"THE AUGUSTINIAN" April 2003
Published by the Augustinians in Australia
Visiting Augustinian promotes a network of peace.
Father John Paul Szura O.S.A. of Chicago spent two weeks in Australia
recently (during March) to invite Augustinian involvement in education
for peace.
He is the education officer of the NGO (Non-Government Organisation) that the Augustinian General Curia established at the United Nations in New York seven years ago. With accredited NGO status, the Augustinians are registered as a “peoples’ group” that can offer a two-way communication between official U.N. organisations and the people whom Augustinians serve in over forty countries throughout the world.
Father John Paul suggests that the Security Council gains an excessive share of U.N. publicity at the expense of the great humanitarian work of UNESCO, UNICEF and the International Labour Organisation.
The Augustinian NGO concentrates on the three broad areas of education, development and human rights.
His first time in Australia, Fr John Paul has called this “a hello visit”. He spoke in a number of Augustinian parishes and schools about the “Culture for Peace” program of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation). This program is focused on 7,000 schools internationally, with forty-five of them being in Australia. These schools contribute to a web site that anyone can browse: http://www.unesco.org/education/asp/ The Culture for Peace web site is: http://www3.unesco.org/iycp/uk/uk_sommaire.htm
Father John Paul reached Australia after completing a similar mission to the Augustinians in the Philippines, and will visit the Augustinians in Japan on his way back to the United States. He now plans to maintain regular contact by email with contacts he has made in Australia and Asia. The Augustinian NGO in New York can be e-mailed at augngo@aol.com
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