Canada’s Catholic bishops were urged by a Muslim Imam at their annual plenary assembly to speak out for “moral rights” — while also being counselled by a Cardinal to pursue reforms that make the Church “open to all.”

Toronto Archbishop Francis Leo will be at old home week as the new kid on the block when Canada’s Catholic bishops convene for their annual plenary meetings next week.

At their first in-person meetings in three years, Canada’s bishops spoke about concrete steps toward reconciliation with Indigenous Canadians — concrete steps that include an $18.6 million bill for Pope Francis’ apostolic visit in July, continued efforts to raise $30 million over the next five years, easier access for residential school survivors and their families to diocesan archives across the country and forging personal relationships between bishops and Indigenous leaders.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops got a hot scolding last week from the Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec for what the FPJQ called a “deplorable” decision to bar journalists from this week’s plenary meetings.

After two years of elaborate, COVID-enforced Zoom calls, Canada’s bishops will see each other face-to-face again at this year’s plenary meetings Sept. 26 to 29 in Cornwall, Ont.

OTTAWA -- The future of the Catholic Church in Canada emerged as a main theme as Canada’s bishops gathered online for the second year in a row for a virtual plenary assembly Sept. 21-24.

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.

CORNWALL, Ont. – The Archbishop of Utrecht advised Canadian bishops to continue to decry euthanasia and assisted suicide so that Canada never emulates the Netherlands, where assisted killing can now be administered to psychiatric patients and the handicapped.