The Catholic Women's League of Canada
80th Annual National Convention
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
August 13 - 16, 2000

 

Did You Recognize Christ in Charlottetown?

The 1,000 members present at the 80th annual national convention in Charlottetown were asked whether they had been aware of the presence of Christ with them in all their activities during the convention. In his closing homily, Bishop Douglas Crosby, National Spiritual Advisor to the Catholic Women's League, reminded members that while it was easy for us to be aware of Christ's presence in the three major eucharistic celebrations, he wondered if we were as aware of it in prayer and discussions in each daily session.

Outgoing National President Sheilah Pellerin and Incoming National President Vivian Bosch cut the League's 80th anniversary cake.

 

He asked whether we had truly been aware of Christ on Gathering Day. Women from the Anglican, Evangelical Lutheran, Presbyterian and United churches, as well as representatives from the Ukrainian Catholic Women's League and the National Council of Catholic Women (USA), joined CWL members in a two-hour prayer and study session. Under the leadership of Sister Donna Geernaert, S.C., the Director of Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, the meeting shared thoughts on the spiritual gifts that each denomination brings to the ecumenical movement.

Sister Geernaert outlined the current international and national ecumenical dialogue groups in which the Catholic church participates. Using the Lutheran/Roman Catholic international dialogue as an example, she explained the long, careful and, at times, difficult dialogue process the churches follow in trying to resolve the differences that keep them apart. "Even if the points that divided us at the time of the Reformation can be resolved, we still have to look at practices and beliefs that have evolved since then that also need clarification and dialogue", she said. "The church participates in ecumenism because Christian unity is the will of the Lord, it involves true dialogue which demands listening carefully to the other person and what they really think and not presuming that you know what they think before they have a chance to say it."

Some 944 League members take part in a pilgrimage from the convention hotel to nearby St. dunstan's Basilica, a designated Jubilee site.

 

Sister asked the CWL to become more involved in local level ecumenical dialogues. She said, "It is one thing for bishops and theologians to agree, but it won't come alive unless the people of God at the local level participate, understand the discussions, and agree with them."

Bishop Crosby's challenge to recognize Christ took on another dimension in the reports of the provincial presidents and the standing committees. From coast to coast, League members are actively re-presenting Christ in their communities. This is done in thousands of ways. Rooted in prayer, the members consider a CWL pilgrimage to the Holy Land, a new emphasis on Our Lady of Guadalupe as Mother and Evangelizer of America, as well as being patroness of the unborn, and a newly available spiritual program, Belonging.

Being firmly rooted in gospel values leads members to show others the face of Christ by working for many causes in our communities. A survey done by the Christian family life convener shows the CWL has been active in, and contributed seven hundred thousand dollars to, nearly 300 local pro-life activities, across Canada in the last two years. It also led conveners to develop study briefs and resolutions dealing with teen suicide, sweatshops, violence in music lyrics, endometriosis research, promotion of Fair Trade coffee, prohibition of the sale, supply or use of human reproductive and foetal tissue, the creation of a national registry of convicted, dangerous, high-risk sex offenders, and violence on television as it relates to children.

Mary Coyle, the new director of the Coady International Institute, introduced three women students who are receiving CWL scholarships: Pamela, from Katmandu, a member of the poverty-burdened untouchables caste in her own country; Patricia, from Ghana, who is development coordinator for her diocese; and Sister Mary Joseph from Sri Lanka, who works with over 3,000 widows and orphans, victims of nearly 30 years of war. Each of these women will return to her country to work with the poor and oppressed, bringing to them the face of the loving, merciful Christ who demands justice for His poor. Thanks to the bazaars, raffles, draws, bake sales and catering lunches done by CWL members across Canada, these three women can come to Coady to learn skills in order to help their own people.

Most challenging of all is to recognize Christ in the person with whom you disagree about an important topic close to one's heart. Catholic women across Canada, both non-members and members of the League, have taken firm stands and made many sacrifices to fight to protect human life from conception to natural death. There is no disagreement about this and there is solid unity on this belief. Where the differences of opinion arise is on the best way to publicly demonstrate your beliefs. It is no secret that there has been a division among Catholic laity, among some bishops, and among some League members about participation in the World March or Women. National President Sheilah Pellerin devoted most of her report (text below) to this question. She reminded members that the CWL supports only those goals of the March that address the issues of poverty and violence against women . What CWL members are asked to do is to join locally with others who share these goals, to try to create local awareness of the poverty and violence faced by women at home and in other countries. Then to help others to become more educated about these. The hope is that this can lead to ideas and suggestions for more effective action by governments to deal with the root causes of poverty and violence against women. Members are free to participate or not. The CWL has not joined any organization with respect to the March. There is no requirement to join 'the March' or to become a member of any organization. Any individual or group can create projects that deal with poverty and violence against women. All that is asked is that members become active in educating themselves and others about the terrible, sinful poverty and violence suffered by women locally and globally, and then raise issues in their own communities with those who can help attack the root causes.

In keeping with this, the national executive sent a letter to all federal members of parliament expressing the League's concern about the two main objectives of the March and reiterating our commitment to all life, urging the initiation of legislation and programs to address the issues of poverty and violence against women.

A motion to support the national executive's decision to participate in this movement was given overwhelming support by the annual convention. Mrs. Pellerin was also given strong support for her courage and leadership.

On Gathering Day, in prayer, we opened the doors of Faith, Reconciliation, Justice, Christian Unity, Evangelization, and of our own Hearts and Minds. Members are asked to continue this Jubilee year experience over the next two years by dedicating our prayers and work to 'Opening the Doors'. It is an invitation to look deeply at our world and our lives and open doors. One door we need to open wide is the door of our unity in Christ, a unity that holds us together in love, even if we disagree with each other.

Conventions are fun, too! Shown in the photo at right is Life Member Kathleen Masse of St. Catharines, ON, who promotes the League with one of the many dolls she makes.

 

The national president gave a delegate from each diocese a peace candle, the flame of which was lit from a peace candle given to the national president by Betty Anne Brown, President of Ontario. The peace candle originated with a Russian Orthodox man in Russia who asked that the small flame of peace go around the globe. Delegates were asked to share this with parishes and one was sent to the World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations for international distribution.

Next year, the generous, relaxed hospitality and the lush green pastoral landscape of Prince Edward Island will give way to the boisterous warmth and energetic enthusiasm of Calgary, with its nearby majestic mountain peaks. See you in Calgary, August 12 - 15, 2001!

Oral Report of National President Sheilah Pellerin

I have enjoyed the privilege of representing you as national president of The Catholic Women's League of Canada of the past two years. My spiritual growth and the friends I have made are special blessings. I appreciated the opportunity to travel across the country to attend conventions and meet with so many members who do not always have the opportunity to join us at national conventions.

I have always known that our members are commited to social justice issues and this is more and more apparent. The report highlights in the Summer issue of The Canadian League magazine indicate some of the work being done by councils and individual members across the country and we can all be proud of our commitment to peace and justice. I am especially proud of the financial support provided to our voluntary funds.

All of us in attendance know how much we learn by attending conventions. Not everyone has the opportunity to do so, for many different reasons. Of course, one major reason is the cost and to try to help provincial councils in this regard a new Provincial Grant has been put in place, which is available to provincial councils every five years.

I commend and thank the provincial presidents and national conveners for their commitment to the work of the League. I appreciate the support I have been given as I proceeded with my League journey. We are all aware of the diversity of our membership and we are open to all who work in support of the objects of the League. What we do ask is that we respect that diversity and remain open to the value of this diversity.

Now - the World March of Women. I will not repeat all that has been said previously about the March but will remind you that it is not about abortion or lesbianism. The intent is to address the issues of poverty and violence against women in whatever way we see fit. What the League asked was for members to join with others to raise awareness and to educate people, and perhaps come up with something that would lead to more effective action by governments in dealing with the root causes. Because we stand in solidarity with women around the world on the issues of poverty and violence against women does not mean we ignore all our other concerns. I repeat again what we all know and that is that The Catholic Women's League of Canada stands firm on all life issues from conception to natural death. Those individuals and groups who consider we should not be involved because there are some taking part in the March who do not accept our values and beliefs, are losing an opportunity to be heard.

Opposing poverty and violence against women is supporting and promoting the dignity of human life. It is well recognized that poverty and violence are significant factors that contribute to abortion. It is not to the advantage of Catholics or the pro-life movement to acquiesce in the mistaken impressions of those who believe that to oppose poverty and violence against women means endorsing abortion or same-sex unions.

We know of some of the heinous crimes against women in other countries and we can be proud of having addressed some of these issues in our resolutions and motions. For example, with respect to female genital mutilation, we were part of the pressure on the federal government to name it as a criminal offence in this country. We know too that women in other countries where this is prevalent have now started addressing the issue for themselves. We know that women in many parts of the world do not receive any form of health care before, during and after childbirth. One way we have addressed that issue is through our support of MaterCare International. We support projects for women in the developing world through our 1% program and we help bring women to be trained at the Coady International Institute in Antigonish through the Scholarship Fund. We do all these things because we are trying to help women, in this country and abroad, and we will keep doing these things. As Catholics, it is a given that we disagree with some the demands being made by some of the groups involved in the March. However, when we are asked to support women around the world as they struggle to get even the most basic human rights, and we have made our stance clear on why we are involved, then it is our duty as Catholic women to offer that support and solidarity in any way we can.

In our daily lives we work together with people who do not have our values and belief system. We do not ask those working with us in a women's shelter about their beliefs, we just do what we are there to do. We do not ask a client at the food bank whether or not she is pro-life before we give her food for her family. It is no different with the World March of Women. We have repeatedly, clearly and publicly stated that we do not share the views of every participant in the March. The Canadian organizing committee understands that the CWL is solidly pro-life and they accept that, although they may not agree with us. However, it is important to note that the condensed versions of the Canadian demands on which the committee is focussing does not include the demand for abortion services. Obviously, those organizations who are asking for such services will still be trying to get them but not under the auspices of the March. This is no different than the CWL working on its own agenda outside the March. The Canadian organizing committee is aware of our work over the years in addressing the issues of poverty and violence against women and are thankful that we, too, are trying to raise awareness in our way.

It has been suggested that we are not following policy guidelines by participating. There is no requirement to 'join' the March or become a member of any organization in order to participate in promoting awareness of the main objectives of the March. Any group or person can join in. The Catholic Women's League of Canada has not taken out membership in any organization with respect to the World March of Women,. Again, I emphasize that our members were asked to raise awareness of the issues in their communities, hopefully leading to suggestions to be forwarded to government.

In some areas, councils have already taken some action, whether a prayer service as a council or ecumenically with other church women's groups. Others are planning to do something at the time of the end of the March in mid-October. On the basis of our understanding of the need to be present and vocal in an imperfect world, and following established League methods, a letter has been sent to all federal members of parliament expressing our concern with the two main objectives of the March and reiterating our commitment to all life. We have urged them to initiate legislation and programs to address the issues of poverty and violence against women. If nothing is being proposed to address these important issues in the next session of parliament, we have asked them for reasons why.

We know that some members are uncomfortable with the League being involved and they are free to participate or not. However, it is a fact that the poverty and violence against women around the world is so sinful that, as an organization, we must cry out against it whenever and wherever we can. We know who we are and what we stand for so we need not fear others with different views. It is a fact that through our support of the main objectives of the March our pro-life stance has become even better known.

As was stated in a press release by the Holy See delegation in September 1995, after the Beijing Conference, "In associating itself with such a mixed document, the Holy See has been guided by the characteristic approach of John Paul II to other flawed human enterprises - seeking to lift up and develop what is true and helpful while naming and vigorously denouncing what is false and harmful to human flourishing." This is where we stand with respect to the World March of Women.

 

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