer service or liturgy that embraces your local environment.Review the carbon footprint of your household, parish, school or organisation.Use the social media collateral available here.Participate in the Caritas Catholic Earthcare Convocation.

Saint Gregory the Great
2022-09-03 00:00 - 23:59
“Gregory was born about A.D. 540 in Rome, the son of a wealthy senator. Like most of the nobility of his time, he was well educated. But unlike many, he was generous and concerned about those who were poor. One of the four key Fathers of the Western Church, Gregory is sometimes accredited with Gregorian chant, the Church’s liturgical chant form, was known for liturgical reform and for encouraging the Stations of the Cross and daily Mass during Lent.” Loyola Press

1991: Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Act passed by Parliament
2022-09-02 00:00 - 23:59
Action

Does your parish, school or Catholic organisation have a Reconciliation Action Plan? Today might be a good day to check on your progress, or to start the process of developing a Reconciliation Action Plan.

What is Reconciliation?

ANTaR describe reconciliation as “a process where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, non-Indigenous Australians and Australian governments forge a new relationship based on mutual understanding, recognition and respect.”

The formal process of reconciliation had its roots in the establishment of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation which was established as a statutory authority on 2 September 1991 with the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Act 1991. The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation was disbanded in 2000.

In 2001 Reconciliation Australia was established as an independent not for profit organisation with the aim of inspiring and enabling all Australians to contribute to the reconciliation of the nation. Reconciliation Australia highlight five dimensions of reconciliation between First Nations people and communities and non-indigenous Australians:

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Australia’s colonial history is characterised by devastating land dispossession, violence, and racism. Over the last half-century, however, many significant steps towards reconciliation have been taken. Reconciliation is an ongoing journey that reminds us that while generations of Australians have fought hard for meaningful change, future gains are likely to take just as much, if not more, effort. In a just, equitable and reconciled Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children will have the same life chances and choices as non-Indigenous children, and the length and quality of a person’s life will not be determined by their racial background. Our vision of reconciliation is based and measured on five dimensions: historical acceptance; race relations; equality and equity; institutional integrity and unity. These five dimensions do not exist in isolation, but are interrelated. Reconciliation cannot be seen as a single issue or agenda; the contemporary definition of reconciliation must weave all of these threads together. For example, greater historical acceptance of the wrongs done to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can lead to improved race relations, which in turn leads to greater equality and equity. Reconciliation Australia

National Wattle Day
2022-09-01 00:00 - 23:59
National Wattle Day has been officially celebrated since 1992.

“On 1 September 1988, Golden Wattle was declared officially as Australia’s national floral emblem. While Golden Wattle had long enjoyed that status informally – note its prominent place within the Commonwealth Coat of Arms dating from 1912 (frontispiece) and on the insignia of the Order of Australia – it had taken strong supporters of the emblem, notably Maria Hitchcock and also the Society for Growing Australian Plants (SGAP), to persuade the Federal Government to grant official recognition in the Bicentennial Year.” Rod Panter, Science, Technology, Environment and Resources Group, Updated 1997.

Beginning of National Biodiversity Month
2022-09-01 00:00 - 23:59
Biodiversity Month is held in September each year and aims to promote the importance of protecting, conserving and improving biodiversity both within Australia and across the world.

Find out more about the Australian Government’s efforts to protect biodiversity here.

World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation
2022-09-01 00:00 - 23:59

1815: Founding of Sisters of Charity by Mary Aikenhead
2022-09-01 00:00 - 23:59
“In 1815, Mary Aikenhead, with Alicia Walsh, after completing their novitiate, founded the Religious Sisters of Charity in Ireland. They were the first, so-called Walking Nuns who visited the sick in their homes and tried to alleviate the wide spread poverty. Mother Mary Aikenhead’s dependence on Divine Providence – “God will provide” – was the driving force in all that she achieved for God’s poor. This is the legacy the Sisters of Charity of Australia hold dear.” Sisters of Charity, Australia

International Day of the Victims of Forced Disappearances
2022-08-30 00:00 - 23:59
Enforced disappearance has frequently been used as a strategy to spread terror within the society. The feeling of insecurity generated by this practice is not limited to the close relatives of the disappeared, but also affects their communities and society as a whole. Special attention must also be paid to specific groups of especially vulnerable people, like children and people with disabilities. Find out more here.

International Day Against Nuclear Tests
2022-08-29 00:00 - 23:59
Did you know that the Vatican ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty on the very first day that it was opened for signature and ratification? The Holy See’s diplomats continue to urge more states to ratify the treaty so that it will enter into force.

Find out about the International Day Against Nuclear Tests

Beheading of Saint John the Baptist
2022-08-29 00:00 - 23:59

Social Justice Sunday
2022-08-28 00:00 - 23:59
From 2020 forward, Social Justice Sunday will be celebrated on the last Sunday of August. Previously it was celebrated on the last Sunday in September.

A Long Tradition

The celebration of Social Justice Sunday is a long tradition in the Catholic Church in Australia. For almost every year since 1940, our bishops have joined together to issue a major social justice statement at this time.

Of course, the bishops also make statements on matters of social and ecological justice at other times throughout the year too. These are often issued by individual bishops delegated as spokespersons for particular issues, or by commissions of bishops. By contrast, the social justice statement issued in time for Social Justice Sunday is approved by and issued in the name of the whole bishops’ conference. It is hoped that these statements will inspire reflection and action throughout the whole year.

Social Justice Statement 2020-21

The Social Justice Statement 2020-21 is titled To Live Life to the Full: Mental health in Australia today. You can download Statement and accompanying prayer card on this page of our website and via the ACBC Online Shop.

The 2020–2021 Statement, To Live Life to the Full: Mental health in Australia today, encourages faith communities, governments and each one of us, to make mental health a priority. It is a timely message in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic is affecting many members of our parishes, schools and communities.Understanding mental health will help us to be aware of those who need our support. The Statement encourages us all to reject stigmatisation, to work for the transformation of social determinants of mental ill-health, and to call for policies and service provision that meets the needs of the poorest and most marginalised members of our community.

Previous Statements

View and download Social Justice Statements and associated resources from 2014 – 2019 here.

The Social Justice Statements from 1988 – 2013 have been published together in a book called Building Bridges.

Saint Augustine of Hippo
2022-08-28 00:00 - 23:59
“You have made us and directed us toward yourself and our heart is restless until we rest in you.” Confessions 1.1

Saint Augustine was one of the great founders of monasticism in the Western Church. The Augustinians in Australia describe his spirituality in the following way:

“In Augustinian spirituality love for God is experienced as love for one another. Where love for another person is present God is present too. ‘Honour God in each other’. We come to God through love of one another, since love for a human being is much more concrete than love for God. In the teaching of Augustine human love has divine love running within it.

The warmth of friendship is likewise essential for Augustine.’Without a human being who is our friend, nothing in the world appears friendly to us.’ Life shared with others culminates in friendship – the gift of loving and being loved. In his spirituality it is as important to relate to one another as it is to pray with them. Thus as we strive for union with others we do so in a shared love for God.

Augustine models for us prayer of the heart, longing to know and to see God. In prayer we progress to God who is human happiness itself.

In Augustinian spirituality all good things come back to the one thing: love, the very centre of Christian existence.”

1999: Death of Dom Helder Camara
2022-08-27 00:00 - 23:59
“When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist.” Dome Helder Camara

Dom Helder Camara (1909 – 199) was a Brazilian archbishop from 1964-1985. Richard Rohr explains that “under his guidance, the Catholic Church in Brazil criticized the country’s military dictatorships and worked for social change. Camara spoke and wrote against using violence to repress rebellions that resulted from injustice and poverty in other countries as well. In 1971, he published Spiral of Violence, which shows how basic structural injustice leads to escalating rebellion, which then leads to new repression. If you don’t nip this spiral in the bud, recognizing violence at its lowest structural level, it is much harder to stop it at the later stages.”

The process for recognising Dom Helder Camara as a saint has begun.

2001: Rescue of 433 asylum seekers by MV Tampa
2022-08-26 00:00 - 23:59
Today we remember the humanitarian action of Captain Arne Rinnan and the need to work towards more just and compassionate asylum policy in Australia.

In August 2001 a small Indonesian fishing boat carrying asylum seekers became stranded in international waters approximately 140 kilometres from Christmas Island. The 433 asylum seekers were rescued by the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa on 26 August.

When some of the asylum seekers, who were mainly Hazaras fleeing Afghanistan, threatened to commit suicide if returned to Indonesia, Captain Arne Rinnan set course for Christmas Island.

A stand off ensued with the Australian government refusing to allow the asylum seekers to be landed. Many of the asylum seekers were in poor health and over a period of 48 hours Captain Rinnan made many requests to the Australian government for assistance. Eventually he entered Australian waters, and was warned that he was in breach of the law. Special Air Service troops were dispatched to prevent the Tampa from coming any closer to Christmas Island.

As the National Museum of Australia notes “the ‘Tampa Crisis’ became the catalyst for Australia’s new ‘border protection’ policy. It also became a pivotal issue in the 2001 federal election campaign”.

You can read the response of the Australian Catholic Bishops at the time here.

1966: Gurindji strike or Wave Hill Walk-off, beginning the longest strike in Australian history
2022-08-23 00:00 - 23:59
On this day in 1966 the Gurindji walked off Wave Hill Station. What began as a strike over the refusal of Vestey Brothers to pay Aboriginal workers was to become a pivotal event in the struggle for the legal recognition of Aboriginal land rights.

As the National Museum of Australia explains:

“The Gurindji strike was instrumental in heightening the understanding of Indigenous land ownership in Australia and was a catalyst for the passing of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, the first legislation allowing for a claim of title if the Indigenous claimants could provide evidence for their traditional relationship to the land.” Wave Hill Walk-Off, National Museum of Australia

On 16 August 1975 the deeds for part of Wave Hill Station were presented to Gurindji leader Vincent Lingiari by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.

1996: Death of Margaret Tucker, Indigenous Australian activist and writer
2022-08-23 00:00 - 23:59
Margaret (Lilardia) Tucker (1904 – 1996) was one of Australia’s earliest and most notable Aboriginal activists. The Indigenous Australia website explains:

“Her Aboriginal name, Lilardia, means flower but she was known affectionately to black and white alike as ‘Auntie Marge’. She was born at Warrangasda, an Aboriginal reserve near Darlington Point on the Murrumbidgee River in NSW, of a full-blood mother and part-white father, Theresa and Bill Clements. Over the years, Auntie Marge won the respect of people because of her refusal to be embittered by the injustices and wrongs done to her people. Her philosophy was to go on fighting to put the wrongs right. Throughout her life, she never lost her sense of compassion and understanding for others.” Tucker, Margaret Elizabeth, Indigenous Australia

International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief
2022-08-22 08:00 - 17:00
Our liturgical calendar commemorates a number of Saints who were victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief. Around the world today many people of a variety of faiths, including Christians, continue to suffer acts of violence on account of their beliefs.

Action:

Find out more about the United Nations’ observance of the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or belief here.Join Aid to the Church in Need‘s prayer campaign here.

The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
2022-08-22 00:00 - 23:59
The feast of the Queenship of Mary was instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1954. Find out more here.

1943: Election of the first women members of the Australian Parliament: Enid Lyons (House of Representatives) and Dorothy Tangney (Senate)
2022-08-21 00:00 - 23:59
At the Federal election of 1943, Enid Lyons (united Australia Party) and Dorothy Tangney (Australian Labour Party) became the first women to be elected to the Australian parliament. A video from the National Museum of Australia on this page tells their story.

Today much remains to be done to counter ongoing resistance to hearing women’s voices in the public square. Our first female Prime Minister endured sustained misogynistic attacks and the digital world is another space in which abuse can silence women’s voices.

A 2018 Ipsos MORI poll found that:

“Two-fifths (40%) of women who said that they had experienced abuse or harassment on a social media platform either ceased or decreased their use of the platforms. Some women are also restricting what they post about: 27% of those with an experience of online abuse or harassment said they had stopped posting content that expressed their opinion on certain issues, and 23% said they had stopped sharing content that expressed their opinion on certain issues.” Amnesty International

The E-Safety Commissioner’s website offers resources specifically for women on this page.

Making the digital world a safe place for women and girls is the responsibility of all of us, especially boys and men. Contact Catholic social service organisations in your diocese to find out about their programs that help to promote respectful relationships. Contact details for member organisations of Catholic Social Service Australia are available here.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
2022-08-20 00:00 - 23:59
St Bernard of Clairvaux is a Doctor of the Church and one of the founders of the Cistercian order. He earned a reputation for being able to settle disputes, and was called to various countries to give advice on affairs of Church and of government. Find out more here.

World Humanitarian Day
2022-08-19 00:00 - 23:59
World Humanitarian Day is a time to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service, and to rally support for people affected by crises around the world. Find out more here.

1978: Tiwi Land Council established
2022-08-18 00:00 - 23:59
On this day in 1978 the Tiwi Land Council was established under the Commonwealth Land Rights Act. This is how the Council describes its vision:

“Our vision is of an independent and resilient Tiwi society built on the orderly and well managed utilization of our natural and human resources through reliance upon our own management, maintenance and protection of unique cultural and natural resource values for the enjoyment and benefit of future generations of Tiwi.” Tiwi Land Council

Saint Alberto Hurtado SJ
2022-08-18 00:00 - 23:59
“Christ roams through our streets in the person of so many suffering poor, sick, dispossessed and people thrown out of their miserable slums: Christ huddled under bridges, in the person of so many children who lack someone to call father, who have been deprived for many years from a mother’s kiss upon their foreheads…Christ is without a home!” St Alberto Hurtado SJ

Alberto Hurtado SJ (1901-1952) served the poor in Chile and founded the Hogar de Cristo or “Home of Christ” for the poor and abandoned young people. He was a staunch advocate of workers rights. Find out more about his life here.

As the Hurtado Jesuit Centre in the UK explain:

“Alberto Hurtado realised the great dangers of his time. In opposition to exploitative capitalism and communist revolution under way in various countries of the world, he, inspired by the social teaching of the Church, promoted a different path: a Christian Social Order, based on the two great virtues of love and justice. But he did not want charity without justice. He said: ‘Many works of charity can bear our society, but all this immense effort of generosity, much to praise, fails to repair the ravages of injustice. Injustice causes far more evils than can be repaired by charity. ‘ ‘We must be righteous before we are generous.'” Hurtado Jesuit Centre

1971: Swearing-in of Senator Neville Bonner as the first Aboriginal Australian to hold a seat in Federal Parliament
2022-08-17 00:00 - 23:59
Neville Thomas Bonner (1922–1999) was the first Aboriginal person to serve as a member of the Australian Parliament. He was a Senator for Queensland from 1971 to 1983. Hear him speak bout his life in the video below.

1992 Interview with Neville Bonner

1975: Return of Wave Hill Station, NT to the Gurindji People
2022-08-16 00:00 - 23:59
Perhaps you are familiar with the iconic photograph of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pouring soil through Vincent Lingiari’s hand when leasehold title for Daguragu (known as Wattie Creek) was transferred to the Gurindji people on 16 August 1975?

Paul Kelly’s song From Little Things Big Things Grow tells the story of the Wave Hill walk off and the Gurindji’s struggle for title to their land. An exhibition at the National Museum of Australia took its title from the song. Photographs from the exhibition and the lyrics of the song can be viewed here.

1903: Death of William Barak, Aboriginal leader and co-founder of the Coranderrk Settlement, Victoria
2022-08-15 00:00 - 23:59
The Victorian Government website explains that William Barak “is closely associated with Coranderrk, the Aboriginal settlement established near Healesville in 1863. He campaigned for its creation, contributed to its early success as a thriving, self-sufficient community, and was its indefatigable defender until the end of his life. He saw Coranderrk as a way for the Kulin people to maintain a physical connection to their country; a connection he played a key role in educating non-Aboriginal people about.” Learn more about William Barak here.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
2022-08-15 00:00 - 23:59
On this day, the Church celebrates the Feast Day of the Assumption of Our Lady when according to our faith, the Holy Mother, “having completed her course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.” The Catholic Weekly provides some historical background information here.

1963: Bark petition from Yirrkala presented to Parliament
2022-08-14 00:00 - 23:59
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies explains that “the Yirrkala Bark petitions of August 1963 were sent to the Parliament by members of the clan groups living in the area of Yirrkala. Written in both Yolngu Matha and English, and presented on painted bark boards depicting country, the petitions protest the excision of land from the Reserve where they live, where they hunt and where their sites of significance are situated.” Find out more here.
