Most Reverend Robert Clune, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Toronto, died on 6 September 2007 at the age of 86.

Born in Toronto on 18 September 1920, he was ordained to the priesthood on 26 May 1945 at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto. In May 1979, he was named Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto by Pope John Paul II and was ordained Bishop the following month by G. Emmett Cardinal Carter, then Archbishop of Toronto.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be concelebrated on Wednesday, 12 September 2007 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Michael’s Cathedral.

Most Reverend Robert Clune, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Toronto, died on 6 September 2007 at the age of 86.

Born in Toronto on 18 September 1920, he was ordained to the priesthood on 26 May 1945 at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto. In 1948 he received his doctorate in canon law from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. In May 1979, he was named Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto by Pope John Paul II and was ordained Bishop the following month by G. Emmett Cardinal Carter, then Archbishop of Toronto, who gave him particular responsibility for the North-East and Northern Regions of the Archdiocese. From 1979 to 1992 he served as Vicar for Permanent Deacons and Vicar for Religious.

Bishop Clune was deeply committed to missionary work. From 1971 to 1979 he was President of the Catholic Church Extension Society of Canada (Catholic Missions in Canada). He also was involved in this sphere of activities at the national level where he served as a member of the Episcopal Commission for missions of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) for more than ten years. Bishop Clune retired in 1997.

Visitation will take place on Monday, 10 September 2007 from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at St. Wilfrid’s Parish, 1675 Finch Avenue West, North York, with a parish Mass at 8:00 p.m., and on Tuesday, 11 September 2007 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at St. Wilfrid’s Parish and from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at St. Michael’s Cathedral. The Mass of Christian Burial will be concelebrated on Wednesday, 12 September 2007 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Michael’s Cathedral, 67 Bond Street, Toronto.

The ordination of Father Murray Chatlain as Coadjutor Bishop of the diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith will take place in the gymnasium of St. Patrick’s School in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, on Friday 14 September 2007, at 7:00 p.m.

Pope Benedict XVI appointed Fr. Chatlain on 23 June 2007.

This text is only available in French.

At the request of the Bishops of Canada and in view of current pastoral needs, major changes have been approved for the boundaries of dioceses situated in three provinces.

The Holy See has recently published Decrees modifying the boundaries of seven Dioceses and suppressing an eighth, the Diocese of Labrador City – Schefferville. The other Dioceses concerned are Amos, Baie-Comeau, Chicoutimi, Joliette and Trois-Rivières, all in the Province of Quebec; St. George’s, in Newfoundland; and Moosonee, in Ontario. The changes affect a total of 30 parishes and missions.

Delegates of the Holy See will witness the official proclamation of the Decrees and assist the local diocesan Churches in this reorganization. The delegates are Most Reverend Maurice Couture, S.V., Archbishop emeritus of Quebec City; Jean-Guy Couture, Bishop emeritus of Chicoutimi; Jude Saint-Antoine, Auxiliary Bishop emeritus of Montreal; and Martin Currie, Bishop of Grand Falls.

Newfoundland-Labrador

The Diocese of Labrador City – Schefferville always encompassed territory in what is now the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador as well as in the Province of Quebec. This recent reorganization has resulted in the formation of a new diocese, the Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador. The new Diocese will comprise all parishes and missions in the present Diocese of St. George’s on the Island of Newfoundland in addition to those in the territory of Labrador, until now part of the Diocese of Labrador City – Schefferville. Those parishes and missions in the Province of Quebec which until now have been in the Diocese of Labrador City – Schefferville will be transferred either to the Diocese of Amos or to the Diocese of Baie-Comeau, depending on their geographic area.

The episcopal see of the new diocese will be in the City of Corner Brook, and the present Cathedral of the Most Holy Redeemer and the Immaculate Conception will remain the cathedral church. What has until now been the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Labrador City has been designated a Minor Basilica by the Holy See, thus becoming the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Most Reverend Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., who for some years has been Bishop of Labrador City – Schefferville as well as serving as the Bishop of St. George’s, becomes the first Bishop of the new Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador.

Changes in Quebec

With the change to its boundaries, the territory of the Diocese of Amos has grown considerably. The Diocese now includes the Quebec region of Nunavik that used to be part of the Diocese of Labrador City – Schefferville. As well, the diocese has been given responsibility for those communities in the Province of Quebec that until now have been part of the Diocese of Moosonee. Until this change, the Diocese of Moosonee has had a vast territory that encompassed parts of both Ontario and Quebec. With this adjustment of boundaries, only the parishes and missions within the Province of Ontario will form the Diocese of Moosonee.

One parish and two missions that have been within the Diocese of Amos will now form part of other diocesan territories. The Parish of Parent now becomes part of the Diocese of Trois-Rivières, the Opitciwan Mission will now belong to the Diocese of Chicoutimi, and the Manawan Mission will be joined to the Diocese of Joliette.

The lower North Shore of the Saint Lawrence River (the “Basse-Côte-Nord”) as well as the Schefferville areas of the former Diocese of Labrador City – Schefferville will now form part of the Diocese of Baie-Comeau.

The Decrees to the changes in diocesan territories will be implemented over the coming weeks, according to the decision of the Diocesan Bishop and the delegates of the Holy See. It has already been announced that the Decree changing the boundaries of the Diocese of Baie-Comeau will take effect during a Eucharistic celebration at which the Most Reverend Pierre Morissette, Bishop of Baie-Comeau, will preside in the parish church of Notre-Dame de Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon on Sunday, 2 September.

• REORGANIZATION OF NORTHERN DIOCESES

His Eminence Édouard Cardinal Gagnon, P.S.S., President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Eucharistic Congresses and Bishop emeritus of Saint-Paul, Alberta, died 25 August 2007 at the age of 89 in Montreal.

The funeral will take place on Tuesday, 4 September at 10 a.m. in the Notre Dame Basilica. Interment will take place at the crypt of the Grand Séminaire de Montréal.

His Eminence Édouard Cardinal Gagnon, P.S.S., President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Eucharistic Congresses and Bishop emeritus of Saint-Paul, Alberta, died 25 August 2007 at the age of 89 in Montreal.

Born 15 January 1918 in Port-Daniel, Quebec, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Montreal on 15 August 1940, and joined The Society of the Priests of St. Sulpice. On 19 February 1969, Pope Paul VI named him Bishop of Saint-Paul.

Three years later, the Holy Father accepted his resignation as Bishop of Saint-Paul and invited him to take on responsibilities in the Roman Curia. During his many years working at the Holy See, Bishop (later Archbishop) Gagnon held a number of positions, in particular as President of the Pontifical Council for the Family and more recently as President of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses. Pope John Paul II appointed him to the College of Cardinals in 1985.

Pope Benedict XVI also expressed his sorrow at the death of Canadian Cardinal. Read article in Zenit, Catholic Press Agency.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) will publish a revised Lectionary for Sundays and Solemnities. This is the book of readings used in the public worship of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada.

The revised lectionary is expected to be available next spring in order to be used for the beginning of the following liturgical season – Year B – starting 30 November 2008.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) will publish a revised Lectionary for Sundays and Solemnities. This is the book of readings used in the public worship of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada. The revised lectionary is expected to be available next spring in order to be used for the beginning of the following liturgical season – Year B – starting 30 November 2008.

The Holy See recently gave its approval (recognitio) to the project. It is the fruit of years of research and discussion by the Bishops of Canada and a number of experts working in close collaboration with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in Rome. The project also involved consultation with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

CCCB Vice President Archbishop James Weisgerber of Winnipeg said he welcomes the news “that the Holy See has granted its official seal of approval for the publication of a new Lectionary for Sundays and Solemnities for the Church in Canada.”

Archbishop Weisgerber went on to say, “The Lectionary is the result of important cooperation between members of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and officials of the Holy See. While most of the Lectionary text has not been altered, changes have been made so that the Word proclaimed in our churches will be clearer or more accurate. I look forward to receiving this new edition into our diocesan Church.”

Canada is currently the only country where the Roman Catholic lectionary is based on the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, the copyright for which is held by the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Other English-speaking Episcopal Conferences are now also considering the possibility.

• Backgrounder on the recent recognitio for the revised Canadian Lectionary for Sundays and Solemnities

To assist families in the challenge of handing on the Christian faith and helping children discover how Christ gives life and meaning, the Catholic Organization for Life and Family is releasing a reflection on sharing the faith as its 2007 Message to Families.

Entitled Families, where are the saints of the third millennium?, it invites families to rediscover and deepen their baptismal commitment by putting Christ at the heart of life.

To assist families in the challenge of handing on the Christian faith and helping children discover how Christ gives life and meaning, the Catholic Organization for Life and Family is releasing a reflection on sharing the faith as its 2007 Message to Families.

Entitled Families, where are the saints of the third millennium?, it invites families to rediscover and deepen their baptismal commitment by putting Christ at the heart of life.

Anticipating the 49th International Eucharistic Congress to be held in Quebec next year, COLF also stresses the importance of the Eucharist as an inexhaustible source for renewing and strengthening married love and family unity.

Co-sponsored by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus, COLF promotes respect for human life and human dignity as well as the essential role of the family.

Each year COLF issues a message to families.

• 2007 Message and others

Signis and Interfilm, respectively Catholic and Protestant international film organizations, are collaborating for the 29th consecutive time to award an Ecumenical Prize at the Montreal World Film Festival (MWFF).

The Montreal World Film Festival will be held from 23 August to 3 September 2007.

Signis and Interfilm, respectively Catholic and Protestant international film organizations, are collaborating for the 29th consecutive time to award an Ecumenical Prize at the Montreal World Film Festival (MWFF).

Interfilm-Montreal and Communications et Société, a member association of Signis, are responsible for coordinating the jury in Montreal. Communications et Société is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of quality from a critical perspective, and to the advancement of ethical and spiritual values in the sphere of media and communications. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) recognizes and officially mandates Communications et Société as “National Office of Social Communications” for Francophone Canada.

For more information on the jury, or the history, past winners, or selection criteria of the prize, visit the website of Communications et Société (in French only) at http://www.officecom.qc.ca/.

The Montreal World Film Festival will be held from 23 August to 3 September 2007.

The Message of Pope Benedict XVI for the 23rd World Youth Day on the theme: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses ” (Acts 1:8) was recently issued.

WYD will be held in Sydney, Australia, from 15 to 20 July 2008.

Read the message…

The Bishops’ Collection for the Needs of the Church in Canada will be held in most parishes on Sunday, 30 September 2007.

The Communications Service of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) is making the information in the pamphlet available online so that parishes and diocesan communications offices and Church media may use the material to promote the collection.

Below, you will find the original PDF format of the 2007 Collection’s Leaflet and each individual texts:

• The leaflet in its original PDF format
• Poster for parishes
• Message by the CCCB President, Archbishop André Gaumond
• Articles for Parish Bulletins (4 texts)
• Facts about the CCCB
• CCCB Logo (English, French and bilingual)

For more information on the Collection for the Needs of the Church in Canada, please contact CCCB Communications Service