The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP) Standing Liaison Committee and the Standing Committee for Development and Peace of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) held their latest joint meeting on June 18, 2015, at the CCCB Offices in Ottawa, ON. The CCCB Standing Committee advises the Conference on Development and Peace plans and activities, as well as facilitates communication and collaboration between the CCCB and CCODP.

CCCB Standing Committee Chairperson Bishop Pierre Morissette and Mr. Ray Temmerman, President of CCODP National Council, co-chaired the meeting. Mr. Temmerman introduced the new National Council member to the Liaison Committee, Ms. Annette Donovan Panchaud, of the diocese of London. During this interim period until the hiring of a new Executive Director, CCODP Management is represented by Ms. Josianne Gauthier, Director of In-Canada Programs.

There was some discussion on the application of the 3D process in certain practical cases, with some helpful questions and comments provided. CCODP will continue to examine the questions put forward and ensure follow-up before the next meeting.

Follow-up was provided on the advancement of the “Key Principles” document which had been a joint initiative of the USCCB/CCCB/Catholic Relief Services/CCODP regarding response to media attacks on the work of Catholic development agencies. The CCODP Theological Reflection Committee is working on adapting the document in light of the Canadian context, of the relationship between CCODP and the CCCB, as well as in light of other already existing documents on Partnership Principles, Criteria for working with Partners, and the new By-Laws.

Reflection continues on the role of CCODP as Caritas Canada and what possible implications this could have in terms of structure or operations in Canada. At its recent Orientation Assembly, members of CCODP expressed a strong desire to become more actively involved in issues of social justice in Canada insofar as they are intimately related to international issues, and therefore a natural extension of the mission as it is currently understood. This topic will continue to be discussed in future meetings, as the reflection process unfolds. At this meeting, the most recent draft of the document regarding the “Relationship between CCODP and the CCCB” was shared and will be followed-up on at the next meeting.

CCODP In-Canada Programs Director, Josianne Gauthier provided updates to the Committees on several information items:
• Update and results on Emergency Relief programs in 2014-2015. A report will be circulated to the Bishops before the next Plenary Assembly.
• Preliminary results of the national 2015 Share Lent campaign
• Preview / update on the upcoming 2015 Fall Action Education Campaign on the theme “Create a Climate of Change“, as well as plans for integrating passages and messages of the new Encyclical, released on June 18th, Laudato Si, into the material for the next Fall Action Education Campaign.

Members of CCODP National Council, Ray Temmerman as President, as well as Pat Kennedy, Past President, and Hélène Tremblay–Boyko, of Saskatchewan presented updates of the recent National Council meeting and Orientation Assembly of members, which were both held in Otterburne, Manitoba from June 11-15. The National Council met on June 11th to vote on the budget for the coming year, as well as to follow-up on the recruitment process of the new Executive Director.

At the Orientation Assembly, almost 200 members from across the country attended the three-day event which only occurs every five years, to discuss the future orientations of the organization in light of current world issues, the context of the Church, the challenges we face as faith-based organizations, as well as the opportunities to act on behalf of the poor to fight against injustice. It was a powerful and faith inspired coming together, and from the discussions will come a report and a plan with proposed orientations early in the fall.

A brief report was given on plans for the coming 50th anniversary of CCODP. The bishops encouraged the 50th anniversary committee to provide a full proposal to the CCCB by the end of August, in order to maximize the impact and benefit of the anniversary process.

CCCB Standing Committee Chairperson Bishop Pierre Morissette closed the meeting with thanks for the information and collaboration provided, as well as for the good discussions that took place at this meeting. Many of the points raised at this meeting will continue to be discussed throughout the coming year with updates, reports on actions taken and proposals for ways going forward.

The next meeting of the joint Committees is scheduled for October 23, 2015, in Montreal.

PDF Version 

During a news conference at the Vatican Press Office on June 18, 2015, the Holy See presented the second Encyclical Letter that Pope Francis has issued since the beginning of his pontificate. Entitled “Praise be to you, my Lord” (Laudato si’), the central question posed by the Holy Father is: “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?” (no. 160). Pope Francis continues: “This question not only concerns the environment in isolation; the issue cannot be approached piecemeal.” It leads to questions about the meaning of existence and the values which should be the basis of social life: “What is the purpose of our life in this world? Why are we here? What is the goal of our work and all our efforts? What need does the earth have of us?” The Holy Father adds, “Unless we struggle with these deeper issues, I do not believe that our concern for ecology will produce significant results.”

Laudato si’ is divided into six chapters: “What is Happening to our Common Home”; “The Gospel of Creation”; “The Human Roots of the Ecological Crisis”; “Integral Ecology”; “Lines of Approach and Action”; and “Ecological Education and Spirituality”. In the Introduction to his Encyclical, the Holy Father makes the following appeal: “The urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change. The Creator does not abandon us; he never forsakes his loving plan or repents of having created us. Humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common home” (no. 13). Pope Francis adds he wants “to recognize, encourage and thank all those striving in countless ways to guarantee the protection of the home which we share.”

To accompany the Encyclical Letter, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has prepared a listing of its recent texts and statements on the environment, as well as a list of recent joint statements with other Christian Churches and also with other Episcopal Conferences. The list of joint texts includes as well links to recent resources from the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP). Printed copies of the Encyclical Letter will be available from CCCB Publications for purchase in the coming weeks.

Link to the Encyclical Letter

List of Some Recent Statements and Texts by the CCCB dealing with the environment (PDF)

List of joint statements signed by the CCCB, and resources from Development and Peace (PDF)

Link to the special webpage of Development and Peace

Link to the video “A Life-Giving Ecology For All” (first of 12 videos inspired by and based on the 2013 CCCB text, “Building a New Culture: Central Themes in Recent Church Teaching on the Environment”)

Link to Salt + Light TV 
“The Ecology Encyclical: Care for Our Common Home”

Link to Salt + Light TV documentary series “Creation”

The 51^st International Eucharistic Congress will be held in Cebu, Philippines, January 24 to 31, 2016, on the theme “Christ in you, our hope of glory” (Colossians 1.27). The Most Reverend Luc Cyr, Archbishop of Sherbrooke, and the Most Reverend J. Michael Miller, C.S.B., Archbishop of Vancouver, are the official delegates from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) to the 2016 Congress, following their appointments by the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses.

Pope Francis in his address to the national delegates for the 2016 International Eucharistic Congress on September 27, 2014, said that “the encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist will be the font of hope for the world if, transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit into the image of the one we encounter, we accept the mission to transform the world by giving the fullness of life which we ourselves have received and experienced, bringing hope, forgiveness, healing and love to those in need, especially the poor, the dispossessed and oppressed, sharing with them the life and aspirations and walking with them in the search for an authentic human life in Jesus Christ.”

The official website of the Congress, http://iec2016.ph/, makes it possible to download the following documents for promoting and spiritually preparing for the Cebu Eucharistic Congress:

– “‘Christ in you, our hope of glory’ – The Eucharist: Source and Goal of the Church’s Mission – Theological and pastoral reflections in preparation for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress, Cebu, Philippines, 24-31 January” (51 pages in all)
– “A brief history of the archdiocesan seminaries of Cebu: The main venue of the IEDC 2016” (I page)
– Official theme song – words only (1 page)
– Official theme song – musical score
– Official prayer of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress
– “IEC primer” – Outline of the history and purpose of International Eucharistic Congresses with the schedule for the Cebu event (approximately 60 pages)
– The registration form for the Theological Symposium (January 20-22), https://registration.iec2016.ph/ 
– The registration forms for the Congress itself which are available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, and can be accessed at https://registration.iec2016.ph/ 

Other resources:

–Link to Pope Francis’ address on September 27, 2014

–Letter from Archbishop J. Michael Miller, C.S.B., inviting every diocese in Canada to appoint a Diocesan Representative to help promote the International Eucharistic Congress. (PDF)

-DVD – Media kit and Infomercial

-DVD – Cebu City Philippines: Cradle of Christianity in the Far East

Spiritours, the official Canadian travel agency for the Cebu International Congress, will be offering tours in both English and French, with a flight from Montreal and Toronto. Spiritours is committed to ensuring that its English and French-language programs for the Cebu Congress will have a distinctive religious character. Archbishop Miller will be accompanying the anglophone group leaving from Vancouver, while Archbishop Luc Cyr will be accompanying the francophone group leaving from Montreal.

Link to Spiritours (Montreal)

Link to Sampaguita Travel Bureau (Vancouver)

(CCCB – Ottawa)… The Most Reverend Robert Lebel, Bishop Emeritus of Valleyfield, died on May 25, 2015, at the age of 90. He had been named Auxiliary Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil by Blessed Paul VI on March 12, 1974, and Bishop of Valleyfield on March 31, 1976. After 24 years in Valleyfield, he offered his resignation to the Holy Father when reaching the age of 75, as required by the Code of Canon Law, which was accepted on June 29, 2000.

Bishop Lebel was born in 1924 at Trois-Pistoles, Quebec, and ordained to the priesthood in 1950 for the Archdiocese of Rimouski. After receiving his doctorate in theology from the Angelicum University in Rome, he served as professor and later Rector at the Major Seminary in Rimouski. In 1964 he accompanied the then Archbishop of Rimouski, the Most Reverend Charles Eugène Parent, to the Second Vatican Council as a peritus. He was ordained Bishop on May 12, 1974.

During his episcopal ministry, Bishop Lebel was President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), from 1989 to 1991. In addition to being a member of the Executive Committee, 1986-1991, he also served on a number of other CCCB Commissions and committees, including the former Pastoral Team (1976-1979), the Board of Administration (1976-1979, today known as the Permanent Council), the former French Sector Committee on Liturgy and Social Communications (1981-1983), the former Commission for Theology (1991-1995), the French Sector Comité de diffusion des célébrations liturgiques (1996-2000), the former French Sector Commission for Social Communications (1995-1997), on which he was also Chairman (1997-1999); and as Commission Chairman in the former Department for Social Communications and Extraordinary Affairs in 1979. Bishop Lebel was also a member of the Synod of Bishops on the Family in 1980.

His body will lie in state at Sainte-Cécile Cathedral-Basilica, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. Visitation will be open to the public Tuesday, June 2, 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Wednesday, June 3, beginning at 10:30 a.m. The Most Reverend Noël Simard, Bishop of Valleyfield, will preside at the funeral Mass, at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, in the Cathedral. A celebration of the Word will be held Tuesday evening, June 2, at 7:30 pm, led by Saint-Clément Parish from Beauharnois.

Earlier this year, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments forwarded to the world’s Episcopal Conferences the text of the Homiletic Directory, a new resource for all ministers of the Word, including priests, deacons and homilists. The document was produced “as the result of the request made by participants in the Synod of Bishops held in 2008 on the Word of God.” In response to this request, Pope Benedict XVI directed the competent authorities of the Holy See to prepare a Directory to assist in preparing homilies. More recently, Pope Francis has made preaching one of the priorities in renewing the Church, as is evident in his first Apostolic Exhortation, “The Joy of the Gospel” (Evangelii gaudium).

Published in Canada by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), printed copies of the Homiletic Directory can be ordered on the CCCB Publications website. It can also be freely downloaded online for non-commercial use by parishes, dioceses and religious communities, provided the correct copyright acknowledgements are included.

The Directory presents the purpose of the homily as described in the documents of the Church from the Second Vatican Council to the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium. It offers guidance based on these resources to help preachers carry out their mission effectively. The first part describes the nature, function, and specific context of the homily. The second part addresses the essential questions of method and content that the homilist should know and take into account when preparing and delivering the homily. Two appendices follow the main text. The first gives references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church based on various doctrinal themes in the readings for each of the Sundays. The second appendix provides references to various Magisterial teachings on the homily.

Link to order the document

Link to the PDF Version of the document

(CCCB – Ottawa)… His Holiness Pope Francis today named the Most Reverend Denis Grondin Archbishop of Rimouski. At the time of his appointment, Bishop Grondin was Auxiliary Bishop of Québec. He succeeds the Most Reverend Pierre-André Fournier who died in office January 10, 2015, at the age of 71. At the time of his death, Archbishop Fournier was also President of the Assembly of Québec Catholic Bishops. Since then, the Reverend Benoît Hins, the former Vicar General, has been Diocesan Administrator of Rimouski, while the Most Reverend Paul Lortie, Bishop of Mont-Laurier, was elected President of the Assembly of Québec Catholic Bishops.

Bishop Grondin was born on October 23, 1954, in Rimouski. He completed his secondary school studies at the Seminaire Saint-Francois and the Seminaire Saint-Augustin. He then pursued his collegial studies in health sciences at the Quebec Minor Seminary and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in medicine. Following his pastoral internship in the educational system in Sainte-Croix de Lotbinière and the “Patro Saint-Vincent de Paul”, he entered the Major Seminary in Quebec City. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 21, 1989, by Cardinal Louis-Albert Vachon. He began his pastoral ministry as associate pastor in various regions of the Archdiocese of Québec. He also served as pastor of several parishes in the Charlevoix region and as pastoral animator in the field of health until his appointment as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Québec on December 12, 2011. The new Archbishop of Rimouski was ordained Bishop on February 25, 2012, by His Eminence Gérald Cyprien Cardinal Lacroix, Archbishop of Québec and Primate of the Church in Canada.

As a member of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), Bishop Grondin serves on the Standing Committee for Relations with Movements and Associations, in addition to being the Bishop ponens with the Charismatic Renewal movement in the French Sector.

According to the CCCB 2015 Directory, the Archdiocese of Rimouski has 103 parishes and missions, with a Catholic population of 143,640, served by 82 diocesan priests, four priests who are members of religious communities, 15 permanent deacons, 512 Religious Sisters and Brothers and 11 lay pastoral assistants.

Link to the news release of the Archdiocese of Québec

Link to the video message by Arcbishop Grondin (In French only)

The Most Reverend Paul-André Durocher, Archbishop of Gatineau and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, has announced a joint emergency campaign with the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP) to raise funds for the victims of the earthquake in Nepal. In addition, the Government of Canada has announced it will match any contributions to assist Nepal which are collected by May 25, 2015.

Catholic Bishops across Canada are already encouraging parishes and other groups to organize special collections, with the funds collected to be received by Development and Peace before May 25. Donations sent to CCODP should be marked “Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund”. Development and Peace is working in collaboration with the other Caritas members in the region, including Caritas Nepal, Caritas India, and the Catholic Relief Services office in India.

In his Regina Coeli message on April 26, Pope Francis prayed “for the victims, those wounded and for all those who suffer because of this calamity.” He said he hoped those affected would find support in “fraternal solidarity”. The Holy See also announced that the Holy Father contributed $100,000 through the Pontifical Council Cor Unum to assist the victims of the earthquake.

Based on current information, the April 24 earthquake has affected some seven million people in Nepal’s 34 districts, leaving one million homeless and around two million children in need of assistance, with an estimated 400,000 buildings destroyed. Media report that people and whole villages have been buried by landslides and avalanches triggered by the earthquake and aftershocks. The number of casualties is expected to become much higher as rescue teams try to make their way into more remote areas.

Link to make a donation to CCODP

(Rev. Msgr.) Patrick Powers, P.H. 
General Secretary / CCCB

(CCCB – Ottawa)… The Most Reverend Raymond Roussin, S.M., Archbishop Emeritus of Vancouver, died on April 24, 2015, in Winnipeg, at the age of 75. He had been named Bishop of the former Diocese of Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan, by Saint John Paul II on April 10, 1995, and Coadjutor Bishop of Victoria on September 14, 1998. He became Bishop of Victoria on March 18, 1999. On January 10, 2004, he was named Archbishop of Vancouver. For health problems, at the age of 68, his resignation was accepted by the Holy Father on January 2, 2009.

Archbishop Roussin was born in Saint Boniface, Manitoba, in 1939 and ordained to the priesthood on March 21, 1970. A member of the Marianists (the Society of Mary), he served as the Director of the Marianist community in Saint Boniface, 1971-1979 and 1987-1995, as well as Provincial Superior for the Marianists in Canada, 1980-1987. In the Archdiocese of Saint Boniface, he served as the Director of Vocations, member of the Presbyteral Council, and Director of Saint Boniface Diocesan High School. He also served as a Member of the Presbyteral Council of the Archdiocese of Winnipeg. From 1984 to 1986, he was President of the Western Conference of Religious.

During his episcopal ministry, Archbishop Roussin served as Vice President of the Assembly of Western Catholic Bishops and on the CCCB Permanent Council (1997-1999), as well as a member of the former Commission for Christian Education of the French Sector (1995-1999) and of its former Commission for Liturgy (1999-2003). He was also the CCCB liaison Bishop with Canadian Catholic Campus Ministry. In 1999, he was named by Saint John Paul II to participate in the European Synod of Bishops in Rome.

His Funeral Mass will be on Saturday, May 2, at 10:00 a.m. at the Cathedral of Saint Boniface. The Most Reverend Albert LeGatt, Archbishop of Saint Boniface, will preside at the celebration. A Vigil will take place the day before at 7:30 p.m. at the Cathedral.

The Papal Legate, His Eminence Angelo Cardinal Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, will preside at the Beatification of Elisabeth Turgeon on April 26, 2015, in Saint-Robert-Bellarmin Church, Rimouski, with Mass beginning at 2:30 p.m. In addition to seating in the main body of the church, the basement hall will also be open with giant screens. Participants will be welcomed as well at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Rimouski where there will also be large screens. Several thousand people in all are expected for the celebration. With the assistance of Production Québec Multimédia, the celebration will be broadcast live on Internet on the Congregation’s website, as well as for all TVCOGECO subscribers in the Lower Saint Lawrence region. The day after the Beatification, April 27, the Apostolic Nuncio to Canada, the Most Reverend Luigi Bonazzi, will preside at a Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving in the chapel of the Congregation’s motherhouse at 10:00 a.m.

The principal charism of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Rosary (in French, the Les Sœurs de Notre-Dame du Saint-Rosaire) is Christian education, including catechetics, pastoral work, and ministry with children, youth and their parents. In addition to their presence in the Archdiocese of Rimouski and the Diocese of Gaspé, as well as elsewhere in Quebec, the Sisters have served on the Lower North Shore and in Newfoundland and Labrador (1972-1998) as well as Maine. They have done missionary work in Haiti (1970), the Dominican Republic (1974), and Africa (1970 -1993), and continue to have missions in Honduras, Peru, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Their presence in Maine is outlined on the website of the Diocese of Portland. The Congregation today has a little more than 300 religious and about 460 associates.

To mark the Beatification, CCCB Publications has published prayer cards / souvenir cards. Orders can be placed on-line; toll free in Canada and the United States (1-800-769-1147); telephone (613-241-7538); fax (613-241-5090); or email publi@cccb.ca.

This Beatification is a significant moment for the Church in Canada, not only as part of the Year of Consecrated Life, but also as one more reminder of how all the baptized are called to evangelize today, finding inspiration for proclaiming the Good News in the missionary examples of earlier generations of Canadians.

Further information on preparations for the Beatification is available on the Congregation’s website, in French, English, Spanish and Arabic.

Link to the full schedule of the week for the Beatification celebrations (in French only) (PDF)

Link to the description of the prayer cards in English

(CCCB – Ottawa)… His Eminence Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte, Archbishop Emeritus of Montreal, died on April 8, 2015, after a lengthy illness. He was 78 years old. The late Cardinal was a priest for 56 years and Bishop for 33 years. He served as the ninth Archbishop of Montreal, from 1990 to 2012. He was made Cardinal by Saint John Paul II at the Consistory of November 26, 1994.

In a telegram to the Most Reverend Christian Lépine, Archbishop of Montreal, Pope Francis expressed his profound sorrow at the death of Cardinal Turcotte. “I implore the Lord to welcome into the light of eternal life this faithful Pastor who served the Church with dedication,” the Holy Father wrote.

Cardinal Turcotte was born in Montreal on June 26, 1936, and ordained to the priesthood on May 24, 1959. In 1964, upon his return to the Archdiocese following a year of studies at the Catholic Faculties of Lille in France, he was named Diocesan Chaplain of JICF (Jeunesse indépendante catholique féminine) and of the Christian Worker Movement. From 1967 to 1974, he held a number of responsibilities in the Office for Clergy. In 1974, he became Director of the Office for Parishes, and in 1977 was named Diocesan Bursar. Archbishop Paul Grégoire appointed him Vicar General of the Archdiocese and General Co-ordinator for Pastoral Activities on September 25, 1981.

Pope John Paul II promoted him to the See of Suas and Auxiliary Bishop of Montreal on April 15, 1982. Ordained to the episcopate by Archbishop Paul Grégoire on June 29, 1982, he served as the Québec episcopal delegate with the provincial government during Pope John Paul II’s visit to Canada in 1984. He was also responsible for the co-ordination of the papal visit in the Archdiocese of Montréal. Pope John Paul II named him Archbishop of Montréal on March 17, 1990, and later announced his elevation to the rank of Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church on October 30, 1994. Over the course of his 30 years as Bishop, Cardinal Turcotte was, for over 20 years, an Ex Officio member of the Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB). In addition to being President of the Episcopal Conference from 1997 to 1999, he also served on the former Commission for Social Affairs and the Standing Committee for Government Relations and Public Policy, as well as serving as CCCB representative on the Board of the Fondation canadienne de la vidéo religieuse. As a member of the College of Cardinals, he served on the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, and the Special Council for America of the Synod of Bishops. As well, he participated in the papal Conclaves of 2005 and 2013.

Visitation will be open to the public at Mary Queen of the World Cathedral, Montreal, on Thursday, April 16, from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., where his body will lie in state. The funeral Mass will be on April 17, 2015, at 2:00 p.m., at the Cathedral. Salt + Light TV will broadcast live the celebration.

For more information, see the website of the Archdiocese of Montreal.
http://diocesemontreal.org/en/news/latest-news—en/reader/items/death-of-cardinal-jean-claude-turcotte.html