Joint meeting held of CCCB Standing Committee on Development and Peace and CCODP Liaison Committee

Monday, September 26 2011

The CCCB Standing Committee on the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP) met with the Liaison Committee of the CCODP National Council on September 19, 2011, at the Ottawa offices of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB). Both committees were pleased with the constructive and positive nature of their meeting.

The delegates from Development and Peace as well as from the Conference of Bishops were pleased to have the opportunity to meet, and agreed to meet regularly several times a year. In addition, they indicated their openness to meet more often if special issues arose. As well as laying the groundwork for working together and future meetings, they agreed to issue joint communiqués after each meeting.  Furthermore it was also agreed to establish an ad hoc working group to assist in reviewing several draft policy documents that are being prepared by CCODP.

The meeting clarified that both CCODP and the CCCB mutually agree it is important to involve local Bishops from the Global South in the dialogue, discussion and rapport that are part of development work.  It was also agreed that when CCODP identifies questions or concerns about this, it will consult with the CCCB Standing Committee.  Other points of discussion included the transitional role of the two Bishops who presently serve on the CCODP National Council; the importance of maintaining good relationships and good communications with all the Bishops of Canada; and an acknowledgement that the CCODP Liaison Committee needs to report to the CCODP National Council, just as the CCCB Standing Committee reports to the Permanent Council and Plenary Assembly of the Conference of Bishops. In turn, the CCODP National Council has its own responsibility for communicating with CCODP members across the country, just as the CCCB must involve each Diocesan Bishop in Canada.

Both committees look forward to their next joint meeting, possibly to be scheduled during February 2012, with progress reports to be exchanged by mid-October. 

The members of the CCODP Liaison Committee are: Mr. Ronald Breau, New Brunswick, President of the Development and Peace National Council; Mr. Patrick Hogan, Newfoundland, Past President of the National Council; Mme Madeleine Pothier-Picard, Quebec, National Council member; Mr. Dick Mynen, British Columbia, National Council member; and Mr. Michael Casey, CCODP Executive Director.

The members of the CCCB Standing Committee are: Most Reverend John Boissonneau (Chairman), Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto; André Gaumond, Archbishop emeritus of Sherbrooke; Pierre-André Fournier, Archbishop of Rimouski; Fred Henry, Bishop of Calgary; and CCCB General Secretary Msgr. Patrick Powers, P.H. In addition, the two Bishops currently appointed to the CCODP National Council also participate in the meetings of the Standing Committee: Bishop Claude Champagne, O.M.I., of Edmundston, and Bishop Richard Grecco of Charlottetown.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops established its Standing Committee on the CCODP following the October 2010 Plenary Assembly of the Bishops of Canada. The Standing Committee replaces the former CCCB Ad Hoc Committee for CCODP.  It provides an ongoing mechanism for the Bishops to accompany and encourage CCODP, while also supporting the organization in its review of its decision-making and operating protocols, and facilitating communication and collaboration between the two organizations.  In June 2011, the National Council of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace formed a Liaison Committee to meet with the CCCB Standing Committee.

– 30 –