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Solidarity Sunday 2023

3/20/2023

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March 20, 2023
Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Solemnity


Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Lent is the season of conversion. Through fasting, prayer, and almsgiving we seek an inner transformation to deepen our relationship with God, our fellow human beings, and with all creation.

We are reminded in Isaiah (58: 6-7): “Is not this the fast I choose: to loosen the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house, when you see the naked, to cover them and not to hide yourself from your own kin?”

For 55 years Development and Peace-Caritas Canada has engaged deeply in this work of seeking justice, building relationships, and advocating for the poor and the oppressed. Although, uncomfortable at times, the prophetic nature of the work of Development and Peace challenges us to consider our own role in social, economic, and environmental inequities that harm or impact those beyond our national borders.

A new campaign cycle, Create Hope, will be the guiding theme for the next five years. This was inspired by Pope Francis’ 2021 address to the World Meeting of Popular Movements, in which he stated, “you have the ability and the courage to create hope where there appears to be only waste and exclusion.”

In this first year, the campaign’s focus will be, Create Hope: Stand for the Land. We stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in the Global South who defend their homelands by protecting the land, waters, and environment that sustain not only themselves, but the planet as a whole.

Since 1967, the CCCB has set aside the Fifth Sunday of Lent as Solidarity Sunday, which this year, falls on March 26, 2023. I urge you to make a life-changing impact by giving generously. Contributions can be made online at www.devp.org/donate, by mailing a cheque, by phone at 1- 888-234-8533 or by using the donation envelopes available in your parish. I also encourage you to consider becoming a monthly donor through Share Year-Round at www.devp.org/shareyearround.

Let us open our hearts this Lent and heed the call of the Holy Spirit to renewal in the midst of a struggling world. 

Sincerely yours in Christ,
​
+William T. McGrattan
Bishop of Calgary

Click here to download the PDF version of this letter.
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Most Rev. William T. McGrattan
Bishop of  Calgary

​March 20, 2023
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Supporting Ukrainians in our Diocese

5/9/2022

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How do we help our Ukrainian ​brothers and sisters beyond prayers?
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Donate online to help with these emergency funds:
  • Development & Peace - Caritas Canada (for Caritas Ukraine)
  • Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA Canada)
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​Calgary Catholic Immigration Service (CCIS) is working to provide temporary housing and financial support. They welcome your help with donation. 
  • Donate to CCIS to help with resettlement
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Similar to the Syrian refugee program in 2015, parishes are now able to support a Ukrainian family. The screening will be done directly through CCIS, with sponsorship ranging from 3 months to 1 year. The Diocese of Calgary will subsidize participating parishes up to $5,000 from the Pastoral Fund. Sponsorship Initial Form available here.  To apply for the subsidy, please contact Alejandro at finance@calgarydiocese.ca
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Individuals interested to host a family can contact CCIS directly for details. 
  • The initial form is available here.
  • Or contact CCIS representative Jouhayna El Chamy at 403-290-5750 or jelchamy@ccisab.ca
The tragic consequences of this war have created grave needs for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. Now more than ever we are called to recognize the responsibilities we have for each other as St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reminds us, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.” (Ephesians 2:19).
  • ​Read a message from Bishop McGrattan
  • Download poster

If you have any questions concerning any of these options please contact CCIS representative Jouhayna El Chamy at 403-290-5750 or jelchamy@ccisab.ca 
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Re-introducing Solidarity Sunday in 2022

3/26/2022

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This Lent Bishop McGrattan has re-introduced Solidarity Sunday in our Diocese.

So what is it? It has been an integral part of Development and Peace-Caritas Canada since 1968. Parishes throughout Canada hold a special Mass and a collection that gives us the opportunity to stand together in solidarity with the poorest of the poor in the Global South – in prayer and almsgiving.
 
This Lent we are invited to pray for all those who are the poorest and most forgotten and to give generously at our Solidarity Sunday Second Collection at your parish, which will be taken up on the Fifth Sunday(April 3) of Lent. Throughout our country our bishops are asking us to support Development and Peace-Caritas Canada in the life-giving work in places such as Honduras, Cambodia, Madagascar – and Ukraine.
  • Learn more about Development and Peace - Caritas Canada's Share Lent campaign.
  • Read  Pastoral Letter from Bishop McGrattan re: Solidarity Sunday 
  • How do I give? Give through the second collection on the 5th Sunday of Lent (April 3) in your parish, or drop off your donation envelope there. Alternatively, you can also give directly online.

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Ukraine Emergency Relief

2/28/2022

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Development and Peace & Caritas Ukraine

Development and Peace is joining the Caritas Internationalis family, the CIDSE network, and organizations like the Catholic Near East Welfare Association in responding to Caritas Ukraine’s call.
 
Donations may be made through the following ways…
Online | Phone: 1 888 664-3387
​or by mailing a cheque drawn in favour of Development and Peace and marked Emergency Ukraine – Development & Peace, 1425 René-Lévesque Blvd West, 3rd Floor, Montréal, Québec Canada, H3G 1T7.
DONATE THROUGH DEVELOPMENT & PEACE
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Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA Canada)

The Ukrainian bishops of Canada are working together with their churches to join CNEWA’s campaign.
 
To donate, go to https://cnewa.org/ca/campaigns/ukraine
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DONATE THROUGH CNEWA CANADA

Pray for Ukraine

​God of реасе and justice,
we pray for the реорІе of Ukraine today.
We pray for реасе and the laying down of weapons.
We pray for аІІ those who fear for tomorrow,
that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them.
We pray for those with power over war or реасе,
for wisdom, discernment and compassion to guide their decisions.
Above аІІ, we pray for аІІ your precious children, at-risk and in fear,
that you would hold and protect them.
We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Реасе.
Amen.
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Development & Peace Organizational Review

7/29/2020

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Following an organizational review of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace – Caritas Canada to improve its collaboration with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, implementation of the resulting recommendations will begin this fall.

The organizational review was conducted by the firm Deloitte and involved the participation of staff and members of Development and Peace, as well as staff of the CCCB and Bishops across Canada. The results of the analysis suggested 14 recommendations, which were then integrated into the four following work streams to facilitate the implementation process:
  • Criteria for international partnerships
  • Governance structure and reporting
  • Communications and crisis management
  • Organizational culture within Development and Peace

The recommendations of the report were accepted by Development and Peace’s National Council in November 2019, and several meetings between the Executive Committees of the CCCB and Development and Peace took place to discuss the expectations of both parties in the implementation of the recommendations and agree to a process.

“Throughout these discussions, we never lost sight of Development and Peace’s mission to serve the poorest and most vulnerable of our world and to build God’s kingdom of peace and justice,” says Evelyne Beaudoin, President of Development and Peace. “We all agree on the vital importance of preserving the identity of our organization as rooted in the Church’s social teachings and embodied in and through acts of solidarity; and we agreed to move forward in the vision of Pope Francis of a synodal Church”

It was also agreed that Development and Peace’s National Council will be reduced from 21 to 15 members, with 11 elected representatives from Development and Peace and four Bishops from the CCCB. The following four Bishops, representing also the four regions, will join the National Council at its next meeting in November 2020:
  • Most Rev. William McGrattan, Bishop of Calgary and Co-treasurer of the CCCB’s Executive Committee (West)
  • Rev. Pierre Goudreault, Bishop of Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière and Co-Treasurer of the CCCB’s Executive Committee (Quebec)
  • Most Rev. Peter Hundt, Archbishop of St. John’s, Member of the CCCB Permanent Council (Atlantic)
  • Most Rev. Guy Desrochers, C.Ss.R., Bishop of Pembroke (Ontario)

Each Bishop will also serve on one of the four working committees put in place to implement the recommendations for each of the above-mentioned work streams. Each committee will be chaired by a member of the management team of Development and Peace. In addition to the participation of a Bishop, each committee will be composed of members of the National Council and staff of the CCCB. The four working committees will report to an oversight committee composed of two Bishops and two members of the Executive Committee of the National Council.

Preparatory meetings will take place over the summer with the formal work of the working committees to begin in September. The working committees will be assisted by the firm Deloitte, and the implementation process is expected to be completed by the end of December 2020. Regular progress reports will be communicated throughout the process.

“We are pleased with the progress of the collaborative conversations and joint meetings.” says the Most Reverend Richard Gagnon, Archbishop of Winnipeg and CCCB President. “We are hopeful that, as we begin this new chapter of greater and more far reaching collaboration and alignment between the Bishops of Canada and CCODP – Caritas Canada, much good fruit will ensue in our outreach to the poor and those most in need. The necessary changes to be made, as well as the good will and hard work they entail, will help the Church radiate its mission to the world.”

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