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Volume 1, Issue 1 - February 2009
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Dear Friends of COLF,
We are happy to present to you COLF’s newsletter, which will regularly update you on our most important activities and publications of the past few months, as well as providing notice of upcoming events and publications. We hope that you will find this newsletter a good way for us to keep in touch.
Our staff and Board of Directors wish you peace, joy and many blessings in the New Year!
Michèle Boulva
Director
Now available!
Click here to order your CD of the profound talks by Theology of the Body expert Yves Semen and the extraordinary homily given by Cardinal Marc Ouellet at COLF’s 2nd National Symposium on the Theology of the Body in Quebec City last November. (French only).
Our 2008 Bestseller!
It’s not too late to order our runaway bestseller of 2008, the beautiful brochure entitled Marriage in the Catholic Church, Frequently Asked Questions. In its 19 pages, you will find clear and simple responses to the most common questions youth ask today about marriage, accompanied by stunning and contemporary photographs. More Details
Recognizing the Importance of Fathers
Recently, COLF Director Michèle Boulva had the opportunity to participate in a new initiative by the Knights of Columbus, called Fathers for Good. The website of this project includes many great French, English, Polish and Spanish articles, podcasts, videos, Q&A, and even a blog.We invite you to share it with the dads you know!
More details.
New Bioethics Document from the Vatican
The Pontifical Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has released an important new instruction entitled Dignitas Personae. This document provides welcome and thorough guidance for contemporary ethical questions in the fields of reproductive technologies and biomedical research. It emphasizes two fundamental principles: the right to life of every human being from conception until natural death, and every person’s right to be born from the personal, marital act of his mother and father.
Will Canada legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide?
A new challenge is coming up for Canadians who respect life from conception to natural death. Bloc Québécois MP Francine Lalonde is expected to introduce her next bill in favour of legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide this winter.
There is no time to lose! With Canadians very closely split on the issue, Catholics need to be armed with good arguments to present to family members, friends, colleagues and media in this vital social debate.
COLF’s resources will help you get ready to defend life in the public square. Our Workshop on Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia is perfect for your parish, organization or group of friends. Also read our brochure on this topic, and our leaflet on the Christian meaning of suffering!
Nothing More Beautiful
The Archdiocese of Edmonton has started an exciting 5-year initiative called Nothing More Beautiful, which invites Catholics to a new encounter with Jesus Christ, as part of the new evangelization. Read more... COLF’s Assistant Director Lea Singh was invited to give a Witness presentation at the first Nothing More Beautiful evening on Dec. 12. See her talk here, and read a media article here.
VI World Meeting of Families
Together with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), COLF is sending three of its Board Members to the Sixth World Meeting of Families in Mexico City, which has the theme "The Family, Teacher of Human and Christian Values": Bishop Jean Gagnon (Gaspé), Bishop Gerald Wiesner (Prince George), and Mickey Casavant, Knight of Columbus, and his wife Astrid, member of the Catholic Women’s League (Edmonton).
An incredible success!
The 2nd National Symposium on the Theology of the Body
Over 320 participants from all over Canada attended this sold-out COLF event in Quebec City on Nov. 8-9, 2008. They were treated to an array of impressive speakers, including keynote speaker Yves Semen, one of Europe’s most renowned TOB experts, who fired up the crowd about the beauty of God’s plan for human love.
Six bishops and 12 priests concelebrated a magnificent mass with Cardinal Marc Ouellet, accompanied by the youthful choir of Famille Marie-Jeunesse. A weekend of tremendous hope for the future of Quebec and Canada!
COLF Publication Spotlight: Towards a True Sexual Liberation
Celsus, a philosopher in the 1st century, identified Christians as “the people who love the body.” His statement was intended to show contempt, but it expressed an undeniable reality: Christianity has always defended the dignity of the body. How could it be otherwise, since the Son of God himself took on a body to come and reveal the truth about the human person and human destiny?
Two thousand years later, a pope loved by the young rose up to invite them to a “sexual liberation” based on unconditional respect for the dignity of the human body – respect for one’s own body as well as those of others. The “theology of the body” elaborated by John Paul II is an invitation to find, or to re-find, the meaning of life while discovering the true meaning of the body, of love and of human sexuality.
Click here to read more or to order this publication
New Members of COLF’s Board of Directors
Towards the end of 2008, COLF was pleased to welcome three new members to its Board of Directors: Bishop Gerald Wiesner, O.M.I., Bishop of the Diocese of Prince George, B.C., Dr. José A. Morais, MD, FRCPC, Assoiate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University and Geriatrician, Mcgill University Health Centre, and Ms. Cecilia Zucchi, Professor of Greek and medieval philosophy at the Grand Séminaire de Montréal.
¿Habla usted español?
COLF is now offering two of its most popular publications in Spanish! We invite you to order our beautiful leaflet on the Christian meaning of human suffering, entitled Vivir, sufrir, morir... ¿Para qué? and our colorful brochure on the transmission of faith in families, entitled Familias, ¿Dónde están los santos del Tercer Milénio?
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Informe a su parroquia y amigos sobre estos recursos!
Mark your Calendars!
High Tech Babies - upcoming brochure on the important and controversial subject of reproductive technologies!
National March for Life - marking 40 years since the omnibus bill that opened the door to abortion in Canada. Parliament Hill in Ottawa, ON, May 14, 2009. Your participation in this event can make a big difference for the respect of life in our country!
The Second International Symposium on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, with the theme "Never Again", is being organized by various groups from around the world, including Canada's Euthanasia Prevention Coalition. The Symposium will focus on building an effective, unified and focused protocol for groups and individuals who oppose the euthanasia lobby, Landsdowne, VA (U.S.A.), May 29 - 30, 2009. For more info or to register: www.epcc.ca
National Theology of the Body Conference by One More Soul, featuring Christopher West, Janet E. Smith, and other prominent TOB speakers. Saskatoon, SK, Jun 5-7, 2009. Read more.
COLF in the News
Frozen Embryos and Donor-Gamete Children
In the last while, COLF’s Assistant Director Lea Singh was featured twice in the media on these topics: read her letter in the National Post and her article on Mercatornet
Freedom of Conscience for Doctors
In the fall of 2008, COLF was active in defending the freedoms of conscience and religion of Ontario doctors. We protested the draft policy of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), which would have required doctors to refer women for abortion.
We are happy to report that our efforts, together with those of other groups and individuals, were successful! Read our submission to CPSO here.
Also read the articles on this topic by Lea Singh, Assistant Director of COLF, in the National Post, the Ottawa Citizen, the Catholic Register, and Mercatornet.