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 2022 is Dialogue Between Generations, Education and Work: Tools for Building Lasting Peace.… Read More »World Day of Peace
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.… Read More »1977 First loans offered by Grameen Bank
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.
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… Read More »2021: International Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons enters into force.
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… Read More »St Francis de Sales
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… Read More »Australia Day / Survival Day
In 2022 World Wetlands Day marks the 51st anniversary of the Ramsar Convention. This year the theme is Value. Manage. Restore. LOVE wetlands. 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… Read More »World Wetlands Day
In 1939 the Aboriginal people walked off Cumeragunja Mission in New South Wales in protest at living conditions and restrictions.
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… Read More »International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation
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.… Read More »Waitangi Day
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 6 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… Read More »Word of God Sunday
