Office For Justice, Ecology and Peace

2014: Murder of Iranian asylum seeker Reza Barati in offshore immigration detention on Manus Island
2021-02-17 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Sydney)
Today we remember twenty three year old asylum seeker Reza Barati who was killed in riots at the Regional Processing Centre (RPC) on Manus Island. A Senate Committee inquiry later found that the Australian Government had failed in its duty to protect him, and other asylum seekers, from harm. Here is an extract from the conclusions of the Committee.

8.5 In summary, the committee has found that the events of 16 to 18 February 2014 at the Manus Island RPC were eminently foreseeable, and may have been prevented if transferees had been given a clear pathway for the assessment of their asylum claims. Many of the problems at the centre had their origins in the events of July to October 2013, when the centre was transformed from a mixed facility into a single adult males facility and experienced a massive influx of new transferees, reaching more than double the initial intended capacity of the centre in the space of approximately 12 weeks. The inability of the centre’s infrastructure to cope with this influx, combined with the complete absence of any clear refugee status determination and resettlement framework to deal with these asylum seekers, created an environment where unrest and transferee protests were the inevitable result. 8.6 It is clear from evidence presented to the committee that the Australian Government failed in its duty to protect asylum seekers including Mr Barati from harm. Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs report

The Manus Island RPC was found to be unconstitutional by the Papua New Guinea Supreme Court in 2016 and was shut in 2017. A number of detainees were transferred to the Bomana Immigration Detention Centre.

In November 2019 a delegation of representatives from the Australian Catholic community traveled to Papua New Guinea to gain a deeper understanding of conditions for asylum seekers there. Read their statement here.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has made a complaint about the conditions of detention in Bomana to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

As SBS News report, Director of the jurisdiction, complementary and cooperation division of the ICC office of the prosecutor, Phakiso Mochochoko has found that the conditions of detention “appear to have constituted cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.” Read more here.

2015: Death of Faith Bandler AC
2021-02-13 00:00 - 23:59
Faith Bandler AC, activist for Indigenous and South Sea Islander rights, passed away on this day in 2005. An obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald highlighted her achievements:

Faith Bandler changed people’s hearts and minds in support of human rights and social justice. Her smile, no doubt, helped. The National Trust listed her as a national living treasure in 1997 and the Herald, in 2001, included her among the 100 most influential Australians of the 20th century. The Good Weekend, in 2011, included her in a list of 50 women considered the most influential in the world.

Her greatest achievement was her 10-year campaign for Aboriginal rights leading to the 1967 referendum which changed the Constitution and included Aborigines in the census. She worked for Aboriginal education and housing, was a founding member of the Women’s Electoral Lobby and the Australian Republican Movement, campaigned for the rights of South Sea Islanders and wrote six books, including Wacvie (1977), a biographical novel about her father.

Read the full text here.

2008: Apology to the Stolen Generation by the Australian Government
2021-02-13 00:00 - 23:59
On this day Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologized to Indigenous Australians, and especially the Stolen Generation, for past government policies of removing First Nations children from their families. The National Museum of Australia explains here how the journey to a national apology began with the Bringing Them Home Report.

Watch the apology in the video below.

1958: Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders established
2021-02-13 00:00 - 23:59

2005: Murder of Sr Dorothy Stang in Brazil
2021-02-12 00:00 - 23:59

1965: Freedom Ride in Australia Begins
2021-02-12 00:00 - 23:59
A group of Sydney University students organised a bus tour through western and coastal New South Wales towns in 1965. As the National Museum of Australia website explains:

Their purpose was threefold. The students planned to draw public attention to the poor state of Aboriginal health, education and housing. They hoped to point out and help to lessen the socially discriminatory barriers which existed between Aboriginal and white residents. And they also wished to encourage and support Aboriginal people themselves to resist discrimination. The students had formed into a body called Student Action for Aborigines (SAFA) in 1964 to plan this trip and ensure media coverage.

Charles Perkins, an Arrente man born in Alice Springs, who was a third year arts student at the university, was elected president of SAFA. The group included Ann Curthoys who would later write a history of these events, Jim Spigelman who would later become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and Darce Cassidy, an arts student who was also a part-time reporter for the ABC.

Source: https://indigenousrights.net.au/civil_rights/freedom_ride,_1965

International Day of Women and Girls in Science
2021-02-11 00:00 - 23:59
In 2015 the General Assembly of the United Nations decided to establish an annual International Day to recognize the critical role women and girls play in science and technology. You can read about the decision in Resolution A/RES/70/212.

UNESCO and UN-Women are the two UN agencies responsible for the implementation of the Day’s celebration.

World Day of Prayer for the Sick
2021-02-11 00:00 - 23:59
Prayer Card from Catholic Health AustraliaDownload

The World Day of Prayer for the Sick was initiated by St John Paul II in 1992. It coincides with the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Pope Francis’ messages for the World Day of the Sick can be found here.

Catholic trivia: did you know that Pope Benedict XVI announced his decision to resign as Pope on this day in 2013 citing his failing health as the reason?

1973: Woodward Royal Commission into Land Rights
2021-02-08 00:00 - 23:59
On this day in 1973 the Woodward Royal Commission into Land Rights in the Northern Territory was established. The Central Land Council situate this event in its historical context here.

St Josephine Bakhita
2021-02-08 00:00 - 23:59
St Josephine Bakhita was kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery. Her feast day is now observed as the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking. The video below outlines her story.

Download Resources

The Diocese of Parramatta, which includes a significant Sudanese community, has prepared a range of resources for the celebration of the feast of St Josephine Bakhita. They include a poster, social media tile, bulletin notice, homily notes and prayers of the faithful. Catholics in the Diocese of Parramatta are encouraged on this day to pray for all those affected by the crimes of modern slavery and human trafficking, and the people that volunteer and work to eradicate this crime. Join them by downloading resources here.

The following prayer was prepared by Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans.

Prayer for All Who are Trafficked

We pray for all who are trafficked. We ask, Lord, that you strengthen the fragile-spiritedand broken-hearted.We pray earnestly that all who suffer the loss of freedomand the indignity of being used to serve the need and greed of otherswill be freed and find freedom in a home where they are respected.Let them experience a love that is tender and good. We pray for all who exploit others,that their evil deeds will be exposedand that their hearts will be changed.We pray for ourselves, who live in safety and peacewith more than we needand for all who work against trafficking in humans:give us the wisdom and courageto stand in solidarity with all who suffer lack of human dignity.Help all who work against human trafficking to find waysto ensure for all the freedom that is your gift to all of us.We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord.Amen. https://acrath.org.au/prayer-for-anti-trafficking-advocates/

Word of God Sunday
2021-02-07 08:00 - 17:00
The Word of God Sunday is devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God. We will celebrate it in Australia for the first time on 7 February. So our podcast, The Revolution of Tenderness, will consider the Word of God in Catholic Social Teaching. With help from Scripture scholars, we will explore passages of Scripture that are quoted in Catholic Social Teaching documents.

Episode 1 features Professor Mary Coloe.

Waitangi Day
2021-02-06 00:00 - 23:59
Waitangi Day marks the signing in 1840 of a treaty between representatives of the British Crown and over five hundred Māori chiefs. Claudia Orange explains that:

Most chiefs signed a Māori-language version of the treaty. The English- and Māori-language versions held different meanings, and Māori and Europeans therefore had different expectations of the treaty’s terms. Ever since, resolution of these differences has presented New Zealand with challenges. Claudia Orange, ‘Treat of Waitangi’, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

In a 2008 statement on the International Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Catholic Bishops of New Zealand said:

The Church may have initially been slow to recognise the injustices caused to indigenous peoples as part of colonisation, but Catholic social teaching on the rights of indigenous people is now clear and unequivocal. Ecclesia in Oceania, specifically written for our region, asked for forgiveness for times the Church had been a party to injustices done to indigenous peoples in Oceania, and expressed the support of the regional Bishops for the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In statements on the Treaty of Waitangi (1990 and 1995) and Indigenous Peoples (1993), we have affirmed the Church’s commitment to work to resolve historic injustices and to reconcile peoples. A Statement from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference on 10 December 2008.

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation
2021-02-06 00:00 - 23:59
Female genital mutilation comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

It is an attack on the human dignity and physical integrity of women and girls. It undermines their well-being, and can threaten life itself.

Learn more about female genital mutilation here.

St Paul Miki & Companions
2021-02-06 00:00 - 23:59

Cape York Peninsula Heads of Agreement Signed
2021-02-04 00:00 - 23:59

1939 Cumeragunja Mission Walk-off
2021-02-04 00:00 - 23:59
In 1939 the Aboriginal people walked off Cumeragunja Mission in New South Wales in protest at living conditions and restrictions.

World Wetlands Day
2021-02-02 00:00 - 23:59
In 2021 World Wetlands Day marks the 50th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention. Get more information about World Wetlands Day and a range of resources on how the Convention protects wetlands here.

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, is called the Ramsar Convention, after the Iranian city where the Convention was adopted in 1971. It is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. It came into force in 1975. Find out more about the Ramsar Convention here.

Coral reefs are among the wetland types covered by the Convention. In 2004, the Catholic Bishops of Queensland issued a pastoral letter ‘Let the Many Coastlands Be Glad!’ on the need to care for the Great Barrier Reef.

In safeguarding the integrity of the waters of the Pacific and the Great Barrier Reef, we are in a profound sense, honouring and sharing in the life of the risen Christ. As St Paul taught us, ‘So he who came down is the same one who went up, above and beyond the heavens, to fill the whole universe with his presence’ (Ephesians 4.10). This is the very same ‘presence’ that today fills the universe and lovingly graces, impregnates, stimulates and sustains the sparkling bluegreen waters and gloriously coloured coral necklace of Queensland’s eastern coastline we call, ‘the Reef’. It should be understood, that to do wilful harm to the integrity of the Great Barrier Reef is to diminish the image of Christ which is radiated to us through our world. Queensland Catholic Bishops, Let the Many Coastlands be Glad, 2004.

World Interfaith Harmony Week
2021-02-01 08:00 - 2021-02-07 17:00

World Leprosy Day
2021-01-27 00:00 - 23:59

Australia Day / Survival Day
2021-01-26 00:00 - 23:59
2021 Australia Day Reflection from the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council

“We find ourselves pondering whether Australia will ever be the same after COVID-19? It might be more useful to ask whether it should be the same after the pandemic. Australia can continue to learn from the challenges of the virus and embrace the gifts of First Nation’s Culture to make it a better place for all.

Whilst we should be talking about these things all year, Australia Day is often the trigger for discussions around moving the date, what our Country stands for or changing the National Anthem. For the record:

– Yes, we should change the date to May 27 (the day that Australia voted to grant citizenship to us Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and to remove us from under the Fauna and Flora Act in 1967),

– Australia should stand for equality, respect, and compassion for all and,

– Yes, the National Anthem should be representative of all.”

Read more of NATSICC’s 2021 Australia Day Reflection here. Drawing on wisdom from the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities in dialogue with Scripture and Catholic Social Teaching, it offers four recommendations:

1. After suffering together through the pandemic, Australians should forge forwards with humble hearts and a unity of mind and armed with a renewed sense of equality and care for one another.

2. Continue to empower and acknowledge the dignity and worth of individuals, created equally in the image of God, through the extension of assistance schemes and the provision of a living wage.

3. All Australians should acknowledge, in our actions and in legislation, that Elders/Old People are valuable and contributing members of society and that we are responsible to care for and love them – just as they did for us.

4. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander gifts, skills, and knowledge to be utilised for the betterment of First Nations Peoples and Australia as a whole.

“As we enter 2021 with a sense of hope and ‘rebirth’ we ask that, for the first time in post-colonial history, Australians stand together to lift one another up. Stand alongside the Traditional Custodian. Stand alongside the migrant striving for a better life. Stand alongside the grandmother that has lived through so much. We are much stronger, and much better when we are together.” 2021 Australia Day Reflection, NATSICC.

In 2019 the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) first publicly joined calls for the date of Australia Day to be changed. They explained:

The 26th of January 1788 was not a day of celebration for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people nor was it for the passengers upon the first fleet – a mix of prisoners and military personnel. Perhaps it is time that we rethink the date upon which our nation comes together as one to recognise and acknowledge the gifts that God has provided in our great southern land. For the past year, those that sit upon the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council have asked their community, peers, friends and fellow Catholics if they celebrate Australia Day. The resounding response was no. That answer was not followed by hatred or vitriol, it was simply that they felt it was not meant for them nor was it mindful of the hurt experienced by Australia’s First People. For many, the opportunity to spend the day with family and friends is appreciated and our people understand and respect the pride that some Australians have for the day, however the foundation of unity and inclusiveness is just not there.Celebrating our nation on a day that harbors grief, invokes painful memories and ignores the true history of our society just doesn’t make sense. Given that the day has been celebrated on various dates and under different names in the past 100 years, what will be lost by moving the date? National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council, 2019.

For Reflection

Key points from NATSICC’s statement:

A majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholics feel that Australia Day is not for them.NATSICC endorses the call to change the date of Australia Day and suggests 27 May as a starting point for conversation. A ‘True History’ educational program should accompany Australia Day to educate and promote understanding of the story of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Every Catholic School in Australia should teach this history. The next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are carrying lots of pain and anger because of things like Australia Day. Something must change!

1972 Aboriginal Tent Embassy Established in Canberra
2021-01-26 00:00 - 23:59

1959 Pope John XXIII announces intention to convoke the Second Vatican Council
2021-01-25 00:00 - 23:59

St Francis de Sales
2021-01-24 00:00 - 23:59
St Francis de Sales is the patron saint of journalists.

Fake news is not new as Dr Margaret van Heekeren noted at the launch of the Social Justice Statement 2019-20.

‘A week after Easter, 85 years ago in 1934, the then Pope, Pius XI, gave an historic audience to all foreign press correspondents in Rome – about 73 journalists, responsible for providing news from the Vatican to more than 5,000 newspapers around the world. Described as an ‘innovation’ by the London Times, the papal audience can also be regarded as a political move. As historical research reveals, the Vatican had, by this time, long been the subject of fake news, much of it shared on wire services around the globe. Throughout the early 1900s fake stories included a proposal to edit the Bible, the false report of a petition by French priests calling for their vow of celibacy to be dispensed and even an invented interview with Pope Pius X.’ Margaret van Heekeren, Launch of the Social Justice Statement 2019-20.

2021: International Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons enters into force.
2021-01-22 08:00 - 17:00
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 total elimination of nuclear weapons” is both “a challenge and a moral and humanitarian imperative” (n 262).

The International Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is an important response to this moral imperative. ICAN (the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) have produced a booklet explaining the Treaty. You can read the full text of the treaty here.

The Holy See is a strong backer of the Treaty and was amongst the first to sign and ratify the Treaty. Here in Australia, Bishop Terry Brady, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Delegate for Social Justice, has called on the Australian Government to sign the Treaty and work towards its ratification. Bishop Brady says that the use of nuclear weapons is immoral as they are inherently indiscriminate and their impact is uncontainable in time and space. Furthermore, their continued existence “poses an unacceptable risk of deliberate or accidental use, and it diverts resources from the things that positively foster peace”.

Action

You can join ICAN’s action to ask the Australian Government to sign the Treaty, to encourage our cities and towns to support the Treaty, and to ask superannuation funds to cut ties with companies that produce nuclear weapons.

Pray for an end to nuclear weapons. Printed copies of the prayer card can be purchased here.

1946 First UN General Assembly Opens
2021-01-10 00:00 - 23:59
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.

1977 First loans offered by Grameen Bank
2021-01-03 00:00 - 23:59
The Grameen Bank was founded by Professor Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh. In 2006 he won a Nobel Peace Prize for this work.

The Grameen Bank, known as the ‘bank for the poor’, reversed conventional banking practice by removing the need for collateral. It created a banking system based on mutual trust, accountability, participation and creativity. Yunus reasons that credit is a cost effective weapon to fight poverty and it serves as a catalyst in the over all development of socio-economic conditions of the poor. Find out more here.

World Day of Peace
2021-01-01 08:00 - 17:00
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 2021 is A Culture of Care as a Path to Peace. Pope Francis begins by reflecting that 2020 has shown us “how important it is to care for one another and for creation”. Hence he proposes a culture of care “as a way to combat the culture of indifference, waste and confrontation so prevalent in our time”.

In the Message Pope Francis traces how care and protection, love and compassion permeate the Christian story from creation, throughout the life and ministry of Jesus, in the early church and as the “beating heart of the Church’s social doctrine” today.

The full text of the Message is available here. Download our Discussion Guide here.

You can find Pope Francis’ World Day of Peace Messages here.

1994 Native Title Act
2021-01-01 00:00 - 23:59
1994: Commencement of the Native Title Act

1901 Foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia
2021-01-01 00:00 - 23:59

1946: Granting of paid annual leave to workers in Australia
2020-12-31 00:00 - 23:59
