Fr. Bob's Corner

As I was driving into the Cornwall a few days ago, one of the local radio stations was reporting on the percentage of Canadians that exercise their democratic right to vote. The numbers they were quoting were rather disturbing. It appears that many of us no longer think that voting is that important. The morning after our last election(Oct. 14, 2008) our National Post reported:

“Nearly 10 million eligible voters took a pass on casting a ballot Tuesday, plunging election day turnout to a historical low, according to preliminary Election Canada figures.

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(CCCB – Ottawa) – Pope Benedict XVI today named the Most Reverend Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., presently Bishop of Corner Brook and Labrador, as Bishop of Hamilton. Bishop Crosby is also a Co-Treasurer of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB).

The Holy Father also accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Anthony F. Tonnos, in accordance with the Code of Canon Law which sets the mandatory age of retirement for Bishops at 75. Bishop Tonnos, who turned 75 in August, has led the Diocese of Hamilton since 1984. As a member of the CCCB, he has served on the Permanent Council and Executive Committee as Co-Treasurer and was also a member of the former Episcopal Commission for Canon Law / Inter-Rite, and what was previously called the English Sector Commission for Christian Education and is now the Commission for Catechesis.

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His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI today appointed the Most Rev. Gerard Bergie, presently Auxiliary Bishop and Vicar General of the Diocese of Hamilton, as Bishop of St. Catharines in Ontario. The See of St. Catharines had been vacant since the resignation earlier this year of the Most Rev. James Wingle for health reasons.

Bishop Gerard Paul Bergie was born on January 4, 1959 in Hamilton, Ontario. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 12, 1984 for the Diocese of Hamilton, and named Auxiliary Bishop of Hamilton in July 2005.

He studied at St. Jerome’s College, the University of Waterloo and St. Peter’s Seminary, London, Ontario. He received a master’s degree in Divinity from the University of Western Ontario in 1983 and a licentiate in Canon Law from the University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome in 1991.

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I thought you might be interested in an update on Bishop Gary Gordon. Last June I posted a video, a few pictures, and an article on him: Bishop Gary Gordon: A Call to Mission. Neil MacCarthy, who looks after the Archdiocese of Toronto’s Blog,  just posted a story on him: A Bishop, a Chainsaw, and a Bear!

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In response to Pope Benedict’s request that Catholics “make astute use of the unique possibilities offered by modern communications,”  the Bishops of Canada have answered the call:  http://www.cccb.ca/

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The Bishops of Canada are meeting here in Cornwall this week (Oct.19-23, 2009). For those of you interested in this meeting, you will find that the the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ web site to be an excellent place to visit.  Also, Bishop Daniel Bohan of Regina has a post on his blog of this event with numerous pictures: Archbishop’s Blog.

The members of the CCCB Executive Committee for the next two years: (from left to right) Bishop Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., Bishop Pierre Morissette, Archbishop Richard Smith and Bishop Paul-André Durocher.

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Bishop Gary Gordon has been the Bishop of the Diocese of Whitehorse since 2006. Hear his Call to mission, See his tour of the countryside, meet his dog Kelly, and enjoy a little bit of church in this part of beautiful Canada.

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Chief Fontaine insisted a number of times on the need for rebuilding the relationship between the Catholic Church in Canada with Native Peoples. He was addressing Canada’s Bishops.

“I don’t want to look at the hurts of the past,” he said. “I want to recommit ourselves and to talk about the future. So much in the past was also good and healthy, and we can build on this and learn.” At the same time, he acknowledged, “this will be a difficult journey, because too many Canadians do not believe in us, the Aboriginal Peoples.”

Full Story:

Ottawa-CCCB)… Relations between the Catholic Church and Canadian Aboriginal communities were the focus for the opening day of the annual meeting of Catholic Bishops from across Canada. Their meeting will continue until this Friday at the Nav Canada Centre in Cornwall, Ontario, with about 90 Bishops in attendance.

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The Canadian Catholic Bishops along with the Bishop’s from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Scotland, England &Wales, and the U.S. have just sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper encouraging him and the Leaders of the upcoming G8 Conference to deepen their commitments and actions to reduce global poverty and address global climate change:

19 June 2008
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada

Technorati Tags: G8,Prime Minister Stephen Harper,Poverty,Climate Change

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In a powerful little booklet (pastoral letter) entitled, The Need for Conversion, the ‘Social Affairs Commission of the ‘Canadian confidence of Catholic Bishop’s’ challenged Canadians this March 2008 to take a hard realistic look at the way that we, as Canadians, are treating our planet. “Are we not like the prodigal son”, they ponder, “who asked his father for his inheritance and then left home and proceeded to waste it (Luke 15:11-32)?” Commenting on our excessive need for more and more, the Bishops observe that we are mismanaging the Garden of Eden: “In our drive to earn more, to possess more, to consume always more, we have sacrificed a great deal to the economic almighty, which has become like the substance of modern life. We have mismanaged the Garden of Eden entrusted to us.”

Stating that we have the knowledge and know-how to protect the environment, they compare our present attitudes and behaviors to those of selfish ‘spoiled children’. “We have yieled to the innate selfishness that marks each of us like a scar.” “We have tarnished the image of God that is within us.”

The letter is a personal and communal call to conversion, and a timely and forceful reminder to our elected representatives. The Bishops conclude, The Need for Conversion, by offering us a choice between death and life: “Our faith in Christ, offers us a radical choice: To choose between life and death (Deuteronomy 31:15). This could not be a timelier invitation. Only genuine conversion will help us mend the ruptures and re-establish our life relationship with nature, our sisters and brothers, and the Creator of Life. For this St. Francis of Assisi presents a beatuiful model of renewed humanity and rediscovered harmony.

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