OTTAWA -- Canadian Catholics should get vaccinated against COVID-19 and they should take any vaccine that has been approved for use in Canada, Canada’s bishops said in a clarifying statement that came just days after initial advice on vaccines caused a political firestorm.

The Canadian bishops' conference and its international development agency will discontinue funding for 24 partners following the completion of a joint subcommittee’s review of international partner organizations that receive funding from Canadian Catholics.

OTTAWA -- A new organization focused on supporting families within the Catholic Church in Canada is now up and running.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has agreed to adjust the English-language wording to the conclusion of the Collect (the opening prayer) in the Roman Missal approved for use in Canada.

OTTAWA -- Canada’s Catholic bishops say it is “not too late to reconsider” and stop the expansion of medically-assisted suicide in Canada.

The following is the Christmas message from Archbishop Richard Gagnon, president of Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and Archbishop of Winnipeg:

EDMONTON -- When a vaccine is available to treat or prevent COVID-19, the bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories have given their blessing to Catholics to be inoculated.

OTTAWA -- The Catholic Office for Life and Family will wind down operations by year’s end.

As Canada goes over 11,000 COVID deaths and 300,000 cases — with medical professionals calling for “circuit breaker” shut-downs and Canada’s largest archdiocese having to cancel public Masses in "lockdown" areas — the Church has to respond with unflinching concern for the common good, said Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops president Archbishop Richard Gagnon.

OTTAWA -- The Catholic voice, silenced so long in Canadian public life, needs to be heard loud and clear once more, Archbishop Richard Gagnon said in his president’s report at the Canadian bishops’ annual plenary.

OTTAWA -- The COVID-19 pandemic may have forced the Catholic Church in Canada to significantly change the way it operates, but the far ranging impact of the global health crisis has reinforced and strengthened the Church’s commitment to its mission, said Archbishop Richard Gagnon.

As Canada’s bishops gathered on computer screens this past week, bypassing the “norm” of their usual annual plenary, the old saying “what a difference a year makes” was probably uttered more than once.

OTTAWA -- The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a challenging learning experience for the Catholic Church in Canada, and that continued when the first-ever online Plenary Assembly of Canada’s bishops began Sept. 21 as bishops from across the nation gathered in front of their computers to get down to business.

OTTAWA -- The impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on the Catholic Church in Canada will be a key theme of the first-ever online plenary assembly of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops when the annual meeting gets underway Sept. 21.

A nearly three-year process of investigation and review at the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace has resulted in a slimmed-down national council with four bishops appointed to the development agency’s governing body.