(CCCB-Ottawa)… Having visited Mexico 15 to 18 April 2009, the committee of inquiry of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) is now preparing to report to the CCCB Permanent Council. The Bishops of Canada will then be notified of the results of the inquiry, after which these will be made public. The committee was established to look into allegations about five Mexican organizations that had received project funding from the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.

(CCCB-Ottawa)… Having visited Mexico 15 to 18 April 2009, the committee of inquiry of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) is now preparing to report to the CCCB Permanent Council. The Bishops of Canada will then be notified of the results of the inquiry, after which these will be made public. The committee was established to look into allegations about five Mexican organizations that had received project funding from the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.

While in Mexico, the members of the committee met with representatives of the Episcopal Conference of Mexico and with senior representatives of the organizations mentioned in the allegations. Prior to the inquiry, information had circulated which suggested these groups had expressed support for abortion, although the organizations have denied this.

The committee of inquiry is chaired by Most Reverend Martin W. Currie, Archbishop of St. John’s, Newfoundland, and Most Reverend François Lapierre, P.M.É., Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Assisting them are Msgr. Mario Paquette, P.H., CCCB General Secretary, and Msgr. Carlos Quintana Puente, C.S.S., from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops where he is Executive Director of its Secretariat for the Church in Latin America.

The visit to Mexico provided an opportunity for the committee to investigate the specific issues raised by the Mexican allegations as well as letting it see first-hand how Development and Peace approaches its work with its partners in the Global South.

Development and Peace was founded by the Bishops of Canada in 1967 as their official agency for development work and emergency relief in the Global South. It is also the Canadian branch of Caritas Internationalis.

News Conference, 15 April 2009,
Offices of the Assembly of First Nations, Ottawa

Pope Benedict XVI is inviting a delegation to go to Rome to meet with him on 29 April 2009. Composed of representatives of Catholic communities in Canada and of the Aboriginal Peoples, the delegates will include Mr. Phil Fontaine, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and myself as President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Since the earliest European settlements in Canada five centuries ago, there has been a close association between the indigenous people and the Catholic Church. Most of this history has been a wonderful sharing of faith and witness, but there have also been moments of sorrow.

Among the greatest disappointments were the former Indian Residential Schools. Certainly, there were many examples of great dedication in the efforts at the time to provide a good education for indigenous children; this generosity and goodwill involved school staff, including men and women religious from Catholic missionary orders; elders and parents, and the children themselves. At the same time, there were also terrible challenges, including important cultural differences, insufficient government funding, and human failings, and worst of all instances of exploitation and cruelty. From today’s perspective, we are all very conscious of the tragic limitations of the Residential Schools, especially from the perspectives of family life, community values, and cultural heritage.

But even more unfortunate, the sufferings of the indigenous peoples of Canada are not limited to the past nor to the former Residential Schools. Aboriginal Peoples continue to be marginalized and impoverished in our country. Their social, economic and cultural needs are in fact so urgent today, that all Canadians need to make new and sustained efforts to collaborate with indigenous people in order to assure them of respect, acceptance and equality.

Last fall, National Chief Fontaine invited the Catholic Bishops of Canada, and with them all Catholic communities, to join with Aboriginal Peoples in a new partnership. In response, Catholic dioceses, as well as Catholic religious orders, Church organizations and other Catholic agencies are renewing efforts to mobilize their respective communities and forces.

This is a wonderful opportunity in the history of the Church and Aboriginal Peoples. It is a most promising moment for reconciliation, bridge building, renewed partnership and new dialogue.

The Pope is a bridge builder. That is the meaning of the word “Pontiff”. For that reason, he has invited us to visit him in Rome, in a gesture of reconciliation and healing. By accepting this invitation, as representatives of the Catholic Church in Canada and of the First Nations we can show and celebrate our mutual determination for a renewed partnership and a new beginning.

Most Reverend V. James Weisgerber
Archbishop of Winnipeg
President
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops

(CCCB – Ottawa) – On 29 April 2009, following the General Audience which regularly takes place on Wednesday mornings, Pope Benedict XVI will meet with a delegation of Aboriginal representatives from Canada including Mr. Phil Fontaine, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and with representatives of Catholic dioceses and religious communities in Canada, including Archbishop V. James Weisgerber, President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. During this meeting, the Pope will express his concern for Aboriginal Peoples in Canada who continue to suffer from the impact of the former Indian Residential Schools, the majority of which were managed by a number of Catholic dioceses and religious orders.

Photo: Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News

(CCCB – Ottawa) – On 29 April 2009, following the General Audience which regularly takes place on Wednesday mornings, Pope Benedict XVI will meet with a delegation of Aboriginal representatives from Canada including Mr. Phil Fontaine, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and with representatives of Catholic dioceses and religious communities in Canada, including Archbishop V. James Weisgerber, President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. During this meeting, the Pope will express his concern for Aboriginal Peoples in Canada who continue to suffer from the impact of the former Indian Residential Schools, the majority of which were managed by a number of Catholic dioceses and religious orders.

During a news conference held earlier today at the Ottawa offices of the Assembly of First Nations, Archbishop Weisgerber, in the presence of Chief Phil Fontaine, explained that the meeting with the Holy Father would serve as a witness to the mutual determination of the Catholic Church of Canada and the First Nations for a renewed partnership and a new beginning. Archbishop Weisgerber also recalled the clear expressions of regret made in the early 1990s by the religious communities and the Catholic dioceses that were associated with the residential schools.

(CCCB-Ottawa)… The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has asked two Bishops to lead a committee of inquiry into allegations about five Mexican groups that received project funding from the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.

The two Canadian Bishops on the committee which will be going to Mexico later this month, 15-18 April, are Archbishop Martin W. Currie of St. John’s, Newfoundland, and Bishop François Lapierre, P.M.É., of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. They will be assisted by Msgr. Mario Paquette, P.H., General Secretary of the CCCB, and by Msgr. Carlos Quintana from the offices of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, where he is Executive Director of its Secretariat for the Church in Latin America. The committee of inquiry will report to the CCCB on its findings.

Over the past few weeks there have been allegations that some groups in Mexico which received project funding from Development and Peace had shown support for abortion. In addition to confirming it does not support any groups in favour of abortion, Development and Peace also received written assurances from the five groups that they do not promote abortion.

Development and Peace had also announced there would be “an immediate inquiry with the five Mexican partners to get to the bottom of these allegations.”

The President of the CCCB, Archbishop V. James Weisgerber of Winnipeg, has now confirmed this inquiry will be undertaken by the Canadian Episcopal Conference. “There has been a lot of confusion sown in the minds of Canadian Catholics,” he said. “It is now important to provide answers that respond to the important questions that have been raised.”

Archbishop Weisgerber said the committee of inquiry would investigate the specific issues raised by the Mexican allegations and review first-hand how Development and Peace approaches its work with its partners in the Global South. He indicated the two Bishops on the CCCB inquiry would meet with Bishops from Mexico.

The committee of inquiry will later make its report and present its recommendations to the CCCB Permanent Council.

Development and Peace was founded by the Bishops of Canada in 1967 as their official agency for development work and emergency relief in the Global South. It is also the Canadian branch of Caritas Internationalis.

(CCCB – Ottawa) His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI today named two Auxiliary Bishops to the Archdiocese of Quebec City — Rev. Paul Lortie and Rev. Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, I.S.P.X. – to assist His Eminence Marc Cardinal Ouellet, Archbishop of Quebec City.  Their appointments bring the number of Quebec City Auxiliary Bishops to three, joining Bishop Gilles Lemay who has served in this capacity since 2005.

Born 17 March 1944 in Beauport, Quebec, Father Paul Lortie studied at the Grand Séminaire of Quebec City where he obtained a licentiate in theology. Ordained 16 May 1970, he was named to the Séminaire du Sacré-Coeur in Saint-Victor de Beauce, Quebec, where he served until 1972 when he left to pursue studies at the Institut de catéchèse de Paris and at Laval University, Quebec City. From 1976 on, he worked mainly in education, first in the Archdiocese of Quebec City, then for the Quebec Assembly of Catholic Bishops from 1983 to 1989.  He has held many responsibilities with the Quebec City archdiocesan offices, including the directorship of its offices for vocations, religious, and parishes. From 1995 to 2008 he served as pastor for a number of parishes in the regions of Portneuf and Deschambault as well as in Quebec City. Since March 2008 he has been Episcopal Vicar for the four pastoral regions south of the Saint Lawrence River.

Father Gérald Cyprien Lacroix was born 27 July 1957 in Saint-Hilaire de Dorset, Quebec. He attended Laval University where he earned a master’s degree in pastoral theology. A member of the Pius X Secular Institute (I.S.P.X.), he was ordained a priest on 8 October 1988. In 1990, he began missionary work in Colombia, where he assisted in establishing his secular institute there as well as working in a parish and teaching in a seminary.  On returning to Canada in 1998, he became the head of the Pius X Secular Institute, a position he held until his appointment as Auxiliary Bishop. Since 2008 Father Lacroix has been on the Executive Council of the World Conference of Secular Institutes.

The Archdiocese of Quebec City has a Catholic population of 917,000 in 223 parishes and missions, served by 432 diocesan priests, 283 religious order priests, 90 permanent deacons, 3,393 religious Sisters and Brothers, and 80 lay pastoral workers.

Most Reverend Albert Sanschagrin, O.M.I., Bishop emeritus of Saint-Hyacinthe, died on 2 April 2009 at the age of 97.

Born on 5 August 1911 in Saint-Tite, Quebec, Bishop Sanschagrin was ordained to the priesthood on 24 May 1936 as a member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. In 1939, he was named to the central national offices of the Young Christian Workers (YWC) where he helped organize the YWC congress with 100 marriages and establish the Marriage Preparation Service.

Most Reverend Albert Sanschagrin, O.M.I., Bishop emeritus of Saint-Hyacinthe, died on 2 April 2009 at the age of 97.

Born on 5 August 1911 in Saint-Tite, Quebec, Bishop Sanschagrin was ordained to the priesthood on 24 May 1936 as a member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. In 1939, he was named to the central national offices of the Young Christian Workers (YWC) where he helped organize the YWC congress with 100 marriages and establish the Marriage Preparation Service.

In 1947, at the request of the Bishops of Chile, Bishop Sanschagrin traveled there to assist with the YWC movement. While in Latin America, he founded Oblate missions in Chile, Bolivia and Surinam.  After returning to Canada in 1953, he was named Provincial Superior for the Oblates of Eastern Canada, a position he held until his appointment on 14 August 1959 as Coadjutor Bishop of Amos. He subsequently participated in the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).

Bishop Sanschagrin was named Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe on 13 June 1967. He was a member of a number of Commissions and committees of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, including serving as chairman of the episcopal committee that studied the re-establishment of the permanent diaconate in Canada , as well as of the then Commission for Clergy and Religious. He became Bishop emeritus of Saint-Hyacinthe on 18 July 1979.

There will be visitation on Monday, 13 April 2009, at the Bishop’s Residence of Saint-Hyacinthe, 1900 Girouard Street West, beginning at 2:00 p.m. His funeral will be on Tuesday, 14 April at 10:30 a.m., at the Saint-Hyacinthe Cathedral. 

More than 70 participants were involved in the Second Seminar on the Family organized by the Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF) on 27 March 2009 at the Sheraton Hotel in Ottawa. Six speakers gave presentations on topics relating to the family today: the new feminism, fatherhood, the childcare debate, the family and its rights, the relationship between family and society, and the risks of state encroachment on family rights and responsibilities.

More than 70 participants were involved in the Second Seminar on the Family organized by the Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF) on 27 March 2009 at the Sheraton Hotel in Ottawa. Six speakers gave presentations on topics relating to the family today: the new feminism, fatherhood, the childcare debate, the family and its rights, the relationship between family and society, and the risks of state encroachment on family rights and responsibilities.

From left to right, the guest speakers with : (back row) Dr. Douglas Farrow, McGill University; Mr. Iain Benson, Centre for Cultural Renewal; Ms. Gwendolyn Landolt, REAL Women of Canada; Mr. Yves Saint-Maurice, educator; (front row) COLF Assistant Director Ms. Lea Singh; COLF Director Ms. Michèle Boulva; COLF Chairman Bishop Jean Gagnon; Dr. Karlijn Demasure, Saint Paul University; Ms. Lisa Lickona, theologian.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has released its 2009 Directory.

This annual bilingual publication contains a wealth of useful information and statistics on the Bishops of Canada, in office and retired, as well as their dioceses.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has released its 2009 Directory.

This annual bilingual publication contains a wealth of useful information and statistics on the Bishops of Canada, in office and retired, as well as their dioceses.

One complete section is devoted to how the CCCB functions: its Executive Committee and President, Commissions and other committees, and General Secretariat. The booklet also provides information on the Holy Father and the Vatican, the Apostolic Nunciature in Canada, the country’s regional episcopal assemblies, and a list of the CCCB members who serve on Canadian national associations or assist the Holy See.

The 2009 Directory is available for $15.95 (taxes and shipping not included). Copies can be ordered online at http://www.cccbpublications.ca/, by email at publi@cccb.ca, by phone at 1-800-769-1147, or by fax at 613-241-5090.

The CCCB was established 65 years ago by the Bishops of Canada to assist collaboration in their pastoral ministry and in dealing with major social challenges facing both the nation and the Church.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) on 6 March 2009 asked the Supreme Court of Canada for permission to intervene in a Quebec challenge to the federal government’s power to regulate human reproductive technologies and related genetic research.

For the CCCB and EFC, the basic question is the common good and the public interest of all Canadians. The case, Attorney General of Canada v. Attorney General of Québec, is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court on 24 April 2009. The CCCB and EFC hope to explain before the Court how existing federal legislation in this area is basic for the effective protection and promotion of human life and dignity as well as the dignity of human procreation.

The Quebec Court of Appeal had ruled in June 2008 that “only the individual safety of the participants in assisted reproduction and the children that result from it require protection.” These safety concerns, according to the Quebec ruling, can be regulated by the provinces as a matter of health care.

In their application to the Supreme Court, the CCCB and EFC insist that reproductive technologies raise profound moral and ethical concerns which extend beyond the individual parties involved and affect society as a whole. “The overarching considerations of respect for human individuality, dignity, and integrity,” the joint application states, “as well as respect for the dignity of human procreation, within the context of assisted human reproduction are of interest to all members of Canadian society….”
 
In its 1993 Final Report, the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies had stated: “Issues such as these are too important to our society, their fundamental social, moral, legal, and ethical implications too profound, to be left to be resolved by a fragmented and disjointed sector-by-sector or province-by-province approach. The protection of the public interest, the well-being and interests of women, the creation of children, and the formation of families are national issues that must be addressed at a national level.”

A key outcome to the Royal Commission report was the eventual decision by the Canadian Parliament in 2004 to pass the Assisted Human Reproduction Act. This federal legislation is now in question because of the ruling by the Quebec court.

Over the last 15 years, the EFC and the CCCB (either on its own or by means of the Catholic Organization for Life and Family) have been actively involved in matters relating to assisted human reproduction technology and research in Canada. Both made submissions to and appeared before the Standing Committee on Health in the development stages of the legislation now before the Supreme Court. Each also participated in past consultations and reviews on reproductive and genetic technologies, including the Canadian Institute for Health Research consultation on human stem cell research and the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies.

If the Supreme Court permits the CCCB and EFC to intervene, they will be represented by Mr. William J. Sammon of Barnes, Sammon LLP.

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For more information or an interview contact:

Mr. Gérald Baril
Communications Service
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
(613) 241-9461 ext. 225

Ms. Gail Reid
Director, Communications
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
905-479-5885, ext. 227
Cell: 647-227-3464

The World Day of the Sick will be celebrated, as it is every year, on 11 February. This annual observance was instituted in 1992 by Pope John Paul II. Various documents are available to help prepare for this day.

The World Day of the Sick will be celebrated, as it is every year, on 11 February. This annual observance was instituted in 1992 by Pope John Paul II.

Its celebration is an opportunity to remind Catholics of the importance of:

• ensuring the sick have access to good health care;
• encouraging parishes and Church groups to be involved in and concerned about health care and pastoral ministry for the sick;
• recalling the need to provide spiritual and moral formation for those working with the sick;
• encouraging volunteers to be involved in helping to care for the sick;
• promoting reflection on the meaning of suffering;
• and inviting all those involved in medical care to appreciate the importance of their healing ministry.

Helpful links:

Message of Pope Benedict XVI for the 18th World Day of the Sick

Living, Suffering and Dying… What For? – a leaflet on suffering from the Catholic Organization for Life and Family

CCCB Permanent Council Pastoral Letter: Health care and the Catholic Church in Canada

The Catholic Health Association of Canada