The Bishops of Canada to Hold their Plenary Assembly, 19-23 October

Friday, October 16 2009

(CCCB – Ottawa)… The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) will hold its annual Plenary Assembly, 19 – 23 October 2009, at the Nav Canada Centre, Cornwall, Ontario. About 90 Bishops will be present to review pastoral activities of the past year and to discuss important questions and issues. They will also elect a new Permanent Council as the two-year terms of its current members have ended, including that of CCCB President Most Reverend V. James Weisgerber, Archbishop of Winnipeg.

In addition to reviewing the work carried out over the past year by CCCB councils, commissions and committees, the Bishops will discuss a number of pastoral issues.

In keeping with the Year of the Priest announced by Pope Benedict XVI, American theologian Dr. Richard R. Gaillardetz, Murray/Bacik Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Toledo in Ohio, will deliver two presentations: on the impact of the Second Vatican Council on the priesthood and its reality today, and on the relationship between the ministerial priesthood and the priesthood of the baptized.

Other issues to be discussed during the working sessions include Catholic identity in the public sphere, Catholic-Anglican relations, the role of Bishops in life issues, and the pastoral response to the poverty afflicting a growing number of Canadians.

Lastly, the agenda will also include an update on the collaboration of Development and Peace with its numerous partners throughout the world, as well as on development projects funded by this organization that the Bishops of Canada founded in 1967.