Pope Benedict XVI grants papal honours on two Canadian pioneers in ecumenical dialogue and interfaith conversations

Thursday, August 16, 2012

The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism has announced that Father Irénée Beaubien, S.J., and Dr. Victor Goldbloom, M.D., will receive papal honours during a gala dinner to be held at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom in Montreal on October 4, 2012. Father Beaubien will receive the papal medal Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, and Dr. Goldbloom will be made a Knight of the Order of Saint Sylvester.

Father Beaubien was the founding director of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism, and had before then headed what was originally the Canadian Episcopal Conference’s French-language office in Montreal for ecumenical relations. Dr. Goldbloom has served on the board of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism, as well as as a representative of the Canadian Jewish Congress on the Canadian Christian Jewish Consultation, of which the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) is a founding member. On several occasions in the past, Dr. Goldbloom participated in bilateral conversations involving the CCCB and the Canadian Jewish community.

His Eminence Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte, Archbishop Emeritus of Montreal, the Most Reverend Christian Lépine, Archbishop of Montreal, and the Most Reverend Thomas Dowd, Auxiliary Bishop of Montreal, will be present for the October 4 gala. The event represents an historic celebration of ecumenical dialogue and interfaith conversations in Canada.