Development and Peace (The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace) is the official international development organization of the Catholic Church in Canada and the Canadian member of Caritas Internationalis. It was established in 1967 by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in answering to Pope Paul VI's encyclical letter Populorum Progressio, which proclaims that development is the new word for peace. CCODP is a membership-led organization financed by parish collections, individual donations and government grants, principally from Global Affairs Canada. It has representatives in most local parishes across Canada, including St. Mary's Chilliwack.
Mission: D & P is dedicated to helping Canadians to understand the causes of poverty and to embrace actions toward a just and equitable world. It focusses on partnerships with Global South and North groups to promote alternatives to unfair social, political and economic structures. It calls on the world to support women in their struggle for social and economic justice.
Overseas Action: For over 50 years, Development and Peace has funded 15,200 local initiatives in agriculture, education and community action, including peace movements and advocacy for human rights, in 70 countries.
Objectives: D & P’s objectives are to support the actions of people in the Global South so that they can take control of their destiny and to engage Canadians in the discussions of the North-South imbalance.
Our belief: Inspired by the Gospel’s and the Catholic Church’s social teachings, we believe that all Canadians have a responsibility to help the world's poor and disadvantaged, either by urging governments, corporations and others to implement positive change, or by donating time or money to support development efforts in the Global South.
We are a democratic movement: We draw our strength from our 13,000 members in Canada. Our work is supervised by a 21-member National Council composed of volunteers.
Our global and Canadian networks: We collaborate with global and domestic networks, which include Caritas Internationalis, International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity (CIDSE), Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC), KAIROS.
Annual Activities: At St. Mary's Parish, we have an Education Campaign (public action) in the Fall and Share Lent (fundraising program) in the Spring.
Please connect with Peter to learn more about or to get involved with CCODP at St. Mary's!
