Bishop

Pastoral Letters

In the past months, there has been much attention on the federal government’s refusal to provide summer jobs funding to organizations who will not attest to their support for, among other things, the right to abortion. Much has been said already of the many ways this policy is wrong and dangerous. There is the simple and unavoidable fact – which seems lost on the Prime Minister and the federal government - that abortion rights are, in fact, nowhere to be found in the Charter. There is also the sad irony that the Charter actually does guarantee the rights of conscience, religion, thought, belief, and opinion – protections designed to defend against the very type of government intrusion on display here. Many have pointed, rightly, to the profound danger of attempts to demonize and punish beliefs contrary to those the government deems acceptable.
View PDF

We settle in for another Christmas season. Christmas is always a blessing, a time for giving thanks â€“ especially for the Fatherâ€™s gift to us: Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us â€“ even though many struggle at this time of year.
A good friend, a brother Priest, and a member of the Religious community to which I belong, Father Chris Rushton, is being cared for at Emmanuel Hospice in Hamilton, one of the many Good Shepherd ministries. It means, simply, that he is in the process of dying. (I am glad that â€śThe Good Shepherdâ€ť is caring for him!)
View PDF

At the Easter Vigil, we celebrate the light of Christ which we carry, filled with hope, into a world of darkness and uncertainty. In the shadow of the Sainte-Foy massacre this past February, with tensions escalating between nuclear powers and refugees on the move, the invocation of hope seems premature to some and dangerously naĂŻve to others.
View PDF

The season of Lent is now upon us. It is an opportunity to renew and deepen our relationship with Jesus, and to renew the choices we make, so that we might live as he taught. In fact, if we take seriously the Lenten program, it offers us the opportunity to renew our whole life!
View PDF

Dear friends in Christ,
Christmas has come. For believers, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem represents the victory of light over darkness, joy over sadness, hope over despair, love over hatred, peace over conflict, gratitude over misery, obedience over disobedience, and order over chaos
read more

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, As the Jubilee Year of Mercy draws to a close, I am struck by what a gift it was to have experienced this period of special reflection on the inexhaustible mercy of God. In calling the Church into this Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has shown himself to be greatly attuned to a profound need of the Church and the world. How deeply the People of God long to encounter Godâ€™s mercy anew!
View PDF

As Syrian refugees begin to settle into their new reality of life in Canada, stories of their journeys to this new land all have similar themes. Feeling under siege and faced with an uncertain future in the midst of war, many people were compelled to flee their land, their homes, their work, their education and all that seemed familiar in order to find new life.
View PDF

Dear friends, Goodness abounds!
This Christmas, as a counterpoint to the destructive forces of misery and terror that we have witnessed these past months, we must not forget that goodness abounds! More than not forgetting, let us be ready to point it out when we see it
read more

We will soon cross the threshold of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, proclaimed by Pope Francis and set to begin on December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Throughout this Jubilee Year, we are called to contemplate divine mercy so that we may become â€śmerciful like the Father.â€ť
View PDF

WE LIVE! WE LIVE IN HIM! And that is what we celebrate this Easter and every Easter! It why we "pull out all the stops" â€“ the Easter fire, the huge Easter candle (Christ our light!), the many Scripture readings that point us to LIFE...
View PDF

About the Diocese of Hamilton

A ready access to the people, services, and organizations that constitute the visible body of the Diocese of Hamilton. We pray that you may also find tools to assist in your faith journey with our Saviour Jesus Christ.