Office For Justice, Ecology and Peace

World Book and Copyright Day
2022-04-23 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Sydney)
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.

International Mother Earth Day
2022-04-22 00:00 - 23:59
Tree of Life – Mieke Boynton

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 in 2009. It was already celebrated in a number of different countries prior to this. You can find a range of related resources for the celebration of this day here.

Artwork:

Tree of Life – Mieke Boynton

Music:

Tend the Ground – Curtis Stephan

Tend the Ground – Curtis Stephan

1991: Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Royal Commission Final Report signed
2022-04-15 00:00 - 23:59

1963: Pacem in Terris published by Pope John XXIII
2022-04-11 00:00 - 23:59
The encyclical Pacem in Terris is known in English as Peace on Earth. You can read an introduction to the encyclical and find a link to the full text here.

World Health Day
2022-04-07 00:00 - 23:59

International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda
2022-04-07 00:00 - 23:59

International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
2022-04-06 00:00 - 23:59
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 strengths and how can we ensure that sport can thrive and in return can nourish our society? Equally, what are the influences that are undermining and distorting sport’s ideals? Most importantly, how can we work to realise sport’s potential to unite communities, overcome differences and be a force for social justice and reconciliation?

Prayer for Good Sports

God of all sports (and none);from our small minds,how amused you must bewhen our prayers about sportare about our own success or our team's.Whose side are you on?How do you choosewhen supporters from both sidesimplore your divine intervention?Remind us that in prayerour hearts are opened to youand our minds lifted beyond ourselves.Just as prayer changes us,not you, O God,so sport too, can lift us beyond ourselves.So we pray:We give thanks for the gift of our bodies,for the ability to run, walk, jump,swim, catch and throw.We pray for patience and discipline,that we may learn the joy of mastering new skills:achieving success, and cheerfully bearing failurein the company of others.We pray that our relationships be enrichedthrough the friendships we form.May we learn to include others across bordersof language, colour, gender and religion.We pray that we care for others.May we especially look out for thosewho are differently abled,and those often left on the boundaries.Through our vigilancemay we always play fair,and ensure that no one is abused or exploited.We ask this through Jesus your son. Amen.

1997: Bringing Them Home Report published
2022-04-05 00:00 - 23:59
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.

International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action
2022-04-04 00:00 - 23:59
The United Nations established this day in 2005 through this resolution.

The annual message for the day, together with other resources, are available here.

St Isidore, patron saint of the internet
2022-04-04 00:00 - 23:59
In 1997 Pope John Paul II declared Isidore of Seville the patron saint of the internet. Isidore was a scholar with encyclopedic knowledge. In his writings he sought to collect, systematize and synthesize all existing knowledge.

Speaking at a General Audience on 18 June 2008, Pope Benedict XVI, highlighted how Isidore combined contemplation and action. He went on to quote Isidore:

Therefore let the servant of God, imitating Christ, dedicate himself to contemplation without denying himself active life. Behaving otherwise would not be right. Indeed, just as we must love God in contemplation, so we must love our neighbour with action. It is therefore impossible to live without the presence of both the one and the other form of life, nor can we live without experiencing both the one and the other. http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20080618.html

Prayer Seeking the Intercession of St Isidore

Almighty and eternal Godwho has created us in thine imageand bade us to seek after all that is good, true and beautiful,especially in the divine person of Thy only-begotten Son,Our Lord Jesus Christ,grant we beseech Thee that through the intercession of St Isidore, bishop and doctor,during our journeys through the internetwe will direct our hand and eyesonly to that which is pleasing to Theeand treat with charity and patience all those soulswhom we encounter.Father, we ask you this, through Christ Our Lord.Amen

World Autism Awareness Day
2022-04-02 00:00 - 23:59

1897: Death of Jandamarra
2022-04-01 00:00 - 23:59
Jandamarra was an Aboriginal resistance leader of the Bunuba people in Western Australia. Find our more about his story here.

1941: Death of William Cooper
2022-03-29 00:00 - 23:59
William Cooper was an inspirational Aboriginal leader in New South Wales and Victoria in the early part of the 20th century and a founding secretary of the Australian Aborigines’ League. The league was created to lobby state and federal governments on behalf of Aboriginal people. The powerful symbolic gesture of a Day of Mourning on 26 January, along with a petition to the British monarch calling for Aboriginal representation in federal parliament, inspired generations of activists working for justice for Indigenous Australians. National Museum of Australia

Earth Hour
2022-03-26 20:30 - 21:30

1975: Biological Weapons Convention
2022-03-26 00:00 - 23:59

1967: Populorum Progressio (On the Progress of Peoples) encyclical issued by St Paul VI
2022-03-26 00:00 - 23:59

1877: Death of Caroline Chisholm
2022-03-25 00:00 - 23:59

International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing UN Staff Members
2022-03-25 00:00 - 23:59

International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims
2022-03-24 00:00 - 23:59

St Oscar Romero
2022-03-24 00:00 - 23:59

2005: Abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC)
2022-03-24 00:00 - 23:59

World Meteorological Day
2022-03-23 00:00 - 23:59

World Water Day
2022-03-22 00:00 - 23:59
“The earth’s biodiversity, the functioning of the various biomes and of the atmosphere, the cycles of water and climate remind us of how versatile and fundamental this precious creature of God is.” Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, Acqua Fons Vitae, p 13.

World Water Day has been celebrated since 1993. Now a core focus of the day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030. The theme of World Water Day in 2021 is valuing water.

In Aqua Fons Vitae, the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development point out that as well as an economic value, water has a religious value, socio-cultural and aesthetic value, and even an institutional value and a value for peace. You can access a collection of Church statements, tools and initiatives related Aqua fons vitae here.

For Reflection

How do you value water?

Which of the proposals in Aqua Fons Vitae are the most important for your community?

Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling against Racism and Racial Discrimination
2022-03-21 08:00 - 2022-03-27 17:00

World Poetry Day
2022-03-21 00:00 - 23:59

World Down Syndrome Day
2022-03-21 00:00 - 23:59

International Day of Forests
2022-03-21 00:00 - 23:59

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
2022-03-21 00:00 - 23:59

International Day of Happiness
2022-03-20 00:00 - 23:59

2003: Invasion of Iraq by USA and Allies
2022-03-19 00:00 - 23:59
