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… Read More »1941: Death of William Cooper
Jandamarra was an Aboriginal resistance leader of the Bunuba people in Western Australia. Find our more about his story here.
The United Nations established this day in 2005 through this resolution. The annual message for the day, together with other resources, are available here.
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.… Read More »St Isidore, patron saint of the internet
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.
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… Read More »International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
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.
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… Read More »International Mother Earth Day
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.
For Reflection "...nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Isaiah 2: 4). Anzac Day has come to be considered one of the most sacred days in the year for many Australians, honouring the sacrifice of those who gave their lives so that others could live in peace… Read More »ANZAC Day
St Peter Chanel was a Marist priest and the first martyr of the South Pacific. Read more about his life here. Prayer to St Peter Chanel You left your homelandto proclaim Jesus, Saviour of the world,to the peoples of Oceania. Guided by the Spirit of God,who is the strength of the gentle,you bore witness to… Read More »1841: Death of St Peter Chanel in the New Hebrides (Vanuatu)
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) began to celebrate this day in 2003 however the trade union movement internationally has marked this day as the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers since 1996. This celebration is an integral part of the Global Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health of the ILO. As part of the 2020… Read More »World Day for Health and Safety at Work
Resources including a video, the full text of Bishop Long's Pastoral Message for the Feast of St Joseph the Worker 2020, and graphics are available here. Did you know that for over twenty years now the Catholic Church in Australia has marked the Feast of St Joseph the Worker with a pastoral letter? These letters… Read More »St Joseph the Worker
In the 1991 encyclical Centesimus Annus (The Hundredth Year), Pope John Paul II affirmed the groundbreaking encyclical Rerum Novarum from Pope Leo Xlll in 1891 where the fundamental rights and dignity of workers and work were clearly stated. It addressed any ongoing perceived conflict between the provision of capital and labour, acknowledging work as central to vocation, with a key social dimension that relates directly to the common good