The UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief on November 25, 1981.  It declares that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right includes freedom to change one's religion or belief, and freedom - either alone or in community with others, in public or private - to manifest this religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. This declaration reaffirms that freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief is a human right derived from the inherent dignity of the human person and guaranteed to all without discrimination.  Learn more.  

November boasts some powerful writings from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops addressing issues of poverty, economic justice, food, health care reform, and justice in the world. However, documents such as these are considered by many to be part of the "Church's best kept secret" because they are often not proclaimed sufficiently enough to be well-known to the wider church community, nor are there strong follow-up action plans for local and parish implementation of the ideas presented. What is our role in helping to make this rhetoric more of a reality for the wider church community?  

Each November, we take time to thank God for the fruits of our harvest and for blessings on the workers whose labors bring it to our tables. Benedict XVI has said, "Liberation from the yoke of hunger is the first concrete expression of the right to life."  

During this same season, we also remember St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, a patron saint of immigrants.  She responded compassionately and efficiently to the needs of all with education and pastoral ministry, along with religious instruction and outreach to those in need spiritually and materially. Learn more/take action.    

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The UN General Assembly designates November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women to raise awareness to this important issue. The date commemorates the brutal assassination in 1960 of the three Mirabal sisters on orders of the Dominican ruler Rafael Trujillo. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's UNiTE to End Violence Against Women Campaign aims to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls in all parts of the world. Through UNiTE, the UN is joining forces with individuals, civil society, and governments to put an end to violence against women in all its forms.

UN Secretary-General on the Role of Youth in Ending Violence against Women

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On Thanksgiving Day we often forget to be grateful for the help our pilgrim ancestors received from the peoples indigenous to North America.  We may also overlook the devastation caused as European settlers moved across the continent.  During the Summer of Peace, the Shift Network created a Declaration of Commitment to Indigenous Peoples and presented it to six of the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers who strive to advance the healing needed in the world today. 

The Grandmothers received the Declaration with warmth and gratitude and reported that they're guarding it as a sacred historic document. Consider signing this Declaration to help heal the harm from the past and create an honoring relationship with indigenous peoples. Learn more. 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently launched 'Education First,' a new initiatve to make education a global priority.  The initiative calls for global partnership to invest more in education, focusing on three priorities in the next five years: putting every child in school, in order to achieve universal primary education by 2015; improving the quality of learning, to ensure that people acquire relevant skills needed in knowledge-based society; and fostering global citizenship, to build a sustainable future and better world with education policies that promote peace, mutual respect, and environmental care.  Learn more. 

On September 25, the Global Campaign for Education and Education International released a new report identifying severe primary teacher gaps in 114 countries, stymieing efforts to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goal of education for all by 2015.  The plain fact is that without enough well-trained teachers, there will never be education for all. Learn more/take action.   

An online game is gaining popularity on Facebook for not merely amassing points, but also creating social good. The Global Good Challenge, launched by the United Nations Foundation, offers chances to win prizes for taking social action online and in the real world to help combat global issues, such as child marriage, disease, and poverty. "Instead of donating money, we want people to donate their social media influence," says the game's creator.  Learn more.   

November 16 is the International Day of Tolerance, an official one day reminder of a virtue which our world needs to see in practice every day.  And it's not a 'grit your teeth' or a 'grin and bear it' attitude.  Nor is it a simple co-exist as some bumper stickers and posters proclaim.  It is a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc. differ from one's own. With such diversity and divisiveness in our world, tolerance is necessary for our survival.  Check out Teaching Tolerance, a place to find thought-provoking news, conversation, and support for those who care about diversity, equal opportunity, and respect for differences in schools.   

Pope Benedict XVI writes, "Before it is too late, it is necessary to make courageous decisions" to curb climate change.  The Catholic Coalition on Climate Change asks the question, "Who's Under Your Carbon Footprint?" to raise awareness among Catholics that the impact of climate change falls heaviest on the poor.  To help us see the human face of climate change, the Coalition is encouraging us to view the documentary Sun Come Up.

Sun Come Up (trailer)

The film shows the plight of the Carteret Islanders who are losing their home, way of life, and cultural identity.  They are considered among our planet's first "climate refugees."  To borrow the 40-minute DVD, contact S. Niva Langreck or S. Paulette Zimmerman.  Learn more/take action.