The Divine Word Missionaries AUS Province, which is one of the 599 partner organisations to sign on to the UN Treaty to ban nuclear weapons, has joined Australia’s bishops in urging the federal government to sign onto the treaty, which came into force last week.

The majority of United Nations member states, including the Holy See, have signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Australia, however, has not yet become a signatory.

This week is National Reconciliation Week and we in Australia are also celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum which gave Indigenous Australians the right to be counted as citizens in the Census. This year is also the 25th anniversary of the historic Mabo High Court Native Title decision.

Both of those events are rightfully celebrated as milestones in the life of our nation, but we’re all aware that much more needs to be done, both symbolically and on the ground in practical measures.