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On 12 December, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Church in Canada celebrates the National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples. This year, the reflection by the Council centres on the theme We are called to Healing, Forgiveness, Reconciliation. “We, the Body of Christ, are called to live in friendship and harmony with all peoples. We are brothers and sisters of our One Creator God. God gives everything to all of us. God creates and sustains the wonderful diversity of peoples, cultures, races and creeds.”

Le 12 décembre, fête de Notre-Dame de Guadalupe, l’Église au Canada célèbre la Journée nationale de prière en solidarité avec les peuples autochtones. Cette année, la réflexion du Conseil s’articule autour du thème Nous sommes appelés à la guérison, le pardon, la réconciliation. « Nous, le Corps du Christ, sommes appelés à vivre dans l’amitié et l’harmonie avec tous les peuples. Nous sommes frères et sœurs de notre unique Dieu Créateur. À nous tous, Dieu donne tout. Dieu crée et préserve la merveilleuse diversité des peuples, des cultures, des races et des croyances. »

On 22 November 2021, the CCCB Commission for Justice and Peace released a Pastoral Letter entitled For Freedom Christ has Set us Free: Pastoral Letter on Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation in Canada. The letter draws attention to the inherently exploitative and abusive nature of the purchase of sex and insists that in order to protect the vulnerable, this practice must continue to be criminalized: “Treating sex as ‘work’ masks the physical, psychological and sexual violence inflicted on the prostituted person. Prostitution involves selling something that by its nature cannot be bought or sold and is therefore inherently exploitative.”

Le 22 novembre 2021 la Commission épiscopale pour la justice et la paix de la CECC a publié une lettre pastorale intitulée : C’est pour que nous soyons libres que le Christ nous a libérés : Lettre pastorale sur la traite des personnes et l’exploitation sexuelle au Canada. La lettre traite de la nature intrinsèquement exploitante et abusive de l’achat de services sexuels et insiste sur le fait que, pour protéger les personnes vulnérables, cette pratique doit continuer à être criminalisée : « Traiter le sexe comme un travail, c’est ʽcamoufler la violence physique, psychologique et sexuelle infligée à la personne prostituéeʼ. La prostitution consiste à vendre quelque chose qu’on ne peut, en soi, vendre ou acheter : elle n’est ni plus ni moins que de l’exploitation. »

Madeline Harquail is a fourth year student studying Fine Arts at St. Thomas University in Fredericton. It wasn’t until her final year of studies that she became involved with Campus Ministry. Ms. Harquail shares with The New Freeman some of the things that made a difference for her. While 70 per cent of participants in a recent survey believe God and religion should be completely kept out of public life, a data point suggests a Canada more open to public figures speaking and acting based on their religious beliefs is a possibility. During this time marked by global crisis, St. Joseph can offer people support, consolation and guidance, Pope Francis said.

Development and Peace — Caritas Canada’s People and Planet First campaign is advocating for a law that compels Canadian companies to respect the human and environmental rights of local populations in their overseas operations. This fall, acting in solidarity with their brothers and sisters in the Global South, thousands of Canadians signed a petition asking the government to enact such a law.

Bishop Christian Riesbeck, CC of the Diocese of Saint John issues annual appeal for pro-life collection set for the weekend of December 4 & 5. Concordat confusion: When Pope Francis steps onto Canadian soil he will also step into the nexus of pain, sorrow, anger and regret that has come to define the relationship between the Church in Canada and Indigenous people. But these failures were not our starting point. New Camp Sheldrake director, Mallory Legere understands, and has lived, the magic of the camp.

The Catholic Bishops of Canada are pleased to announce that 25-30 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Elders, knowledge keepers, residential school survivors, and youth will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican from December 17-20, 2021, accompanied by a small group of Canadian Bishops.

Les évêques catholiques du Canada ont le plaisir d’annoncer qu’une délégation de personnes, composée d’aînés, de gardiens du savoir, de survivants des pensionnats et de jeunes des Premières Nations, des Inuits et des Métis, rencontreront le pape François au Vatican du 17 au 20 décembre 2021 selon leur appartenance. Celle-ci sera accompagnée pour l’occasion d’un petit groupe d’évêques canadiens.

There has never been a papal visit to anywhere that has been anything like what will unfold when Pope Francis comes to Canada. “This is a different pope,” points out Canadian Catholic scholar Michael Higgins. “And of course the reason for his coming is different. He’s coming as a penitent. On Wednesday, November 3, a small crowd gathered on the corner lot of Cliff and Waterloo streets in Saint John to bless the land for the new Steepleview mixed housing development. A new documentary produced by the Knights of Columbus, Enduring Faith: The Story of Native American Catholics fills a need for a broad overview of the legacy of the Catholic faith among Indigenous communities across this continent.

Pope Francis will visit Canada on a pilgrimage of healing and reconciliation. Pope Francis is seeking our prayerful response in preparation for the Synod of Bishop 2023; Bishop Riesbeck, CC asks all of us to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to help the local and universal Church live its mission in evangelization and service. Bishop Riesbeck reminds of the inseparability of the love of God and neighbour. He encourages us in prayer, in reading the Word of God in Scripture, in receiving the Sacraments, and in working for the unity of the Body of Christ.
The New Freeman hosts its seventh annual children’s drawing contest.

The Catholic Bishops of Canada are grateful that Pope Francis has accepted their invitation to visit Canada on a pilgrimage of healing and reconciliation.

Les évêques catholiques du Canada remercient le pape François d’avoir accepté leur invitation à participer à un pèlerinage de guérison et de réconciliation au Canada.

In a major speech at the University of Fribourg, Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny has made the case for the just begun Synod on Synodality as a deeply necessary and Catholic project that builds upon the graces and truth of the Second Vatican Council. New French translation of the Roman Missal approved and ready to be used by Advent 2021. Pope Francis, Martin Scorsese, Jane Goodall and a group of less famous "over 70s" talk to young filmmakers about love in the first episode of a four-part documentary available worldwide on Netflix on Christmas Day.

The objective of this Synodal Process is not to provide a temporary or one-time experience of synodality, but rather to provide an opportunity for the entire People of God to discern together how to move forward on the path towards being a more synodal Church in the long-term. Understanding that the Holy Spirit is the protagonist of the Synod, we come before the Lord as people of faith, opening our hearts to the Holy Spirit and asking him to teach us how to be a Church that listens to one another.

L'objectif de ce Processus synodal n'est pas de fournir une expérience de synodalité temporaire ou unique, mais plutôt de fournir une opportunité à tout le Peuple de Dieu de discerner ensemble comment nous devons avancer sur la voie pour devenir une Église plus synodale dans le long terme. Comme nous savons que le Saint-Esprit est le protagoniste du Synode, nous nous présentons au Seigneur en tant que personnes de foi, en ouvrant nos cœurs au Saint-Esprit et en lui demandant de nous apprendre à devenir une Église à l'écoute les uns des autres.

On the launch, October 17 of the process for the Synod of the Church to diocese world wide, Bishop Christian Riesbeck, CC of the Diocese of Saint John told parishioners that this historic synod — in which the entire People of God, at every level of the Church, will be involved over a two-year path — depends very much on their prayerful participation as members of the Body of Christ. The 2023 Synod on synodality can’t come fast enough for physician, ethicist and expert on sexual abuse by priests Sister Nuala Kenny. In her new book for Novalis, A Post-Pandemic Church, Prophetic Possibilities, Sr. Kenny lays out an agenda for a Canadian synod. It’s an agenda for a Church in crisis, Sr. Kenny said. Rousing applause sounded as Cree elder Don Tourangeau embraced Father Pierre Ducharme at St. Joseph’s Parish in Richmond on Canada’s first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. Mr. Tourangeau was describing his experience of attending Holy Angels Residential School in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta to a gathering September 30.

There has never been a synod like the one that will begin October 17 in cathedrals across Canada. It’s not that lay people have never before been asked their opinion, but this Synod on Synodality begins with their opinions and from that moment on it will be about their hopes, dreams, disappointments and opinions — including the opinions of Catholics who have walked away from Church. The message across the country for parishioners, volunteers and staff at Catholic churches is clear: please get vaccinated. While COVID-19 vaccination policies being formulated in dioceses have so far stressed that parishioners will not require proof of vaccination, there is a strong signal that vaccines can put churches on the road to normal operations. Over the past year many within the Diocese of Saint John have come to know Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit through Alpha. Alpha helps to create a space where people can encounter Jesus through a culture of invitation and discipleship.

On Thursday, September 30, people across the Diocese of Saint John took the opportunity to reflect, and participate in many activities, on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The future of the Catholic Church in Canada was the main theme of the most important annual gathering of the church’s leaders when Canada’s bishops gathered online for the second year-in-a-row for a virtual plenary assembly that was held September 20-24. Christians must be on guard and avoid the temptation of thinking themselves better than others, an attitude that risks turning the church into a place of "separation and not communion," Pope Francis said.

The Bishops of Canada, as a tangible expression of their commitment to walk with the Indigenous Peoples of this land along the pathway of hope, are making a nation-wide collective financial commitment to support healing and reconciliation initiatives for residential school survivors, their families, and their communities. With a target of $30 million over up to five years, this will include initiatives in every region of the country. The commitment will be achieved at the local level, with parishes across Canada being encouraged to participate and amplify the effort.