What is Development & Peace?
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. Development and Peace is a membership led organization supported by parish collections, individual donations and government grants, principally from Global Affairs Canada.
Our vision: Committed to change
Our mission: Support partners in the Global South who promote alternatives to unfair social, political and economic structures, and educate the Canadian population about the causes of poverty and mobilize Canadians towards actions for change. In the struggle for human dignity, the organization forms alliances with northern and southern groups working for social change. It also supports women in their search for social and economic justice. Read our full mission statement >
Our action: For over 50 years, Development and Peace has supported 15,200 local initiatives in fields such as agriculture, education, community action as well as the consolidation of peace and advocacy for human rights in 70 countries.
Our objectives: Inspired by Gospel values and in particular the preferential option for the poor, our objectives are to support the actions of people in the Global South so that they can take control of their destiny and educate Canadians on issues related to North-South imbalance.
Our belief: We believe that Canadians of all religious beliefs have a responsibility to help the world's poor and disadvantaged, either by urging governments, corporations and others to implement change, or by donating time or money to support development efforts. Populations in the Global South have access to a better life provided they have the necessary economic and social instruments.
We are a democratic movement: We depend on the commitment of thousands of Canadians determined to support the poor in their struggle for justice in the Global South. We draw our strength from our 13,000 members in Canada. Our work is supervised by a 21-member National Council composed of volunteers. Find out more about our Governing Structures >
Our global and Canadian networks: We collaborate with global and domestic networks. This collaboration contributes to building an international solidarity movement. Caritas Internationalis, International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity (CIDSE), Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC), KAIROS.
Our history: Development and Peace 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. Read on >
Catholic Social Teaching: With human dignity at its centre, a holistic approach to development founded on the principles of CST is what Pope Paul VI called ‘authentic development’. Explore the Catholic Social Teaching principles and how they guide the work of Development and Peace