Share Your Story
Catholic Extension Society has joined the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) to engage global youth in raising awareness of religious freedom and cultivating inter-religious respect, in a campaign called #forSafeWorship.
We are looking for submissions from your diocese!
Film a short, amateur video about a sacred space- big or small- and its particular significance to you, its history, or beauty in the local community. All participants will be invited to a special discussion with UN staff that will be arranged by Catholic Extension Society in March 2021. And one participant will be selected to attend a UN forum on religious tolerance in another country in the coming year! You may submit a video in any format – get creative!
Check out example video submissions below., #forSafeWorship.
About the U.N. Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites
In March 2019, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on mosques occurred in Christchurch, New Zealand, the U.N. Secretary-General requested the High Representative of the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations to elaborate a Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites, which was launched in September 2019.
Religious sites are symbols of our history, traditions, and humanity in every country and community across the globe. They must be respected as places of peace and harmony where worshippers and visitors can feel safe.
For 115 years, Catholic Extension Society’s donors have provided over 12,500 grants to build and repair Churches across the United States. Many of these sacred spaces are in your dioceses, or even your parish! We want to hear about a sacred space that is special to you and how it is being preserved.
We need to communicate with each other, to discover the gifts of each person, to promote that which unites us, and to regard our differences as an opportunity to grow in mutual respect.”
Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti (134)