Pope Francis to attend Climate Change Conference in Dubai

Pope Francis will attend COP 28In the sacred corridors of the Vatican, Pope Francis, the 266th Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, has become an unlikely champion of environmental preservation. This December, he will add another milestone to his papacy by attending the 28th annual Conference of the Parties (COP28) on climate change in Dubai. This journey to the Arabian Peninsula will be the first of its kind for any Pope since the inception of the COP meetings in 1995.
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2023 Victorian Interfaith Networks Festival



The Faith Communities Council of Victoria, in partnership with Merri-bek Interfaith Network and City of Merri-bek, would like to invite you to the 2023 Victorian Interfaith Networks Festival on Sunday, November 19 2023 at the Coburg Town Hall.

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Some things change, some things stay the same

William Cooper and the LeagueThe other day, Mum shared a story about her grandmother. Irene Burdeu was her name. Born and bred in Essendon, she was one of eight siblings. Her elder brother was Arthur Burdeu, a trade unionist. But what caught my attention was that Arthur shared a close bond with William Cooper, a prominent elder and activist from the Yorta Yorta community.

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Candlelight vigil to commemorate flood anniversary

Monsignor Peter Jeffrey and Fr Simon RobinsonThe combined churches of Mooroopna will host a candlelight vigil on Saturday, October 14, at 7.30 pm to mark the first anniversary of the October 2022 flood event. The gathering is set to take place at Rodney Place, at the intersection of McLennan and Young/Morrell Sts.

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My Word | The road to respect and decency

Early polling place, Shepparton
Opinion: A Voice to Parliament might not bring immediate justice and equality for all of Australia’s First Nations people, but it is a careful and significant step on the road to doing so. Photo by Megan Fisher


John Lewis, former editor of the Shepparton News, has written about the Voice to Parliament.

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Laudate Deum – Pope Francis renews his call to protect our common home

Laudate Deum – Pope Francis renews his call to protect our common homeOn the feast of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4), Pope Francis has released his new document on the Climate and Environment Laudate Deum, that completes his encyclical Laudato si’ published in May 2015, and is addressed “to all people of good will on the climate crisis.” The world is not moving fast enough to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change, Pope Francis wrote.
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7 rules for a respectful and worthwhile Voice referendum

7 rules for a respectful and worthwhile Voice referendumThere is much ado and fuss about the forthcoming Referendum about the Voice to Parliament. Here in Shepparton, we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country of the Dungala (Murray) – Kaiela (Goulburn) Valleys, the clans of the Yorta Yorta Nation; Bangerang, Kaieltheban, Kwat Kwat, Moira, Ulupna, Wollithiga, and Yalaba Yalaba and the Ngurai Illum Wurrung. With respect to the abovementioned landowners, we reproduce – from The Conversation, 7 rules for a respectful and worthwhile Voice referendum.
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Walking for YES in Shepparton

Walking for YES in SheppartonThis coming Sunday, people all across the country will be Walking for Yes – in cities and towns, in every State and Territory. All walking together for a better future – all a part of this amazing opportunity for us all to make history together. There will be a Walk for YES at Victoria Park Lake on Sunday 17 September commencing at 12:00. The Walk will depart from the Welsford St Entrance to Victoria Park Lake.

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Petition to Pope to make St. Joseph Vaz a Patron Saint of Interreligious Relations

Petition to Pope to make St. Joseph Vaz a Patron SaintSt. Joseph (Naik) Vaz was canonized in 2015 by Pope Francis.  In 2021 Pope Francis was petitioned to make him Patron Saint of First Responders for washing the sores and nursing the abandoned victims of a smallpox epidemic in the Buddhist Kingdom of Kandy at the risk of getting infected himself.  This resonated with our humanitarian needs during the Covid crisis. Now, there is a new petition to Pope Francis to make St. Joseph (Naik) Vaz Patron Saint of Interreligious Relations.
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UN International Day of Peace – Calm in the City

UN International Day of Peace Logo 2023

The theme of this year’s UN Peace Day is “Actions for Peace”. Calm in the City invite you to join them on the morning of International Day of Peace, 21 September 2023. Two other events – on this international day – are notified, one by the Charter for Compassion Australia, and one by Brahma Kumaris.

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Nostra Aetate: Interfaith Conversations for Today

Nostra Aetate: Interfaith Conversations for Today

In the spirit of Nostra Aetate, Garratt Publishing – in conjunction with Yarra Theological Union – invites you to a new four-session webinar series exploring other religious traditions from a Catholic perspective.

This new series features Catholic scholars in conversation with a leader from the Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, and Islamic traditions.

The webinar sessions will occur on Monday Evenings – 4, 11, 18 September, and 9 October, 2023.

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Dungala Kaiela Oration 2023

Prof. Megan Davis - Dungala Kaiela Oration 2023

This year, we are celebrating the 15th annual Dungala Kaiela Oration and an important referendum on First Peoples’ recognition in the Australian Constitution. The Kaiela Institute, in association with the University of Melbourne, are delighted and honoured to present Professor Megan Davis as the 2023 keynote speaker.

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Amar is driving from Sydney to Darwin to engage culturally diverse communities with the Yes campaign

Amar Singh and Van
Australian of the Year Local Hero award winner Amar Singh says there’s been a “gap” in communicating the importance of the referendum to multicultural communities.

Amar Singh says it’s his responsibility as “a human being” to engage multicultural communities with the Yes campaign.

That’s why he’s begun a two-month 25,000 kilometre round-trip journey from Sydney to Darwin.

Mr Singh won the 2023 Australian of the Year Local Hero award for his work with his charity Turbans 4 Australia, a Sikh-led assistance organisation that delivers food and aid to vulnerable people across western Sydney.

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Monsignor Peter Jeffrey’s 60th anniversary

Monsignor Peter Jeffrey

Monsignor Peter Jeffrey recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of his priesthood with a mass at St Brendan’s Catholic Church in Shepparton.

The occasion was followed by a dinner at the GV Hotel, which saw a gathering of friends, family and colleagues, in addition to members of the clergy, including bishops and an archbishop.

A host of local community leaders were also present.

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Inner Peace and Judaism

 Inner Peace and JudaismThis post shares the personal thoughts and journey of an Australian Jewish man who explores contemporary social issues as these relate to an Orthodox understanding of the Torah, (the Bible) and other Jewish sources. Exploring inner peace is being at peace and in sync with God, through living out the covenant and bringing the different aspects of ourselves into harmony with God; this allows us to have hope and brings with it its own kind of inner peace.
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Interfaith Rainforest Initiative Commitment and Call to Action for the Amazon Summit

Interfaith Rainforest Initiative logoThe Interfaith Rainforest Initiative seeks to mobilise communities of all faith traditions and spiritualities, from grassroots to leadership, to join the broad coalition working to protect tropical forests, fight climate change, defend the rights of indigenous peoples, quilombolas and traditional communities, and promote sustainable development in the Amazon. The Interfaith Rainforest Initiative will participate in the forthcoming Amazon Summit.
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2023 Prayers and Meditations for the Earth and UN Climate Change Conference

 Prayers and Meditations for COP28The Australian Religious Response to Climate Change Western Australian Branch (ARRCC WA) and The Brahma Kumaris Australia are pleased to announce that an open multi-faith group will be meeting over Zoom commencing Thursday, 3rd August to pray and meditate for climate justice for our Earth and a successful outcome at COP28.
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