Prayer service for Hicks attracts 800
More than 800 people attended a prayer service in support of Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks in central Melbourne today [Sunday]. Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne Dr Philip Freier spoke at the service at St Paul’s Cathedral, which is opposite Federation Square. The service included a prayer for a fair trial, for Hicks’ mental and physical health and for the victims of terrorism. “God loves justice,” Archbishop Freier said. “And what is increasingly evident in the incarceration of David Hicks is the lack of justice in his detention.” The Australian, February 10, 2007

Inequality rising despite promises of globalisation, UN expert says
Much of the world has seen “a significant and disturbing increase of inequality” in the last two decades, contradicting predictions that globalisation and liberalisation would foster more equal opportunities, said a senior United Nations economist.
UN News Centre, February 9, 2007

Equal lack of opportunity: Global job market squeezes the old and the young
Young people are increasingly unable to get a foothold in the global labour market, and a work force that is rapidly growing older is finding less job security, according to an analysis of employment trends. The analysis, by the United Nations, was to be debated at a meeting of the Commission for Social Development that began Thursday and is focused on “promoting decent work and employment for all.” International Herald Tribune/Associated Press, February 8, 2007

Look for the Fair Trade label
When rock star and global poverty activist Bono released a line of clothing in spring 2005, it might have been easy to believe the $80 cotton T-shirts and $175 denim jeans were made with Fair Trade Certified cotton. After all, we’re talking about Bono here, the guy who campaigns against AIDS in Africa and the crippling debt of Third World countries. But, as it turns out, Bono’s Edun clothing line wasn’t Fair Trade Certified. Fair Trade Certified essentially means that the raw material producers are paid a fair wage and workers are treated fairly as they manufacture the garment. Bono made no such claims, although Bono, his partner, Ali Hewson, and New York clothing designer Rogan Gregory said the clothing was manufactured “according to fair trade principles.”
The Morning Call, January 26, 2007

"Work is the essential key to the whole social question"
“A very great number of workers would benefit from a fair outcome in the negotiations of the World Trade Organisation’s Doha Round. This chance currently risks being squandered, but a farsighted breakthrough could still be made, in particular regarding agricultural trade rules, to the benefit of many millions of the world’s 1.1 billion agricultural workers, 60% of whom are in workforces with little or no social safety nets… Today, equal pay for equal work seems obvious, but women are still too often overlooked or undervalued in this regard, leading to discrimination against them in both rich and poor countries. The equality of women and men should be evident also in their treatment in the workplace, in salaries and in the acquisition of pensions.” Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations.

Project Compassion 2007
Project Compassion, Caritas Australia’s annual awareness and fundraising campaign, begins next week on Ash Wednesday (February 21) and continues until Easter Sunday (April 8). During these six weeks of Lent, Catholic schools, parishes and community groups throughout Australia will receive and use educational materials aimed at broadening the way we view the world. With you support, Project Compassion raised more than $8.1 million in 2006. In 2007 Caritas Australia has set a target for the Project Compassion appeal to raise more than $8.5 million. Get involved in Project Compassion 2007 and together let’s continue to help reduce world poverty!

http://www.caritas.org.au/project_compassion_07/
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Difference of Opinion – “A Fair Go”
Veteran journalist Jeff McMullen hosts a lively discussion with a panel of influential thinkers debating the bright ideas and bold solutions to the big issues confronting Australia. In this week’s premiere “A Fair Go” - Difference of Opinion examines multiculturalism, racism and Australian values. Discussing these issues are Dr Ameer Ali, Dr Anita Heiss, Professor Helen Hughes and former Lieutenant Colonel Julian Heath. ABC2, 8:30 pm Wednesday February 14, 2007

“Individual initiative alone and the mere free play of competition could never assure successful development. One must avoid the risk of increasing still more the wealth of the rich and the dominion of the strong, whilst leaving the poor in their misery and adding to the servitude of the oppressed.”

Pope Paul VI, Populorum Progressio, On the Development of Peoples, 1967, #33

Take a web-based journey and understand other powerful messages from Populorum Progressio - On the Development of Peoples.

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