Statement by the CCCB on the Non-Permissibility of Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide within Canadian Health Organizations with a Catholic Identity (English) / French
Statement of Apology by the Catholic Bishops of Canadato the Indigenous Peoples of This Land (English) / French
Statement from the Executive Committee of the CCCB regarding the Corporation for the Catholic Entities Party to the Indian Residential School Settlement
(20 August 2021)
CCCB Statement: Date of the Delegation to the Holy See
English French
CCCB Statement: Delegation to the Holy See
The following joint document entitled, Serving a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity: A Christian Call to Reflection and Action During COVID-19 and Beyond, published on 27 August 2020, was released by the Pontifical Council and the World Council of Churches. The document is intended to encourage reflection, action and interreligious solidarity in the time of the pandemic and onwards.
The document is now available in several languages on the Pontifical Council’s website at: https://www.pcinterreligious.org/christian-call-reflection-action-during-covid-19-and-beyond
On behalf of Archbishop Mulhall, please find attached, recently released documents regarding Bill C-6 An Act to Amend the Criminal Code – Conversion Therapy and Bill C-7, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying). He invites you to share these documents widely as they contain important insights, reflections and arguments on opposition to both Bill C-6 and Bill C-7. Additionally, there are included here statements from inter-faith and ecumenical groups, disability advocates, and physicians that also present perspectives which oppose Bill C-7.
Bill C-6
The Government has re-introduced its proposal for An Act to Amend the Criminal Code – Conversion Therapy, which is now Bill C-6 (before prorogation, it was Bill C-8). At this time, Bill C-6 has completed First Reading in the House of Commons.
For your information please find attached in English and French a public statement by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) regarding Bill C-6.
Bill C-7
The Government has re-tabled Bill C-7, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying).
In order to provide you with a package of all the statements on Bill C-7, you will find attached:
My dear faithful of the Archdiocese,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
One year ago, as we entered Holy Week, we were all making the first adjustment to conditions imposed by the lockdowns. The Holy Week liturgies were celebrated privately by the priests of the Archdiocese, and within weeks, live steaming began in many parishes. In mid-June we were able to open our parishes to the faithful for Mass and aside from a lockdown in the early months of this year, the Church has been able to provide the sacraments. The grace of these sacraments has been of enormous benefit for those suffering from the fears and anxieties of the pandemic. Without the dedicated ministry of many volunteers across the Archdiocese, the gift of the sacraments would not have been possible. I express to all the volunteers my deepest appreciation for your generous service. On behalf of all the faithful, I wish to thank the priests of the Archdiocese. During this past year of constant changes, their imagination has been wonderful and their solicitude for the faithful under their care has been edifying. We have been blessed by their priestly ministry. Eventually conditions will improve. This will allow for more opportunities to gather together. I look forward to making pastoral visits across the Archdiocese and meeting many of you. I feel the neglect of this part of my ministry very much. I wish also to apologize for the many emails and communications which have not yet been addressed. If we can avoid another lockdown and closure of the Chancery, I hope to catch up with these communications very soon.
The past year has also brought many gifts from the Lord. One such gift has been our expanded appreciation for the simple beauties of our faith. Another is the gift of discerning the essentials, a task made easier when our regular routine is restricted. I pray that together as a local Church, we may carry these gifts well past this pandemic year. I am convinced that the Holy Spirit will use the challenges of the past year to draw forth from the heart of the Church a new spiritual energy for her essential mission, namely, evangelization, catechesis and the sacramental life of Christ. The signs of inventive imagination and generosity so evident in these past months, strengthen my confidence for our future ministry.
The approaching Easter mysteries always renew the Church. The self-emptying sacrifice of Jesus is glorified by the Father. As we live this mystery together in the coming days, may the profound joy of Easter pervade our being and carry us on toward a new Pentecost. May the intercession of St. Joseph guide us safely in the coming months.
† Michael Mulhall Archbishop of Kingston