Update Friday, June 11
as found on our Diocesan Parish Briefings (an email that is sent to all parishes in the Diocese of London.

CCCB Delegation to the Holy See with Indigenous people
The CCCB announced that planning continues for a delegation to visit the Holy See before the end of 2021 that will include “a delegation of Indigenous people to meet with the Holy Father to foster meaningful encounters of dialogue and healing. This pastoral visit will include the participation of a diverse group of Elders/Knowledge Keepers, residential school survivors and youth from across the country.” More information is in the CCCB announcements in English and French. Additionally, Bishop Fabbro’s statement on the discovery is at this link and a helpful Q&A document is at this link.

Update June 8th

The following update to the diocesan website has been added to look at frequently asked questions.
Please take a look at this link
https://dol.ca/news/frequently-asked-questions-on-residential-schools-and-the-catholic-church

https://dol.ca/news/frequently-asked-questions-on-residential-schools-and-the-catholic-church

Let us continue to pray for healing for a broken and wounded world.


May 31, 2021
I am shocked and profoundly saddened by the horrifying discovery of the remains of at least 215 children at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School on the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation.

When the operation of residential schools was delegated by the federal government to several Christian faith-based groups, there were many failures in fulfilling Christ's mission of bringing the good news of the kingdom of God and helping the oppressed, including failures of the Catholic Church.
 
The presence of the graves of these innocent ones sheds light on a clear failure of those responsible in not embracing the Gospel values of love, mercy, justice, and compassion, and for forgetting their commitment to respect the dignity of all people. These lost innocent ones are another reason why we must continue to learn from these failings and work with Indigenous communities towards the healing called for by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Yesterday, a memorial was placed at St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica in London as part of a nationwide commemoration of the lost children. I visited the memorial today to pray, asking God to bring comfort to the families of the deceased and all survivors of the residential school system. We will continue to pray for the families of these children and survivors and commit ourselves to play a constructive role in the journey towards healing and reconciliation.
 
Most Rev. Ronald P. Fabbro, CSB
Bishop of London

We at the Elgin Roman Catholic Family of Parishes are in communion with the Bishop in the sadness and deeply disturbing discovery.  In this month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, plead God's mercy on a very broken world.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Fr Graham on behalf of  the staff

"I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the Church’s energies to a new evangelization and to the mission ad gentes. No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples" (St. John Paul II RM#3)

Today, May 27th, we launch the Intentional Disciple Formation Training: A 2-year Accompaniment.

This exciting new initiative in our Family of Parishes is to prayerfully engage in a 2-year program equipping the laity for the mission of the Church.

Program Facets

1. Spiritual Relational Development
2. Catechetical Formation
3. Leadership Development

Program Goals

• To build on and deepen the participant’s relationship with Jesus
• To form and equip Intentional Disciples for the mission of the Church.
• To multiply healthy lay leaders for the missionary culture of the parish
• To disciple others, identifying charisms for the upbuilding of the Body of Christ.

A four-page outline of the program can be found here.  Summary Communication

It is recommended to read the four-page summary, which includes some of the reflective questions asked in the application. There are limited spaces for the program. Pray and ask the Lord if this is the right time for you to apply, or perhaps invite someone whom you would think would be a good candidate.  Send the link to this page and invite them to pray about applying.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Pastoral Staff and one of us will be happy to answer your questions.

The application form can be found here. IDFT Application Form

More information and updates can be found at our new page in this website. Click on "Faith", then click on "Intentional Discipleship Formation Training" or to navigate to that page - click here

Let us ask for the intercession of St. John Paul II for this initiative.