National

(CCCB) Following its meeting of June 10-11, 2015, the Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has issued an initial response to the summary report and Calls to Action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its summary report and Calls to Action this past June 2.

The Permanent Council calls the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission "another important step in providing further opportunity for deeper encounter, greater understanding and renewed hope" for the First Nations, Inuit and Metis, as well as for all Canadians. The CCCB Council confirms that the Calls to Action recommended to Churches by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are on the agenda of the next Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops of Canada. "We are committed to ensuring that the Calls to Action will be given careful hearing and full discussion," the statement says. "We are confident they will be carefully considered, and in this process we know we can count on the collaboration of the Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council." The statement says that the summary report and Calls to Action are also being studied by Catholic major religious superiors across the country.

The next meeting of the Plenary Assembly is this coming September 14 to 18. The Permanent Council is the board of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. It oversees the general work and orientation of the Conference, as well as prepares and carries out the main undertakings of the Plenary Assembly. Its members are elected for a two-year term by the Plenary Assembly, to which the Permanent Council reports.

Its current members are: The Most Reverend Paul-André Durocher, Archbishop of Gatineau, President; The Most Reverend Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., Bishop of Hamilton, Vice-President; The Most Reverend Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil, Co-Treasurer; The Most Reverend Anthony Mancini, Archbishop of Halifax-Yarmouth, Co-Treasurer; His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, ex officio member; His Eminence Gérald Cyprien Cardinal Lacroix, Archbishop of Québec, ex officio member; The Most Reverend Christian Lépine, Archbishop of Montréal, ex officio member; The Most Reverend Lawrence Huculak, O.S.B.M., Eparchial Archbishop of Winnipeg and Metropolitan for Ukrainian Catholics in Canada, ex officio member; The Most Reverend Martin W. Currie, Archbishop of St. John's, Atlantic Regional Representative; The Most Reverend Luc Cyr, Archbishop of Sherbrooke, Quebec Regional Representative; The Most Reverend Gerard P. Bergie, Bishop of St. Catharines, Ontario Regional Representative; The Most Reverend John Corriveau, O.F.M. Cap., Bishop of Nelson, Western Regional Representative; The Most Reverend Claude Champagne, O.M.I., Bishop of Edmundston, Sector Representative; The Most Reverend Valéry Vienneau, Archbishop of Moncton, Sector Representative.

Link to the Statement (PDF)