March 1, 2022 Becoming saints in 40 days! Dear Brothers and Sisters, Here we are already in the season of Lent, when God calls us to renew the covenant that he once offered to our ancestors in faith. The word “covenant” immediately brings to mind a commitment of fidelity in
Continue readingFebruary 1, 2022 Abolishing Borders Dear Brothers and Sisters, Last Sunday’s gospel tells of Jesus entering the synagogue in Nazareth, the place where he spent much of his youth, and reading from the book of Isaiah. This particular passage foretold the day when God would be reconciled with people through
Continue readingJanuary 11, 2022 Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down! Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, which we celebrated last Sunday, brings the Christmas cycle to a close. We are now beginning the cycle of “Ordinary Time”. Let me elaborate
Continue readingDecember 20, 2021 An unusual Christmas! Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, It’s a funny title to use as we approach the great feast of Christmas, considering that it has always been an unusual and extraordinary feast on its own! This year, however, the Christmas celebrations in Quebec are shaping
Continue readingNovember 30, 2021 Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, In Latin, the word ‘Advent’ is written “Adventus”. It literally translates as “arrival, advent”, hence Christian Latin translates it as “coming of Christ”. It is said that Pope Gregory the Great established this liturgical season towards the end of the 6th
Continue readingOctober 19, 2021 Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, All the diocesan Churches of the world have now entered into a great process called “synod” since this past weekend. Pope Francis officially launched this synodal process of the Catholic Church on Saturday and Sunday, 9 and 10 October 2021 in
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The news of the discovered unmarked graves this spring at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia has jarred our Catholic conscience into grappling with a Canadian reality and a matter of fact concerning our Church’s history. This issue was experienced in a variety of ways throughout our Diocese.
Continue readingSeptember 16, 2021 To the priests and deacons of the Diocese of Pembroke This sixteenth day of September, 2021 Dear confreres: In recent days, I have been asked if clergy would be permitted to write a letter requesting that people be exempted from the requirement to be vaccinated for employment
Continue readingSeptember 12, 2021 The decision whether or not to be vaccinated is a personal decision of conscience. In the present context, it is morally licit to be vaccinated, but it is not a moral obligation. There are too many grey areas for there to be a hard-and-fast position for or
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