The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) warmly invites the Catholic faithful to celebrate together National Family and Life Week 2023 (NFLW), which will take place between 7 – 14 May 2023. The theme chosen for this year is Jesus’ words, “Love one another. Just as I have loved you, love one another” (John 13:34).
La Conférence des évêques catholiques du Canada (CECC) invite chaleureusement les fidèles catholiques à célébrer ensemble la Semaine nationale pour la famille et la vie 2023 (SNFV), qui aura lieu du 7 au 14 mai 2023. Le thème choisi pour cette année reprend la parole de Jésus : « Aimez-vous les uns les autres. Comme je vous ai aimés, aimez-vous les uns les autres » (Jean 13, 34).
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (“CCCB”) is grateful that the Dicastery for Culture and Education and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development have issued a Joint Statement addressing the concept of the “Doctrine of Discovery,” including the question of certain papal bulls of the 15th century which, according to some scholars, served as the basis for the aforementioned ‘doctrine.’
La Conférence des évêques catholiques du Canada (CECC) est reconnaissante au Dicastère pour la culture et l’éducation et au Dicastère pour le service du développement humain intégral d’avoir publié une Note commune sur le concept de la « Doctrine de la découverte », y compris sur la question de certaines bulles papales du XVe siècle qui, selon certains chercheurs, auraient servi de base à cette « doctrine ».
The Most Rev. Christian H. Riesbeck, CC, Bishop of Saint John, joyfully announces the call to ordination to the Order of Presbyter of Deacon Stephen Mawhinney and Deacon David Rioux, through the Invocation of the Holy Spirit and the Laying on of Hands. The Mass of Ordination will be held on Friday, May 12, 2023 6:30PM, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, in Saint John, New Brunswick.
In thanksgiving for a life well-lived, the Diocese of Saint John, and the family of the Most Rev. J. Edward Troy, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Saint John, announces his peaceful death at Rocmaura Nursing Home, Saint John, NB, on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
The Diocese of Saint John is conducting a comprehensive planning study of the entire diocese to help gauge the interest and support for the Cathedral Restoration, an Endowment for Parish Evangelization Efforts, and Individual Parish Needs. Parishioner insights are being sought through interviews and listening sessions. Your thoughts are extremely valuable during this planning process, and participation is greatly appreciated.
The CCCB video series Journey through Lent will be available once again on the CCCB website. This year’s Lenten reflections are delivered by His Eminence Gérald Cyprien Cardinal Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada, and the Most Reverend Brian Joseph Dunn, Archbishop of Halifax-Yarmouth.
The Holy Father Francis' Message for Lent 2023 is entitled "Lenten Penance and the Synodal Journey". In his message for Lent this year, the Holy Father chooses the Gospel of the Transfiguration, inviting us to an experience of Lenten penance in which we are called to “ascend ‘a high mountain’ in the company of Jesus”. Like the disciples who were led by the Master to Mount Tabor, we will not be alone on this uphill journey, but in the company of our brothers and sisters. This is the reason why, Pope Francis reminds us, our Lenten path is a synodal journey. At the end of a pathway that “requires effort, sacrifice and concentration”, we will arrive to the summit, where “the panorama that opens up at the end amazes us and rewards us by its grandeur.”
'Le message du Saint-Père pour le Carême 2023 est paru ce vendredi 17 février, à quelques jours du mercredi des Cendres. François s’appuie sur l’évangile de la Transfiguration pour expliquer le sens de l’itinéraire ascétique du Carême, qu’il met en parallèle avec le chemin synodal.'
On 8 February 2023, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops issued the following four pastoral letters on reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Intended as a framework for local engagement with Indigenous Peoples, the letters are the fruit of many months of listening, encounter, and dialogue with them, including through Listening Circles, the Indigenous Delegation to the Vatican in April 2022, and Pope Francis’ Apostolic Voyage to Canada in July of the same year.
Le 8 février 2023, la Conférence des évêques catholiques du Canada a publié les quatre lettres pastorales suivantes sur la réconciliation avec les peuples autochtones. Conçues comme un point de référence pour l’engagement local avec les peuples autochtones, ces lettres sont le fruit de plusieurs mois d’écoute, de rencontre et de dialogue avec eux, notamment dans le cadre des cercles d’écoute tenus dans des diocèses du Canada, la délégation autochtone au Vatican en avril 2022 et la visite apostolique du pape François au Canada en juillet de la même année.
The World Day of the Sick is an occasion to pray for individuals who are suffering, and to find concrete ways to draw nearer to them. / La Journée mondiale du malade est l’occasion de prier pour les personnes qui souffrent et de trouver des moyens concrets de se rapprocher d’elles.
The theme for this year is “Do good, seek justice” (Isaiah 1:7) / Le thème de cette année est Apprenez à faire le bien, recherchez le droit (Isaïe 1, 7).
Father Brian was a true gentleman who loved the priesthood, loved the Church, loved his family, friends, co-workers, and parishioners, and always used his intellectual and personal gifts for the service and benefit of others. He will be deeply missed.
Earlier today, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died following a long life of humble service to God. We mourn his passing and give thanks for the devoted pastoral ministry he offered as theologian, priest, bishop and supreme pontiff, but most of all for the witness of his holy life as a disciple of Jesus. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him.
Aujourd’hui, les évêques du Canada se joignent au pape François et au peuple de Dieu qui pleurent le décès du pape émérite Benoît XVI; ils rendent grâce à Dieu pour sa vie de service humble et dévoué. Benoît XVI laisse derrière lui un grand héritage d’enseignement qui continuera de nous inspirer, tant par les trois encycliques qu’il a rédigées que par les nombreux discours publics qu’il a prononcés à travers le monde en tant que Souverain Pontife. Le pape Benoit XVI, « Cardinal Ratzinger », a été un guide fidèle et sûr de la doctrine catholique tout au long de ses divers offices auprès du Saint Siège.
FROM the Publisher: Dear readers, I am writing to inform you that after more than a century, production of The New Freeman is coming to an end. This issue (December 23/30, 2022) will be the last for our print diocesan newspaper. Recent popes have used the concept of a "Petrine principle" and a "Marian principle" to describe the important role women and men together play in the Catholic Church, but a biblical scholar writing in the Vatican newspaper said it is time to talk about the discriminatory and stereotypical notions behind it. On the weekend of December 10-11, the Third Sunday of Advent, the Diocese of Saint John launched a diocesan-wide census.
Pope's World Peace Day message: the time has come for all of us to endeavour to heal our society and our planet, to lay the foundations for a more just and peaceful world, and to commit ourselves seriously to pursuing a good that is truly common. Le message du Pape François: il est temps de nous engager tous pour guérir notre société et notre planète, en créant les bases d'un monde plus juste et plus pacifique, effectivement engagé dans la poursuite d'un bien qui soit vraiment commun.