The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has appointed Ms. Isabel Correa, Director of Youth Ministry at the Archdiocese of Montreal, as the National Coordinator for the Canadian delegation at World Youth Day (WYD) 2019. She succeeds Father Thomas Rosica, C.S.B., CEO of Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation, who has served Canadian WYD delegations in this capacity over the past years. The 2019 WYD will be celebrated in Panama, 22 to 27 January 2019, on the theme “I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:30).

A delegation including CCCB representatives and organized by the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace / Caritas Canada is visiting the Middle East, 29 January to 9 February 2017. Intended to be a tangible sign of the charity and solidarity of the universal Church for the Catholic faithful in the region, the delegation is focusing on Catholic communities in Lebanon and Syria.

The delegation is led by two Bishops from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB): The Most Reverend Raymond Poisson, Bishop of Joliette, Quebec, and The Most Reverend Ken Nowakowski, Eparchial Bishop of the Ukrainian-Greek Catholic Eparchy of New Westminster, B.C. The two are accompanied by Gilio Brunelli, Ph.D., Director, International Programs Department, Development and Peace; Mrs. Hélène Tremblay-Boyko, from Sturgis, Saskatchewan, Vice President of the National Council of Development and Peace; and Mr. Kyle Ferguson, Advisor for Ecclesial and Interfaith Relations with the CCCB.

During the first week, the Canadian visitors met with the Canadian Ambassador to Lebanon, representatives of Caritas Lebanon, the Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon, and the Patriarch of Maronite Catholics, His Beatitude and Eminence Béchara Boutros Cardinal Raï, O.M.M. At each of its visits, the delegation discussed the challenges facing not only Lebanese Christians but the entire country and region. The conflict in Syria and the turmoil in Iraq have caused enormous complexities for the people of Lebanon and have far-reaching implications for the global community. A particularly challenging situation for Lebanon is the ongoing need to receive and care for the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict and the violence in Iraq. To date, Lebanon has received approximately 1.5 million refugees from the two countries; this in a nation with a total population of approximately 4.5 million.

In addition to listening firsthand to social and political analyses from the communities they are visiting, the visitors have personally seen the human costs of the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts. The delegation’s experiences include visiting a Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley; speaking with staff and patients at the Caritas Lebanon Primary Healthcare Centre in Rayfoun; and sitting down with Caritas Lebanon staff operating a shelter for women and children asylum seekers who have been displaced because of human trafficking, war, and economic hardship. The dire needs of children fleeing the conflict zones became painfully evident during a visit to a school operated by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Deir El Ahmar, as well as during a visit to a local soup kitchen in Beirut run by Caritas Lebanon which serves predominantly Iraqi refugees.

The visit has also provided the opportunity to admire the rich cultural and spiritual heritage of the Lebanese people together with the vibrant and resilient faith of the Maronite Catholic community. The Gospel of Christ remains a light of hope and love in this land, and its people are strengthened and guided by their deep devotion to Our Lady of Lebanon, as well as by the holy witness of Saint Maron, Saint Sharbel Makhlouf, O.L.M., Blessed Nematallah Hardini, and Blessed Rafka Er-Ryiess, along with the many other holy men and women who are celebrated in the country.

Throughout their visit, the members of the delegation have also seen the deep cultural and religious diversity of Lebanon. Saint John Paul II in his address to the Maronite community in 2000 remarked that Lebanon is not solely a country but a message, “a place where Christians can live in peace and brotherhood with the followers of other beliefs, and can foster this form of coexistence.”

The Development and Peace delegation departed Beirut on Monday, 6 February, to travel to Damascus, Syria.

Following an invitation by the Bishops in the Middle East, a delegation organized by the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace / Caritas Canada (CCODP) is visiting projects it supports in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. The visits are part of an observer mission, 29 January to 9 February 2017. The delegation includes: the Most Reverend Ken Nowakowski, Ukrainian Eparchial Bishop of New Westminster, B.C., and member of the Standing Committee for Development and Peace of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB); the Most Reverend Raymond Poisson, Bishop of Joliette and member of the CCCB Permanent Council and the CCCB Commission for Justice and Peace; Mrs. Hélène Tremblay-Boyko, Vice President of the National Council of Development and Peace; and Mr. Kyle Ferguson, the CCCB Advisor for Ecclesial and Interfaith Relations. The group is accompanied by Mr. Gilio Brunelli, Director of International Programs with Development and Peace.

The observer mission includes visits with the Patriarchs and Bishops of the Middle East, as well as with Caritas organizations in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, along with other CCODP partners in the region, and Government of Canada representatives.

Link to the news release of CCODP

In a letter addressed to His Eminence Robert Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Most Reverend Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., Bishop of Hamilton and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), has petitioned the Congregation for the liturgical memorial of Saint Teresa of Calcutta to be inserted into the General Roman Calendar, in view of its being observed annually on 5 September, the anniversary of her death. The request was made following a unanimous decision by the CCCB Permanent Council. In his letter, the CCCB President notes how “our country was deeply touched by the life, the faith and the example of Mother Teresa” as well as highlighting various events and references which show how she has made a worldwide impact.

Link to the letter of Bishop Crosby (PDF)

For fifty years the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza have languished under occupation, violating the human dignity of both Palestinians and Israelis. This is a scandal to which we must never become accustomed.

Our Coordination has called for justice and peace every year since 1998, yet the suffering continues. So this call must get louder. As Bishops we implore Christians in our home countries to recognise our own responsibility for prayer, awareness and action.

So many people in the Holy Land have spent their entire lives under occupation, with its polarising social segregation, yet still profess hope and strive for reconciliation. Now, more than ever, they deserve our solidarity.

We all have a responsibility to oppose the construction of settlements. This de facto annexation of land not only undermines the rights of Palestinians in areas such as Hebron and East Jerusalem but, as the UN recently recognised, also imperils the chance of peace.

We all have a responsibility to provide assistance for the people of Gaza, who continue to live amid a man-made humanitarian catastrophe. They have now spent a decade under blockade, compounded by a political impasse caused by ill-will on all sides.

We all have a responsibility to encourage non-violent resistance which, as Pope Francis reminds us, has achieved great changes across the world. This is particularly necessary in the face of injustices such as the continued construction of the separation wall on Palestinian land including the Cremisan Valley.

We all have a responsibility to promote a two-state solution. The Holy See has emphasised that “if Israel and Palestine do not agree to exist side-by-side, reconciled and sovereign within mutually agreed and internationally recognised borders, peace will remain a distant dream and security an illusion.”

We all have a responsibility to help the local Church, its agencies, volunteers and NGOs. In the most testing circumstances they show great resilience and carry out life-changing work. It is our faith in God that gives us hope. It is the witness of Christians in the Holy Land and especially the young people we met that inspires us.

The Bible tells us: “You will declare this fiftieth year to be sacred and proclaim the liberation of all the country’s inhabitants” [Leviticus 25:10]. During this fiftieth year of occupation we must pray for the liberty of everyone in the Holy Land and practically support all those working to build a just peace.

Bishop Declan Lang, England and Wales (Chair of the Holy Land Coordination)
Archbishop Riccardo Fontana, Italy
Bishop Stephen Ackermann, Germany
Bishop Peter Bürcher, Bishops’ Conference of the Nordic Countries
Bishop Oscar Cantú, United States of America
Bishop Christopher Chessun, Church of England
Bishop Michel Dubost, France
Bishop Lionel Gendron, Canada
Bishop Felix Gmür, Switzerland
Bishop Nicholas Hudson, Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community
Bishop William Kenney, England and Wales
Bishop William Nolan, Scotland

With the support of:
Mgr. Duarte da Cunha, Council of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences in Europe
Fr. Peter-John Pearson, South African Bishops’ Conference

19 January 2017

PDF Version 

From 14 to 19 January, 2017, the Most Reverend Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil and Vice President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), will participate in the annual meeting of the Coordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church in the Holy Land. The meeting’s themes of this year will include migrants, dialogue and peace process. This annual international gathering involves representatives from Conferences of Bishops in Europe and North America who meet with the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land (AOCTS). Bishop Gendron will be accompanied by Mr. Carl Hétu, National Director of CNEWA-Canada.

The visit will include a tour of Hebron and East Jerusalem. There will be meetings with the Catholic Bishops of the Holy Land, staff and students of Bethlehem University, diplomats and politicians, as well as an Ecumenical afternoon with the Christian Leaders of the Holy Land to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The delegates will also visit various Catholic parishes in the Bethlehem district to celebrate Sunday Mass. Part of the delegation will also visit the Latin Parish in Gaza City on 12 and 13 January, including Bishop Gendron and Mr. Hétu.

The bishops participating at the annual meeting in the Holy Land are from the following Bishops’ Conferences: United States of America, Canada, England and Wales, France, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Spain, the Nordic Countries, South Africa and Switzerland, as well as the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) and the Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE). Catholic Aid Organizations, Pax Christi, the Equestrian order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and Friends of the Holy Land are also represented. Finally, journalists from various media sources are also present throughout the week.

Link to the website of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

(CCCB – Ottawa)… His Holiness Pope Francis accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Frederick B. Henry as Bishop of the Diocese of Calgary and has appointed today as his successor the Most Reverend William Terrence McGrattan. At the time of his appointment, Bishop McGrattan was Bishop of the Diocese of Peterborough. Bishop Henry has been Bishop of Calgary for the past 19 years.

Born in London, Ontario on 19 September 1956, Bishop William Terrence McGrattan studied at St. Peter’s Seminary, London, Ontario, where he obtained a Master’s of Divinity in conjunction with the University of Western Ontario. Following his ordination to the priesthood on 2 May 1987, he pursued studies in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, receiving a licentiate in 1992. Following several pastoral appointments within the Diocese of London, in 1997 he was appointed Rector of St. Peter’s Seminary, London, a position he was holding when appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto on 6 November 2009. He was appointed Bishop of Peterborough on 8 April 2014. As a member of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), Bishop McGrattan serves on the Episcopal Commission for Doctrine, in addition to being the Bishop ponens with the Catholic Health Alliance of Canada and the National Spiritual Advisor with the Catholic Women’s League of Canada.

Bishop Henry was born in 1943 in London, Ontario. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of London on 25 May 1968. On 23 April 1986, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of London, and ordained to the episcopate on 24 June 1986. On 24 March 1995, he was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Thunder Bay, Ontario, and subsequently Bishop of the Diocese of Calgary on 19 January 1998. As a member of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Henry has served as member and then chairman of the former Episcopal Commission on Christian Education of the English Sector (1987-1993), liaison bishop with English-language seminary rectors, co-ordinator of the apostolic visitation of English-language seminaries in Canada, member of the Executive and National Council of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (1996-2000), member of the Permanent Council as Sector representative (2000-2003 and 2007-2009), member and then chairman of the former Episcopal Commission for Social Communications of the English Sector (2001-2005), liaison bishop to the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities of Canada, member of the Standing Committee for Development and Peace (2011-2013).

According to the Canadian Catholic Church Directory 2016, the Diocese of Calgary has 67 parishes and missions, with a Catholic population of 435,328 served by 153 diocesan priests, 37 priests who are members of institutes of consecrated life, 46 permanent deacons, 104 religious Sisters and Brothers who are members of religious institutes.

(CCCB – Ottawa)… The Most Reverend Jean Gagnon, Bishop Emeritus of Gaspé, died early this morning, December 23, 2016, at hospital in Lévis, Quebec, at the age of 75. After 15 years as Bishop of the Diocese of Gaspé, he submitted his resignation to the Holy Father upon reaching the age of 75, as required by the Code of Canon Law, and which was accepted on July 2, 2016.

Bishop Gagnon was born on May 21, 1941, in St-Joseph-de-Lauzon, Quebec. He was ordained a priest in 1966 for the Archdiocese of Québec. On December 4, 1998, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Québec. Appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Gaspé on July 21, 2001, he was named Bishop of the same diocese on November 15, 2002. As a member of the CCCB, Bishop Gagnon has served as member and Chairman of the former Commission for Social justice of the French Sector (1999-2003), member of the former Committee for programs and priorities (2001-2003), member of the former Commission for Christian education of the French Sector (2003-2005), and member of the Commission for Liturgy and Sacraments of the French Sector (2011-2016). Bishop Gagnon has also been the CCCB representative on the Board of the Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF) (2005-2007) and was its Chairman (2007-2009).

The remains of the Most Reverend Jean Gagnon will lie in state in the parish church of Saint-Joseph-de-Lauzon, Lévis, Quebec, on December 29, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm and from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm as well as from 9:00 am on the day of the funeral. The Funeral Mass will be presided by His Eminence Gérald Cyprien Cardinal Lacroix, Archbishop of Québec and Primate of Canada, on December 30, 2016, at 11:00 am. He will be assisted by the Most Reverend Gaétan Proulx, O.S.M., Bishop of Gaspé.

Seven Canadian Catholic organizations have formed a coalition to strengthen and foster relations with Indigenous people. Meeting at the offices of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) in Ottawa on 5 December 2016 for its first official meeting, the members of the coalition approved the following mission statement:

“Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle is a Catholic coalition of Indigenous people, bishops, clergy, lay movements and institutes of consecrated life, engaged in renewing and fostering relationships between the Catholic Church and Indigenous people in Canada.”

Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle has a fourfold purpose:

1. To provide a forum for its members to dialogue and encourage deeper understanding of the relationships between the Church and Indigenous people and Indigenous spirituality in Canada.

2. To serve as a united Catholic public voice on relations and dialogue between the Church and Indigenous people and Indigenous spirituality in Canada.

3. To assist Catholics in engagement with the Truth and Reconciliation process and its Calls to Action.

4. To carry out agreed upon initiatives and concrete actions.

“Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle is motivated by the love of Christ, filled with great hope for the future and attentive to the Holy Spirit’s action in our world, to the glory of our compassionate Creator and Father.”

The institutional members of the Circle are the Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council (CCAC), CCCB, Canadian Religious Conference (CRC), Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace / Caritas Canada (CCODP), Saint Vincent de Paul Society, Knights of Columbus, and The Catholic Women’s League of Canada. Along with two CCAC representatives — its Chair Deacon Rennie Nahanee and Vice-Chair Mr. Irving Papineau — the Indigenous members are Mrs. Rosella Kinoshameg, the Honourable Graydon Nicholas and Sister Priscilla Solomon, C.S.J.

• Deacon Rennie Nahanee is a Squamish First Nation Elder and the First Nations Ministry Coordinator for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver;
• An Odawa / Ojibway from the Wikwemikong First Nation, Mrs. Rosella Kinoshameg is former President of the Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada;
• Mr. Graydon Nicholas, a Maliseet born and raised in Tobique First Nation, is a lawyer and former provincial court judge who served as Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, 2009-2014;
• Sister Priscilla Solomon is an Ojibway Sister of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie, serving her religious congregation as its Coordinator for Faith and Justice Ministry;
• A retired educator, Mr. Irving Papineau is a member of the Mohawk First Nation and President of the Board of Directors of the Akwesasne Library and Cultural Centre.

Mrs. Kinoshameg and Mr. Nicholas were among the CCAC founding members. Others currently participating in the Circle include:

• Father Peter Bisson, S.J., Provincial Superior, Jesuits in English Canada;
• Sister Donna Geernaert, S.C., past Congregational Leader, Sisters of Charity of Halifax;
• Sister Gloria Keylor, S.P., Provincial Superior, Sisters of Providence of Western Canada;
• Father Kenneth Forster, O.M.I., Provincial Superior, Lacombe Province, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate;
• Father Timothy Scott, C.S.B., Executive Director, Canadian Religious Conference.

Members representing their respective organizations of the laity are:

• Mrs. Colleen Martin, a member of the Executive of the Ontario provincial council of The Catholic Women’s League of Canada who also serves on the Board of the Mikinakoos Children’s Fund;
• Ms. Josianne Gauthier, Director of In-Canada programs with the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace;
• Mr. Graydon Nicholas, who was appointed by Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Mr. Carl Anderson;
• Mr. Jim Paddon, Chair of the Social Justice Committee, National Council of Canada, Society of Saint Vincent de Paul.

Archbishop Murray Chatlain, of the Archdiocese of Keewatin – Le Pas, serves as a representative of the country’s Northern dioceses, and Archbishop Donald Bolen, of the Archdiocese of Regina, as Chairman of the CCCB Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace. Mr. Gerry Kelly (who previously had served as CCAC secretary) is an advisor to the Circle, which is also assisted by CCCB General Secretary Msgr. Frank Leo, Jr., together with support staff from the Conference of Bishops. The Circle is currently chaired by the Most Reverend Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., President of the CCCB and Bishop of Hamilton, assisted by the Most Reverend Anthony Mancini, Co-Treasurer of the CCCB and Archbishop of Halifax.

Our Lady of Guadalupe was proclaimed patroness of the Americas by Pope Pius XII in 1946. The devotion dates to 1531 when the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared as a young Aztec woman to Juan Diego, a convert to Christianity whose Indigenous name was Cuauhtlatoatzin (“Eagle Who Speaks”). The site of the apparition was called the Hill of Tepeyac, which eventually became part of Villa de Guadalupe, a suburb of Mexico City, and today is an international Marian shrine. Some 20 million pilgrims and other visitors come to the shrine each year, which brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous Catholics from all the Americas. Authentic devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe shows how the Catholic faith finds expression in Indigenous cultures. In 2002 Juan Diego was declared a Saint by the Catholic Church.

During March 2016, at the same time that the proposal was developing to establish the Circle, four of its parties — the CCCB, the CRC, the Aboriginal Council and CCODP — jointly issued two major documents: A Catholic Response to Call to Action 48 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (On Adopting and Implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples), and The “Doctrine of Discovery” and Terra Nullius: A Catholic Response regarding TRC Call to Action 49. http://www.cccb.ca/site/eng/media-room/statements-a-letters/4446-catholic-responses-to-truth-and-reconciliation-commission-call-to-action-48-and-questions-regarding-the-doctrine-of-discovery 

Mission statement (PDF)

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) are jointly releasing resources to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017. The resources are entitled Together in Christ — Lutherans and Catholics Commemorating the Reformation. The process of developing these resources has itself involved an ecumenical dialogue and a deepening of relations between the two Churches in Canada. Over the course of two years, a joint CCCB-ELCIC working group has prepared the materials which are intended to encourage the faithful in reflecting prayerfully on the past 500 years; in offering thanksgiving to God for the progress made in the efforts toward reconciliation; and in praying for pardon and peace whenever words or actions have fallen short of what Christ demands of Christians.

The resources have been developed particularly for the use of parishes and study groups, as well as ecumenical officers of both Catholic and Lutheran traditions. The materials will also be of interest to institutes of consecrated life as well as for ecumenical meetings and days of prayer for Church unity. The resources include two key elements:

1. A five-part parish study guide entitled Together in Christ. Designed to foster mutual prayer, study, and conversation among Catholics, Lutherans and other Reformed traditions, the guide can be used either in segments or as a whole by individual or joint ecumenical study groups.

2. A homily resource for January 29, 2017, the concluding Sunday of the 2017 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the date proposed for launching this parish study guide. Other digital resources are also available.

The letter introducing the resources is signed by the Co-Chairs of the joint working group, the Most Reverend Richard Gagnon, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Winnipeg, and the Reverend Susan Johnson, National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) have also issued a jointly developed Common Prayer for the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, entitled “From Conflict to Communion Lutheran–Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017”.

Links to the resources:
–Together in Christ – Cover letter by the two Co-Chairs (introducing the materials)
–Together in Christ – Promotion poster
–Together in Christ – Leader’s Guide (instructions on how to organize the discussion sessions)
–Together in Christ – Participant’s Guide
–Together in Christ – Video script (written text of the audio visual material)
–Together in Christ – Homily Resources

Link to the Common Prayer by the Pontifical Council and the Lutheran World Federation (PDF)