Work+Love=Holiness: Catholic Organization for Life and Family

The Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF) has issued a new message to families on work. Entitled “Work + Love = Holiness,” the brochure examines how work is related to human dignity. It describes work as an obligation and a responsibility since God has given everyone particular talents to develop. Click here to read about the document and for a link to read and download it.

Debate on coerced abortion begins in Ottawa

You may be hearing a lot about Roxanne in the next few days. "Roxanne's Law" is a piece of legislation scheduled to begin debate today in Parliament.

The legislation is named for Roxanne Fernando, a Manitoba woman whose boyfriend attempted to coerce her to have an abortion after she became pregnant in 2007. After refusing to have her unborn child killed, Roxanne was beaten and left to die in a snow bank.

Bill C-510  is a private member’s bill introduced by Rod Bruinooge, an MP from Winnipeg. Click here to watch a short video about the bill.

The proposed amendment to the Criminal Code would criminalize the act of coercing a woman to have an abortion against her will. Under this law, a pregnant woman could press charges against a boyfriend, parent or someone else who attempts to coerce her into having an abortion. You can watch the first hour of debate at 8 a.m. Monday (Nov. 1) PT on CPAC. 

St. Andre weekend in Montreal

It's St. Andre weekend in Montreal. “Rendez-vous saint frère Andre” is expected to draw more than 50,000 people to a commemorative Mass at Olympic Stadium in Montreal this afternoon. The gathering a Olympic stadium will be broadcast live by Salt + Light Television starting at 10:30 PT.

The Mass, celebrated by Montreal Cardinal Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte, will be attended by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Premier Jean Charest, and many Canadian Catholic bishops who have just concluded their annual plenary meeting in Cornwall, Ont.

On Sunday pilgrims will process with an icon of the new saint to Br. André’s first small chapel, where it will be installed. The icon was blessed after the canonization Mass at St. Joseph's Oratory.

The Oratory of St. Joseph announced that the celebrations will continue into the New Year with a tour of Br. André’s relics, starting in January. No word yet on where the relics will visit.

Bishop's sister impressed with community response

Margaret Taddei with her sister Barb

Kamloops Bishop David Monroe's sister Margaret Taddei says her brother's passion for "community" is being rewarded by the overwhelmingly positive response to his severe injuries.

Speaking with the Archdiocese of Vancouver Thursday, she said her brother's zeal for community is being mirrored around him as the Kamloops community and the Catholic community beyond respond with love and compassion rather than anger toward the alleged attacker and his family.

There is only "one family,"  she said, and it includes the bishop's family, the spiritual family, and the family of the man charged with assault.

Rather than dwelling on the details of the incident, she is pleased with the spiritual maturity of the response to the tragedy. That was evidenced Monday went she went in to a church to join in the Rosary and she found a single decade was being prayed for the healing of both attacker and victim. "That's just what David would have wanted for this community," she said.

She said her brother continues to make progress. He is no longer on oxygen and on Thursday he sat up and began to walk.

More updates will be provided as new information becomes available.

Where is your favourite Canadian site of devotion?

Image by palestrina55 via Flickr

St. Joseph's Oratory, featured prominently during the recent canonization of Saint Brother André, is just one of 177 popular sites of devotion, or shrines, across Canada, reports a new document Popular Piety in Canada: Reflections on Some Popular Expressions of the Faith.
The document was produced by the Canadian bishops' Commission for Doctrine, which is chaired by Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller.
Timed to coincide with the canonization of Saint Brother André, whose life and work illustrate the enduring importance of expressions of devotion in Canada, Popular Piety examines the importance and role of popular piety in Canada. Despite concerns of an increasingly secularized society, the report concludes popular piety remains strong.
So where's your favourite Canadian shrine?

Thursday update on Bishop Monroe

Margaret Taddei and Barb Macaulay

Today’s update is this link to a Kamloops Daily News story featuring an interview with Bishop Monroe’s sister. It ends with a letter from the sisters to the community.

As of today, progress reports on Bishop Monroe will be scaled back. Updates will be issued when there is something noteworthy to report.

Wednesday update on Bishop Monroe

Kamloops Bishop David Monroe remains in serious but stable condition in hospital Wednesday morning. He continues to show slight day-to-day improvement.

Only those on the designated visitors list are being allowed to see Bishop Monroe. The Diocese of Kamloops appreciates that many people would like to wish him well personally, but the bishop needs time and quiet to heal. The best thing we can do is to continue to pray for his recovery.

Bishop Monroe video

Now there is video coverage of the Bishop Monroe story.  Go to The B.C. Catholic website and click on Daily Perspectives for October 26 in the Salt + Light mediaplayer.  At about 2:16 the broadcaster begins the Bishop Monroe story.  The B.C. Catholic also has updated story on the situation and it will be up today.

Bishop Monroe shares a smile after his Episcopal Ordination in 2002.

Slight improvement for Kamloops Bishop David Monroe

Kamloops Bishop David Monroe continues to make daily, gradual progress as he recovers in hospital. He is showing slight improvement this morning and his speech is coherent. He is not able to receive any visitors.

As someone in the Kamloops Chancery pointed out, “Bishop Monroe was attacked while performing his duty as a priest,” responding to a request to see a priest at 10 o’clock at night.

The next update will be tomorrow morning or when there is something significant to report.

Kamloops bishop's accused attacker appears in court

The Kamloops Daily News reports on today's court appearance by the man accused of attacking Kamloops Bishop David Monroe. Warning, there are some extremely graphic details in the story.

Prayers for Bishop Monroe, as well as his attacker

An interesting development following the attack on Kamloops Bishop David Monroe has been the prayers being offered not just for the 69 year-old-bishop, but for his attacker.

It seems like every parish that has been offering prayers for Bishop Monroe has also included as an intention the 30-year-old man alleged to have attacked him.

Here's a typical comment: "In time, when we know the name of the man who assaulted Bishop Monroe, we should also formally add him and his family to our prayer list too. Mental illness hurts many."

 

Meanwhile, the man has been charged with aggravated assault. He remains in custody.

Bishop Monroe speaking a little but still in serious condition

Bishop David Monroe is starting to speak a bit more, a Kamloops diocesan official said about 2:15 p.m. today, but he remains in serious condition in hospital.

Bishop Monroe will not be receiving any visitors at this time, as police and church officials continue to stress the severity of the beating he received.

The public is also asked not to contact Kamloops or Vancouver chanceries for updates. The latest updates will be provided as soon as they become available through Archdiocese of Vancouver and B.C. Catholic websites, as well as our social media feeds.

Archdiocese of Vancouver
www.rcav.org
twitter.com/rcav
facebook.com/archdioceseofvancouver

The B.C. Catholic
www.bccatholic.ca
busycatholic.blogspot.com/
facebook.com/bccatholic

Bishop Monroe remains in hospital

The latest information concerning Bishop David Monroe is that he remains in serious but stable condition at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. There has been no significant change in his condition.

RCMP have not been able to interview him yet given the injuries he sustained. Police said he suffered severe trauma to the face and head. He has a lot of bruising and lacerations over a lot of his body.

Bishop Monroe update, 3 p.m. Sunday

Family members of Bishop Monroe have visited with him at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, but friends and parishioners are being asked not to visit at this time. See The B.C. Catholic for details and updated police report.

Kamloops Bishop David Monroe out of Intensive Care Unit

Kamloops Bishop David Monroe, 69, has been removed from the Intensive Care Unit of Kamloops Royal Inland Hospital, where he continues to recover after being viciously beaten at Sacred Heart Cathedral Friday night.

Kamloops Bishop David Monroe in hospital

Bishop Monroe serving meals
for homeless last year.

Kamloops Bishop David Monroe is in serious but stable condition in hospital after an assault at Sacred Heart Cathedral in downtown Kamloops last night about 10:15 p.m.

Oops! Sorry

OOPS! We apologize for our error in the Oct. 25 issue: Father Joseph Nguyen is the Vocations Director of the archdiocese; Father Wilfred Gomes is the pastor of St. Andrew's Parish.

Life, family and CCODP top Canadian bishops' agenda next week

Deborah Gyapong, CC

Life and family issues and the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP) are among the hot issues Canada’s bishops will tackle this year at their annual plenary Oct. 25-29, reports Deborah Gyapong of Canadian Catholic News.

Odds favour an Italian Pope

Pope Bono: 1000/1 longshot

Ireland’s largest bookmaker is betting that the next Pope will be an Italian, following Pope Benedict XVI’s appointment of 24 new cardinals this week.

Paddy Power makes an Italian its 7/4 favourite to succeed Pope Benedict as the 266th Pope when the time comes. The updated odds stem from the news that 10 of the new cardinals are Italian, and 25 of the 120 voting-age cardinals will be Italian.

Italians held the papacy for 455 years until the election of Poland's John Paul II in 1978, followed by the German-born Benedict in 2005.

Despite the pro-Italian odds, Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze is still the overall frontrunner at 2/1. Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec is pegged at 40/1.

And in case you were wondering, U2's Bono is the 1000/1 rank outsider. As Paddypower admits, "While the odds look stacked against the Irishman it is worth remembering that technically any unmarried Catholic man could be chosen as the next Pope!"

The 24 new cardinals will receive their red berettas and rings Nov. 20 in Rome.

24 new cardinals named by Pope Benedict XVI

Image via Wikipedia

Pope Benedict XVI has named 24 new cardinals, including two from the United States: Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, head of the Vatican's highest tribunal, and Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington. The Pope announced the names at the end of his weekly general audience today and said he would formally install the cardinals during a special consistory at the Vatican Nov. 20.