Gary Warner, CLC Chair will chat with Michael Higgins about his impressions of this pope and his papacy as detailed in his latest book, ‘The Jesuit Disruptor: A Personal Portrait of Pope Francis’ (House of Anansi, Sept. 2024). On the eve of the second session of the XVI General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality to take place in October, this conversation promises to be both informative and inspiring.

Fall Webinar

Saturday, September 14, 2024 at 2 p.m. ET, 3 p.m. AT, 11 a.m. PT

Join us as we celebrate National Truth and Reconciliation Day and the Ecumenical Season of Creation by hosting a dynamic discussion about the intersection between Indigenous Ecological Knowledge and the writings of Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ - On Care for our Common Home. With input from Indigenous and Catholic leaders, and moderated by Agnes Richard of MLSM - Canada, we will explore connections and reciprocity between faith communities and Indigenous Peoples and, relying on Indigenous teachings and those of Pope Francis on caring for Mother Earth, practical ways which communities of faith might work towards reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

Join us Sunday, June 16 at 3pm EDT (12pm PDT) in this pride chat with Fr. Jarek Pachocki and CLC's Mark Guevarra. They'll be chatting about recent Vatican teachings on LGBTQ+ issues.

Each month, Concerned Lay Catholics invites you to join in conversation about some aspect of synodality and its implications for our life in the church. A different resource person or panel will get us started each month. Then we will all have an opportunity to share in the spirit of synodality.

Nicholas Jesson, a Roman Catholic theologian, has been an ecumenical leader in Saskatchewan for nearly 30 years, now serving as ecumenical officer in Regina and formerly in Saskatoon. He is a former executive director of the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism. He is a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue in Canada, a member of the Commission on Faith & Witness of the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC), and a former member of the Roman Catholic-United Church Dialogue. Nick is Synod Coordinator for the Archdiocese of Regina.

Married to the Rev. Amanda Currie, a Presbyterian minister, Nick has been actively involved with an international network of Interchurch Families and continues to champion the contributions that these families offer to the churches and the work of Christian unity.

Nick is editor of the website "Ecumenism in Canada" and dialogue archivist for both the international Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue and the Margaret O'Gara Ecumenical Dialogue Collection, a website of the Canadian Council of Churches.

About this Series - Each month, Concerned Lay Catholics invites you to join in conversation about some aspect of synodality and its implications for our life in the church. A different resource person or panel will get us started each month. Then we will all have an opportunity to share in the spirit of synodality.

Future Topics include:

May 5 -TBD

Each month, Concerned Lay Catholics invites you to join in conversation about some aspect of synodality and its implications for our life in the church. A different resource person or panel will get us started each month. Then we will all have an opportunity to share in the spirit of synodality.

Future Topics include:

April 7– Nicholas Jesson, Ecumenical Officer for the Archdiocese of Regina-Synod on Synodality from an Ecumenical Perspective

May 5 -TBD

Each month, Concerned Lay Catholics invites you to join in conversation about some aspect of synodality and its implications for our life in the church. A different resource person or panel will get us started each month. Then we will all have an opportunity to share in the spirit of synodality.

Future Topics include:

March 3-Mary Ellen Chown on Synodality and the Global Movement for Women’s Equality

April 7– Nicholas Jesson, Ecumenical Officer for the Archdiocese of Regina-Synod on Synodality from an Ecumenical Perspective

May 5 -TBD

Is it really true that people “didn’t know slavery was wrong back then”? Did the Catholic Church teach against slaveholding, or for it? In this presentation, Fr. Chris Kellerman, SJ, will explain the basics of the Catholic Church’s historical involvement with slaveholding and the Atlantic slave trade, drawing lessons from this history for the life of the contemporary Church.

Christopher J. Kellerman, SJ, is a Jesuit priest and author of All Oppression Shall Cease: A History of Slavery, Abolitionism, and the Catholic Church. He serves as Secretary of Justice and Ecology for the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

Support CLC in bringing you more excellent speakers on topics of interest to Canadian Catholics.

Each month, Concerned Lay Catholics invites you to join in conversation about some aspect of synodality and its implications for our life in the church. A different resource person or panel will get us started each month. Then we will all have an opportunity to share in the spirit of synodality.

Each month, Concerned Lay Catholics invites you to join in conversation about some aspect of synodality and its implications for our life in the church. A different resource person or panel will get us started each month. Then we will all have an opportunity to share in the spirit of synodality.

Each month, Concerned Lay Catholics invites you to join in conversation about some aspect of synodality and its implications for our life in the church. A different resource person or panel will get us started each month. Then we will all have an opportunity to share in the spirit of synodality.

Mark the start of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod. Join us to learn the place of synodality in the life of the Church from its earliest days up until Vatican II and beyond. Professor Catherine Clifford of Saint Paul University in Ottawa has been invited to participate in the Synod on Synodality as a voting member. Catherine E Clifford is Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology. Her research interests and publications are focused primarily in the areas of ecclesiology, ecumenism, and the history of the Second Vatican Council, with a particular emphasis on the conversion and renewal of the churches, the development of doctrine, and the unity and diversity of Christian communions within the world Christian movement.

Webinar is free. Your donation over $10 to help us cover costs will receive a charitable tax receipt.

How has the Church responded to the TRC’s final report and Calls to Action and to the Pope’s visit? The panel will reflect on the challenges of reconciliation – the aftereffects of the Doctrine of Discovery and of Canada’s assimilation policies on Indigenous peoples, ongoing obstacles to reconciliation as well as opportunities to advance it. What concrete evidence will demonstrate what healing actually looks like in practice and what is/should be the Church’s role in advancing healing? What lessons can we draw that will guide the Church’s actions on the path to truth and effective reconciliation.

Presenters:

Fr. Daryold Corbiere Winkler serves as Pastor of St. Basil’s Parish and assists in the Kateri Native Ministry in Ottawa. An Ojibway, and second-generation survivor of the Indian Day School and Residential School system, he believes the way forward for the Church, after the rescinding of The Doctrine of Discovery and the Papal apology, is to respond actively to the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

Peter Bisson, S.J., is a Jesuit priest in the Canadian Jesuit province. Based in Ottawa, he currently serves as the assistant to the Jesuit provincial for justice, ecology and Indigenous relations. He also participates in Kateri Native Ministry in Ottawa. From 2009 – 2015 he represented the Jesuits at meetings of the parties to the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

With contributions from Donna Naughton, Executive Director of the Kateri Ministry in Ottawa.

See our recent notice for more details (click here)