Pastoral Letters

Jun182021

To Inform, To Encourage, To Heal; Regarding Residential Schools

The sad legacy of Residential Schools and the reality that Catholic entities participated in the Government policy which removed Indigenous children from their families and from their culture has once again been brought to the attention of Canadians. The discovery of 215 bodies of children in graves beside a former Residential School in Kamloops has brought us face-to-face with the stark and tragic history that many Indigenous children in Residential Schools died. When they died, often their bodies were not returned to their families and communities for burial. View PDF

Dec182020

2020 Christmas Message

Dear friends, As the Christmas feasts begin, I am pleased to send you greetings in the form of an excerpt from the 2019 Christmas homily of Pope Francis... View PDF

Dec202019

2019 Christmas Letter

For many, Christmas is a wonderful time of year! Homes are decorated, families gather, gifts are shared, the best meal of the year is served, and the music at Christmas Masses is always uplifting - to say nothing of the Christmas homily! View PDF

Dec212018

2018 Christmas Message

Dear friends, As we approach Christmas, I am usually invited to a variety of special events. Andrew Miller's Christmas Cantata, The Birth of Christ, sponsored by Salt & Light Media Foundation, was held at the Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King. It was an absorbing evening of music and song. View PDF

May282018

Special Collection Set for Summer Jobs (Government attestation requirement denounced)

In the past months, there has been much attention on the federal government's refusal to provide summer jobs funding to organizations who will not attest to their support for, among other things, the right to abortion. Much has been said already of the many ways this policy is wrong and dangerous... View PDF

Dec212017

2017 Christmas Letter

We settle in for another Christmas season. Christmas is always a blessing, a time for giving thanks – especially for the Father’s gift to us: Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us – even though many struggle at this time of year. A good friend, a brother Priest, and a member of the Religious community to which I belong, Father Chris Rushton, is being cared for at Emmanuel Hospice in Hamilton, one of the many Good Shepherd ministries. It means, simply, that he is in the process of dying. (I am glad that “The Good Shepherd” is caring for him!) View PDF

Mar312017

2017 Easter Message

At the Easter Vigil, we celebrate the light of Christ which we carry, filled with hope, into a world of darkness and uncertainty. In the shadow of the Sainte-Foy massacre this past February, with tensions escalating between nuclear powers and refugees on the move, the invocation of hope seems premature to some and dangerously naïve to others. View PDF

Feb282017

2017 Lenten Message

The season of Lent is now upon us. It is an opportunity to renew and deepen our relationship with Jesus, and to renew the choices we make, so that we might live as he taught. In fact, if we take seriously the Lenten program, it offers us the opportunity to renew our whole life! View PDF

Dec222016

2016 Christmas Letter

Dear friends in Christ, Christmas has come. For believers, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem represents the victory of light over darkness, joy over sadness, hope over despair, love over hatred, peace over conflict, gratitude over misery, obedience over disobedience, and order over chaos read more

Nov142016

Solemnity of Christ the King

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, As the Jubilee Year of Mercy draws to a close, I am struck by what a gift it was to have experienced this period of special reflection on the inexhaustible mercy of God. In calling the Church into this Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has shown himself to be greatly attuned to a profound need of the Church and the world. How deeply the People of God long to encounter God’s mercy anew! View PDF

Bishop