Development and Peace — Caritas Canada (The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace), a democratic movement for international solidarity, supports partners in the Global South in the pursuit of alternatives to unjust social, political and economic structures.
The organization educates the Canadian population about the causes of impoverishment of peoples and mobilizes actions for change.
In the struggle for human dignity, Development and Peace associates with social change groups in the North and South.
It supports women in their search for social and economic justice.
Development and Peace — Caritas Canada, the official development organization of the Canadian Catholic Church, is inspired by the values of the Gospel, particularly the preferential option for the poor.
History
Development and Peace — Caritas Canada was established in 1967 by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in response to Pope Paul VI’s encyclical letter Populorum Progressio, which says that Development is the new word for Peace. Peace cannot be seen simply as the absence of war. It must be built daily, and it must strive towards a more perfect justice among human beings (Populorum Progressio, 76). That founding principle of Development and Peace is still maintained today.
Discover the moments of mobilization that have marked our history here in Canada and around the world:
