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2017 Peace Day : Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All October 6th, 2017
2017 Peace Day Theme: Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All
September 21 of every year was observed as the International Day of Peace. World Peace Day which was established in 1981 by a United Nations resolution is designed to provide a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a Culture of Peace. The theme for the 2017 World Peace Day is “Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All. This theme reflects the spirit of the TOGETHER campaign, a global initiative launched during the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants on 19 September 2016 by the United Nations system in partnership with its 193 Member States and all the stakeholders ‘in support of diversity, non-discrimination and acceptance of refugees and migrants.
Below is the UN Secretary General’s message on the 2017 World Peace Day;
“On the International Day of Peace, we reflect on the cruel price of war. Ruined schools. Bombed hospitals. Broken families. Refugees searching for hope. Countries in crisis. The United Nations was born from a terrible World War. Our mission is to work for peace — every day and everywhere. No group interest, national ambition or political difference should be allowed to put peace at risk.
On this International Day, we call for a global ceasefire. We must never — ever — stop pressing for an end to armed conflict. Peace is the right and the desire of all people.
It is the foundation for progress and well-being – happy children, thriving communities, and peaceful, prosperous countries. Let us pledge to work together – today and every day – for the peace we all yearn for and deserve.”
Watch the UNSG Message on 2017 World Peace Day: http://bit.ly/2x2eDsY
Watch the PeaceChannel: http://bit.ly/2cRy3Zj
Missionary Oblates in Zimbabwe: “borehole for clean water” is a lifeline delivered. July 14th, 2015
![CIMG1857[1]](http://omiusajpic.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/CIMG18571.jpg)
Fr. Charles Rensburg,OMI with Bhomela community leaders in Zimbabwe
Recently, a Catholic parish of St. Mary of Sorrows in Virginia,United States donated to the local community in Bhomela in Zimbabwe. This generous gift has enabled people of Bhomela to get a borehole for clean water supply and help in development of local farming initiatives during the prolonged dry season. Bhomela community is a mission church for the Zimbabwe Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
“Many children suffer from water-born diseases as well as malnutrition in Bhomela area. This borehole project will go a long way in alleviating these problems and developing ‘self-help’ initiatives in solving local problems,” says Zimbabwe Missionary Oblate, Fr. Charles Rensburg, OMI speaking on behalf of the local community.
“Words cannot begin to describe the community’s joy in having received a ‘life-line’ of water for the whole village. The borehole will be maintained by the local Catholic community whilst at the same time, complete access has been given to the whole village of over 3000 people.”
Religious Leaders Support Normalization with Cuba May 4th, 2015
Photo credit (see below)
Thirty U.S. religious organizations signed onto a letter to Congress urging an end to the decades-long embargo with Cuba. The Rev. William Antone, U.S. Provincial, signed on for the Missionary Oblates USP. The letter refers to the long-standing ties of many of the faith organizations to religious bodies in Cuba, and cite their call for normalization of relations and an end to the embargo.
Photo credit: Krasivaja at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
The Vatican Announces Summit on Climate Change April 22nd, 2015
Thanks to Catholic Rural Life for the information in this post.
The Vatican announced this week that it will host a one-day conference on climate change on April 28, featuring some of the world’s leading climate scientists. The conference is titled Protect the Earth, Dignify Humanity and is subtitled “The Moral Dimensions of Climate Change and Sustainable Development.”
The conference will highlight “the intrinsic connection between respect for the environment and respect for people—especially the poor, the excluded, victims of human trafficking and modern slavery, children and future generations,” states a Vatican announcement.
The purpose of the conference, according to the Vatican announcement, is to help build a global movement across all religions for sustainable development and climate change throughout 2015 and beyond.
Besides climate scientists, the one-day summit will include participants from major world religions. The aim here, says the Vatican, is to “elevate the debate on the moral dimensions of protecting the environment in advance of the papal encyclical.”
The Pope’s much-anticipated encyclical on the environment is expected in late June.
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