Pope Benedict and Canada's bishops in Rome.

This year, 2006, Canada's bishops, divided over four regional groups, visited Rome for their ad limina visit: Quebec from May 1-15; the Atlantic Conference in the latter part of May; Ontario from September 1-12; and Western Canada from October 2-14.

The ad limina visits, intended to take place every five years, are meant to strengthen the bonds between the Vatican and the visiting bishops and they often succeed in doing so. The bishops have an opportunity to break away from the daily grind in their own localities and renew contact with the heart of the Church in Rome, while the Pontiff studies their regional reports and then offers comments and encouragement from the larger perspective of a worldwide Church.

Quebec bishops

The Quebec bishops, by way of Bishop Gilles Cazabon, their President, acknowledged that since their last visit in 1999, Quebec society has further "accentuated its pluralistic and secular character, particularly in the area of Catholic education." He mentioned "difficult debates such as respect for life and the nature of marriage," adding: "tensions have been felt even within our Church on certain aspects of the teachings of the Magisterium, particularly in the areas of morality and sacramental life." (Editor: This was a direct reference to the continuing rebellion in Quebec of rank-and-file clerical personnel, men and women, priests and religious. See "Dissent on Vatican document in Canada," section "Quebec priests," C.I., April 2006, pp. 16-17," and "Canada Religious Conference," p. 17," also May 2006 editorial, "Sickness unto death," p. 3.)

To Bishop Cazabon, it seemed "essential that we focus on the core of our faith and centre the whole process on a true experience of Jesus Christ." He added that the bishops "are greatly concerned that very few of our youth are involved in church organizations. They are rarely present at Sunday Mass ..." That and the growing shortage of priests led him to conclude that this development places us in an unprecedented situation. It is the sacramentality of our Church that is at risk" (May 11).

Pope Benedict told the Quebec bishops that "with the three other groups of bishops from your country, I will have the occasion to continue my reflection on important topics for the Church's mission in Canadian society, marked by pluralism, subjectivism and increasing secularism" (May 11). With these three terms the Pope indicated that he sees the Canadian situation very much in the light of the Church's difficulty elsewhere, especially Europe.

Pluralism (in Canada also referred to as multi-culturalism) has brought about the belief of many that all religions, sects and superstitions (witchcraft, Satanism) should have equal status under the law. Subjectivism rejects the idea that there is such a thing as truth, thereby undermining the very foundations of both Church and society. Secularism attempts to push Christianity out of the public forum into the margins of society as an institution which has nothing important to say to society.

Pluralism, subjectivism, secularism-these three words practically sum up the history of the last 40 years in Canada, especially in Quebec, Canada's once--Catholic province. The Holy Father-for obvious reasons-could not, and would not, go into the details of Canada's past. His task is to help see what the correct course is for the future.

In view of these three threats, the Pontiff in response to the Quebec address, immediately focused on a coming event which from a political-secular point of view would seem baffling, almost laughable: the coming International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec in 2008, when the city will celebrate its fourth centenary.

What might seem weird and puzzling, even to nominal Catholics, makes eminent sense to a Churchman intent on revitalizing the Catholic religion. "I would like to invite [you] to a renewal and practice of the Eucharist through a rediscovery of the essential place that the 'Eucharist,' the gift of God for the life of the world" must have in the life of the Church." Noting that the Quebec regional report spoke of "the notable decline in religious practice" the Pontiff said: "The faithful must be convinced that it is vital to take part regularly in Sunday Mass if their faith is to increase and be expressed coherently."

The Pope's meaning is clear enough. The Catholic religion cannot be re-animated except through a deeper understanding of the very source of its existence, Jesus Christ himself and more especially, through the sacrifice of his passion and death. Jesus is alive, he is risen. He personally guides and accompanies every believer to the end of time and life eternal.

Atlantic region

The twelve bishops of the dioceses of Atlantic Canada emphasized in their report the worldwide globalization, both economic and cultural. The effect of economic globalization in the Maritimes at the moment is the loss of jobs with the result of people, especially the young, leaving their own communities for work elsewhere (Editor: e.g., to the Alberta oilsands). The cultural globalization, channeled through a handful of media in a few large centres, their report stated, threatens "all local cultures." Under title of avoiding the promotion of religion, the secular, even anti-Gospel, impact of these media is profound, they stated, even more so "when all values and even fundamental rights and freedoms are seen only as the result of individual choice, or merely expressed through written law which can be changed at will" (Bishop Raymond Lahey, May 20).

The Holy Father heartily agreed. "Central to the cultural soul of the nation is Christ's immeasurable gift of faith," he stated. "The attempt to promote a vision of humanity apart from God's transcendent order and indifferent to Christ's beckoning light, removes from the reach of ordinary men and women the experience of genuine hope." As "one symptom of this mentality," Pope Benedict cited the plummeting birthrate, "clearly evident in your own region" (Editor: In 2005 Canada's birthrate was 10.5 births for every 1000 people. It requires 21 births to stay even). Secularism brings uncertainty and fear, he said, in stark contrast to trust manifested in true love and hope.

The Pope encouraged the bishops to expand their efforts in further evangelization, preaching "with passion the splendour of the truth of Christ who dispels the darkness..., educating consciences, and teaching the authentic dignity of the human person and human society."

Thus it is of great importance that the catechetical and religious education programs "deepen the faithful's understanding and love of our Lord and his Church, and re-awaken in them the zeal for Christian witness ..."

"The relationship between the Church's Magisterium, individuals' faith, and testimony in public life must be preserved and promoted," he said, "Only in this way can we hope to overcome the debilitating split between the Gospel and culture."

Ontario

The Ontario Conference was headed by Bishop Richard Smith of Pembroke, who delivered the address to the Pope on September 1 on behalf of all of Ontario's bishops and eparchs. He described Ontario's society "as increasingly secular," which--like the Atlantic bishops--he attributed "in no small way to powerful media influence." He continued: "Many people have lost the sense of the transcendent mystery and inalienable worth of each human life. There is also a widespread refusal to acknowledge any moral authority other than personal sentiment and desire, which issues in a tendency to subordinate the common good to the autonomy of the individual. Personal 'rights' are often asserted and claimed with seemingly little concern for consequences to society. Foremost among those consequences recently has been the legal redefinition of marriage."

The Holy Father took up the challenge in his reply of September 8, a reply which, as we know, reverberated in Canada from coast to coast. See the October 2006 editorial, "Pope Benedict XVI: Catholic voters, know your duty" (www.catholicinsight.com). (I have since been taken to task for "subtly misrepresenting" the Pope's message for emphasizing "voters" when the Pope was addressing bishops and "political leaders," Letter, C.I., Nov. edition, p. 4. However, rather than a misrepresentation of the Pope's address, I see it as drawing the logical conclusion for the faithful in backing up our bishops).

Said Pope Benedict, "The impediments to the spread of Christ's Kingdom are experienced most dramatically in the split between the Gospel and culture, with the exclusion of God from the public sphere." He went on to say, "In the name of 'tolerance' your country has had to endure the folly of the redefinition of marriage, and in the name of 'freedom of choice' it is confronted with the daily destruction of unborn children."

As usual, some Catholics tried to play down the Pope's admonition, such as Professor Michael Higgins (see footnote 1 p. 20). Despite this, the message came through loud and clear. As the latest poll indicates, a large majority (64 to 68%) of Canadians are now very uneasy about the "gay" threats to freedom of speech and action (National Post, Oct. 30, 2006; see also C.I., November 2006 editorial).

Canada's West and North

The Western and Northern bishops met in Rome from October 2-14. They mentioned in their report to the Holy Father some of the same observations of the other groups, such as secularism, declining Church attendance and religious practice, and the paucity of vocations. They emphasized a feature particular to their region, Canada's aboriginal people. Despite working with Native peoples for almost 200 years, spokesman Bishop Gerald Wiesner of Prince George stated, "there are very few priests or religious among them." And, of recent times "the Church has been confronted with issues revolving around former residential schools." He acknowledged the "heavy financial burdens" on many groups because of legal proceedings, and the "demoralizing effect on the many priests and religious who gave their lives in the residential schools."

In his response of October 9, Pope Benedict as customary, started with an upbeat note: "We should celebrate and rejoice ... he has come to life, he was lost and is found" (Luke 15:32). He offered them the parable of the Prodigal Son, illustrating the mercy of God (the Father), and "a desire for conversion and reconciliation, as well as the restoration of several relations (the prodigal son). The parable, he said, speaks to men and women of every age and demonstrates that when freedom is sought outside of God, the negative result is "loss of personal dignity, moral confusion and social disintegration." But the Father's mercy overcomes human pride.

The elder (disgruntled) brother, the Holy Father thought, in his isolation stands "in a certain sense [for] all men and women as well; perhaps particularly those who sadly distance themselves from the Church."

What is needed, he told the bishops, is "to address the loss of sense of sin," referred to in their report. "From this perspective, the Bishop's responsibility to indicate the destructive presence of sin is readily understood as a service of hope: it strengthens believers to avoid evil and to embrace the perfection of love and the plenitude of Christian life." Here he returned to the overall theme of the split between culture and Christianity: "Where God is excluded from the public forum, the sense of offence against God-the true sense of sin--dissipates, just as when the absolute value of moral norms is relativized the categories of good or evil vanish, along with individual responsibility."

Cornwall meeting

Immediately following the return of the Western bishops from Rome, Canada's bishops met for their national meeting in Cornwall, ON, from October 16-20. The President, Archbishop of Sherbrooke Andre Gaumond, acknowledged in a good-wishes letter to the Holy Father that the bishops intended to focus on the theme "Catholic involvement in public life and the social teaching of the Church," for which purpose they had already invited the retired American Cardinal Theodore McCarrick to address them. He opened the bishops' Conference by quoting from the Pope's encyclical Deus caritas est, where Benedict XVI states that the Church's principle area of action in its relation to the world is to "re-awaken the spiritual energy without which justice ... cannot prevail or prosper" (Deborah Gyapong, CCN, Oct. 17).

Precisely with that purpose in mind, Cardinal Marc Ouellet introduced the document for the forthcoming Eucharistic Congress to be held in Quebec City in 2008. Its message brings as a main concern the memory of our Christian roots. "Canada," he said, "has lost the memory of those roots and the same thing is happening in Europe and the United States." The document is entitled: The Eucharist." God's the life of the world(ibid.).

Cardinal McCarrick's address covered the 2004 controversy among American bishops: whether or not Catholic politicians who publicly contradict the Church on important moral issues may receive Holy Communion. (See my extensive coverage of the debate during the 2004 American election, C.I., June, 2004, pp. 21-27" Part II: July/August, pp. 10-12). The Cardinal avoided a straight forward answer-as he had done in 2004-until a question from Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary forced him to provide it. "What do you do when you have politicians who refuse the invitation to dialogue," Bishop Henry asked, "and act rather contemptuously with regard to Catholic teaching?" "You have no choice in the matter," was the answer. "That person should not partake of communion. Sometimes you just have to do it."

And that was what the Ottawa Citizen reported the next day. (Jennifer Green, "Cardinal advocates denying communion to defiant politicians," Oct. 18, 2006; "Bishops urged to lobby politicians. "No compromises," Cardinal tells group. "We are their pastors and their teachers," Stuart Laidlaw, Toronto Star, Oct. 18. See also the insightful commentaries on the Cardinal's address by John-Henry Westen, LifeSiteNews, Oct. 23 and 24).

Also at the Conference Archbishop Luigi Ventura, the Vatican's Nuncio (ambassador) in Canada, spoke eloquently about some central ideas of Pope Benedict, while the Vice-President, Archbishop James Weisgerber, told the Toronto Star that the Catholic Church is positioning itself to take a much more active role in public policy issues such as same-sex marriage (Oct. 17).

A survey of diocesan websites on November 1, 2006, shows that bishops in British Columbia and Alberta, Eastern and Southern Ontario, and the Maritimes have issues short pastoral letters in September and October, calling the faithful to become active in resisting the legal destruction of traditional marriage and family through the "same-sex marriage" gimmick made legal by Parliament in 2005. (For the meaning and intention of SSM, see S. Kurtz, "The conspiracy to abolish marriage," C.I., Sept. 2006, pp. 15-17.)

Footnotes

(1.) In an article entitled "A most reasonable intervention," Higgins tried to convince his readers that Pope Benedict's talk to the Ontario bishops on September 8, reported throughout Canada on the following days (see editorial, C.I., Oct. 2006, p. 3) was of no importance whatever. "In fact," he wrote, "this is plainly a non-story, if not a red herring."

Higgins spent the rest of the article trying to promote the idea that "what is of compelling interest ... is the Vatican's new Secretary of State, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone." He filled the rest of the page with speculation whether or not this betokened a "playing down the political function of the papacy?" He concluded: "Now this is a story, and it does not merit being eclipsed by the ad limina brouhaha."

Why was Mr. Higgins so anxious to play down the Pope's September 8 address in his article for the anti-family, pro-abortion, pro-same-sex Globe and Mail? Well, he himself is not fond of the Church's sexual-marital teaching. See his 2002 book Power and Peril. The Catholic Church at the Crossroads (reviewed in C. I., July-August 2002, pp. 4344).

(2.) Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic, the Archbishop of Toronto, has asked each parish to send a delegation to the local Member of Parliament to represent the Catholic view of marriage. The Archbishop suggests two or three persons per parish act as delegates. So far very few parishes seem to have taken this opportunity to educate their parishioners by giving this wide publicity in their parish bulletins. Larger delegations would stimulate discussion among the parishioners leading to more robust action when it comes to Election Day.

Ad limina reports and Cornwall Conference addresses available from http://www.cccb.ca/Home.htm?NL=1

If you do not have internet access yourself, ask a friend who does to print them for you.

Fr. Alphonse de Valk is a the congregation of Saint Basil, a historian by trade, and the editor of this magazine.