How important is it that scientific theories are beautiful, simple and elegant? How important is the way in which scientists do their work, to the discoveries they make and the theories they formulate? Join us in conversation with Geoffrey Woollard, a structural biologist, computer scientist in training and co-host of our Beauty of Creation series. Together, we’ll explore the role of beauty, simplicity, elegance, and seeing God in the practice of doing science, as well as recap the ground we’ve covered in the Beauty of Creation series as a whole, looking ahead to new syntheses.
Geoffrey Woollard was trained as a biophysicist and structural biologist. His scientific passion is energy, information, causality, and life at the microscopic scale. Geoff is now working on his PhD at the University of British Columbia where he seeks to apply perspectives from computer science, statistical learning theory, optimization, and high fidelity physics simulations to describe the 3D shapes of molecular life. He is the President of the Vancouver chapter of the Society of Catholic Scientists.
Further References:
William A. Wallace – the Modelling of Nature Benedict Ashley, OP – The Way towards Wisdom Benedict Ashley & John Deeley – How Science enriches Theology Mariano Artigas ‘Philosophy of Nature’ ‘Knowing things for Sure’ ‘The Mind of the Universe’ – understanding science and religion Stacy Trasancos – Particles of Faith Stacy Trasancos – Science was Born of Christianity Christopher Baglow – A Catholic History of the Fake conflict between Religion and Science Rodney Stark – Bearing False Witness Ronald L. Numbers (ed.) – Galileo goes to Jail: And other Myths about Science and Religion Paul Haeffner – Creation & Scientific Creativity: A study in the Thought of Stanley Jaki Robert Rosen – Life Itself Tom Mccleish – the Poetry and Beauty of Science Anthony Rizzi – Institute for Advanced Physics
War in Ukraine, Bishops launch Reconciliation Fund, combatting human trafficking, and more
Catholic Conscience Newsletter February 2022
A LETTER FROM BRENDAN
Dear friends,
I’m writing this letter on the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. It is a feast that celebrates, essentially, the office of St. Peter, that of our Pope—the rock upon which Christ builds his church, a sign of our unity as Catholics. No matter where we live, what language we pray in, the work we do or the lives we have been gifted, as Catholics, we all look to St. Peter’s successor for leadership.
We honour many great Popes in our history. Pope St. John XXIII, who inaugurated the Second Vatical Council; Pope St. John Paul II, who helped bring about the downfall of Soviet communism; Pope Benedict XVI, one of the 20th century’s greatest theologians; Pope Francis, who so inspires a new generation of Catholics to love and serve others with merciful and generous hearts. The lives and service of the Popes remind us of the power of a single person, seeking Christ’s will in all things, to do so much good for the world. But here’s the secret: that’s not just true of the great and famous, like Popes, presidents, or prime ministers. It is true of each and every one of us. It’s true of you. Our every action ripples with meaning for others.
Let me illustrate this with a story. Catholic Conscience runs a program called the Catholic Action campaign, which encourages Catholics to vote during elections, and to discern their vote through the lens of Catholic social teaching. Sometimes we hear from parishioners that their votes don’t matter. Maybe they live in a riding that one party always wins, or they don’t see how a single vote can make a difference alongside tens of thousands of others in their riding, or millions more on a national scale.
I like to tell them the story of my old boss, the Member of Parliament for Kitchener—Waterloo in Ontario. I had a great high school gig helping to write his correspondence. He first won election in 2008, against an incumbent who had been MP since 1993. The final vote count was unbearably close—a mere 47 votes. Upon a mandatory judicial recount, that margin shrunk to 17. My boss became MP by a mere 17 votes.
Think about that. 17 people—less than the size of a high school class. If 17 people had decided to stay home on that fateful day, or chose to do something else but vote, we would live in a different world.
Every civic act matters. Your vote matters. That letter you write to your city councillor matters. Your decision to volunteer for a charity, join a political party to vote for its leader, start a new initiative, or run for office yourself—your faith that leads to good works matters. At Catholic Conscience, we try to gently inspire you to go forth and do those good works, with Catholic social teaching at the heart of your enterprise. You never know when you’ll be one of those 17!
Here’s three quick things you might be interested in, happening at Catholic Conscience right now:
We’re inviting parishioners to join our Catholic School Trustees Workshop. If you’re considering running for trustee in this year’s Ontario municipal elections, we highly encourage you to join the workshop—you’ll hear from current and former trustees, as well as other experts, on everything from what trustees do, to why Catholic education matters, to how Catholic social teaching informs the ways we think about the well-being and integral human development of students. Click here to learn more, including how to apply!
I recently authored an article for The Hub, a Canadian publication, on what the Conservative Party of Canada can learn from Pope Francis as they select a new leader to replace Erin O’Toole. If you’re interested in reading my thoughts, you can click here for the full article. Very few Canadians are members of political parties—less than 0.01%, in fact—but only party members can vote for that party’s leader, and these individuals often become our prime ministers and premiers. Consider purchasing a party membership for any party holding a leadership race, so you can participate in the process and help select who fills these important roles!
As always, we ask for your prayers—that God might use this lay apostolate for His purposes and as He desires! We continue to pray for you all. But we also ask for you to pray for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine, now suffering the terrible consequences of violence and war. At the bottom of this newsletter, you’ll find the Pope’s plea to the faithful to pray and fast for peace on Ash Wednesday. Please join us in doing so!
In this monthly feature, we will share with you a summary of Bills currentlybeing considered by a Canadian parliament and the dialogue around that Bill: its purpose, a short summary of the views of its proponents and opponents, and what elements of Catholic social teaching might be utilized to shed light on the proposal. A condensed summary will be offered in our newsletter. You can visit our website for the full brief.
Parliament Brief, February 2022: Human Trafficking
As Catholics we are bound to inform ourselves concerning social developments, particularly those of civic interest, and to consider them in light of the Church’s social doctrine. This month we consider legislation intended to strengthen Canada’s response to the scourge of human trafficking, by (i) creating reporting requirements for businesses marketing goods made by forced labour, (ii) enabling the Border Services Agency to deny entry to goods identified with forced labour, and (iii) creating new offenses covering those who traffic in human organs.
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church notes that the worldwide, “solemn proclamation of human rights is contradicted by a painful reality of violations, wars and violence of every kind, in the first place; genocides and mass deportations, the spreading on a virtual worldwide dimension of ever new forms of slavery such as trafficking in human beings, child soldiers, the exploitation of workers, illegal drug trafficking, prostitution.” (158)
“The rights of children,” the Compendium continues, must also be legally protected. “The situation of a vast number of the world’s children is far from being satisfactory, due to… the lack of health care, or adequate food supply, little or no possibility of receiving a minimum of academic formation or inadequate shelter. Moreover, some serious problems remain unsolved: trafficking in children, child labour, the phenomenon of “street children”, the use of children in armed conflicts, child marriage, the use of children for commerce in pornographic material, also in the use of the most modern and sophisticated instruments of social communication… These are criminal acts that must be effectively fought with adequate preventive and penal measures by the determined action of the different authorities involved.” (244-245)
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops recently published a pastoral letter on the issue of human trafficking in Canada. In it, they write that “Buying sex is the most common reason for trafficking human persons. In such transactions, one person provides a tangible item or good (e.g., drugs, money) in exchange for sexual services from another person. The buyer is both directly (by violating the person’s body) and indirectly (by financially supporting the system holding that person in bondage) responsible for the harm done to the prostituted person… The most common factors involved with entry into prostitution include being poor, being female, having experienced violence and/or neglect, and having a low level of education. According to the Canadian Federal Government’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking 2019- 2024, ‘Individuals at greatest risk of victimization in Canada generally include women and girls and members of vulnerable or marginalized groups such as: Indigenous women and girls, migrants and new immigrants; LGBTQ2 persons; persons living with disabilities; children in the child welfare system; at risk youth and those who are socially or economically disadvantaged.’
Three recent news stories for you to ponder as a civic-minded Catholic:
CANADIAN BISHOPS LAUNCH INDIGENOUS RECONCILIATION FUND: With the rescheduling of the upcoming Indigenous delegation to visit the Pope at the Vatican, Canada’s bishops have also announced the creation of a new charity, the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund. The charity will disperse the $30 million to be raised by Canadian Catholics over the next five years. Kinoshameg, from Ontario’s Wikwemikong Unceded First Nation, will be one of three Indigenous directors of the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund, set up by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to receive contributions from 73 dioceses across Canada. “There’s always hope for that (new relationships),” Kinoshameg told The Catholic Register. “If I didn’t believe in that I wouldn’t have accepted this.” The Catholic Register editorial board writes that “Temptation loomed to temporize by pleading COVID hardship and pushing off the call to lead. They stood steadfast. They committed in September to $30 million for residential school healing. Now we see signs of the Church moving forward and also of the Holy Spirit moving through it. All should bow our heads and give thanks.”
Points to ponder: What could you do to support this new Indigenous Reconciliation Fund in your own parish? Are there Indigenous communities that live near your town or city? Consider learning more about them—their history, their relationship with your own community—as well as learning about the history of residential schools that has led us to this moment in our history.
CANADA’S CRISIS IN HEALTH CARE CAPACITY: Catholic Conscience’s President & Founder, Matthew Marquardt, was recently quoted in a B.C. Catholic article about Canada’s limited hospital and ICU capacity—a challenge which has come to the fore amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the B.C. Catholic, total national health-care funding already accounts for 11 per cent of Canada’s GDP—the seventh highest of the 44 countries measured in 2020- ‘21 by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Yet OECD charts show that Canada ranks just 16th in life expectancy and 23rd in mortality from avoidable causes. “It’s difficult to overstate the importance of health care,” Matthew said in an email interview. “The Church teaches us that the purpose of life is for each of us, being a lost child of God, to find our way back to God, helping each other as best we can along the way. In that light, it’s easy to see that in the Church’s view the purpose of government is to provide a social, legal, and economic framework that enables us and encourages us to do that.” The Church also recognizes the fundamental importance of health care. “What does that mean for health care in Canada? In Canada, we have entrusted social responsibility for basic health care to our governments,” Marquardt said. “Among the implications of that is that we have a primary responsibility to look after ourselves … But when we need help, we are expected to look to the government for assistance, and government has accepted that responsibility.”
Points to ponder: Consider some of the questions Matthew raises in the article—“So we need to ask ourselves, is government doing its job properly? If not, how can that be corrected? Is the answer to instruct government to review its policies and assumptions, revisit its structures, funding, and approach, and ensure that we are being provided with adequate health care in an efficient matter? Should we consider allowing other social institutions, including for example non-profit and other benevolent associations, or even private, for-profit entities, to have a greater role in the provision of health-care services?”
NEW BILL PUTS CONSCIENCE RIGHTS BACK IN FOCUS: Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, has shared his support for a new bill before the federal parliament protecting conscience rights for healthcare workers who refuse to participate in medically assisted suicide. If passed by Parliament, the legislation would make it an offence to intimidate or coerce a medical professional to take part in delivering medical assistance in dying, so-called MAiD. It would also prohibit firing or refusing to hire a health-care worker for the sole reason of refusal to participate in MAiD. The Canadian Medical Association, which represents 75,000 medical doctors and learners, has endorsed the principle of freedom of conscience. “As detailed in our policy on medical assistance in dying, we support our members in exercising their freedom of conscience — both for those who choose to provide or participate in medical assistance in dying and those who do not.”
Points to ponder: Part 422 of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church says that “Freedom of conscience and religion concerns man both individually and socially. The right to religious freedom must be recognized in the juridical order and sanctioned as a civil right; nonetheless, it is not of itself an unlimited right. The just limits of the exercise of religious freedom must be determined in each social situation with political prudence, according to the requirements of the common good, and ratified by the civil authority through legal norms consistent with the objective moral order. Such norms are required by the need for the effective safeguarding of the rights of all citizens and for the peaceful settlement of conflicts of rights, also by the need for an adequate care of genuine public peace, which comes about when men live together in good order and in true justice, and finally by the need for a proper guardianship of public morality.” Apply these principles to the issue of freedom of conscience for medical professionals here in Canada. Consider discussing with others in your family and friend circles your thoughts about this issue.
The nature of work is changing. The COVID-19 pandemic has helped drive an absolute transformation in the ways Canadians work—bringing to bear new questions about the dignity of work, most especially for essential workers like healthcare staff and grocery store workers, those working primarily from home, or the many whose lost working hours due to lockdowns, relying more than ever on precarious work. Remote work has increased, as has work in the gig economy—whether app-based delivery services, or otherwise. The Government of Ontario launched a Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee to analyze the many shifting realities of the labour market, and propose changes to various government programs that support workers.
The Government of Ontario has announced it intends to implement several of the committee’s recommendations, including:
Appointing an expert to design and test a portable benefits program, where contributors could be employers, workers, and the government;
Introduce the “right to disconnect” from work email and work obligations after regular hours, to enhance work-life balance; and,
Give basic employment rights to gig or platform workers in the app-based space, like termination pay, minimum wage, regular payment of wages, and more.
OUR ANALYSIS:
CST CONCEPT—THE DIGNITY OF WORK
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church says that work has a “particular dignity” which makes it more than just an impersonal element of productivity. Work, it says, “is an expression of the person.” The final goal of work is the human person—work must be oriented to the subject who performs it. That’s why the dignity of work is tied so crucially to the dignity of the human person—work is at the heart of who we are, as co-creators with God, in the model of Christ, who also worked.
That’s why it is crucial that work be dignifying. Work, says the Compendium, is “superior to every other factor connected with productivity”, especially in regards to capital—referring, of course, to the money and other material goods which are products or elements of the economy. In Part 279, the Compendium states that:
The relationship between labour and capital often shows traits of antagonism that take on new forms with the changing of social and economic contexts. In the past, the origin of the conflict between capital and labour was found above all “in the fact that the workers put their powers at the disposal of the entrepreneurs, and these, following the principle of maximum profit, tried to establish the lowest possible wages for the work done by the employees”. In our present day, this conflict shows aspects that are new and perhaps more disquieting: scientific and technological progress and the globalization of markets, of themselves a source of development and progress, expose workers to the risk of being exploited by the mechanisms of the economy and by the unrestrained quest for productivity.
This is important context in considering efforts—such as Ontario’s—to address the new realities of working that we engage in today. It used to be common for workers to remain with the same firm their entire lives, to be part of unionized workplaces, to have access to steadier and more consistent work. Today we see a proliferation of work that does not rely on traditional employment hours, or regular wages. Instead, time is banked, tips are depended on, hours are determined by the employee rather than the employer. Yet benefits programs in Ontario are often-tied to such traditional employment. For the less traditional employees—like those of app-based companies—benefits are harder to come by.
We must consider—for the sake of solidarity and the dignity of work, how can we reform these programs so they capture the full measure of employment categories today?
Pope Francis has asked all the faithful to join in a day of prayer and fasting this coming Ash Wednesday for peace in Ukraine, as Russian military forces invade the country, unleashing violence across the land.
“Once again the peace of all is threatened by partisan interests,” the Pope said, calling on those “with political responsibility to examine their consciences seriously before God, who is the God of peace and not of war, who is the Father of all, not just of some, who wants us to be brothers and not enemies.”
We share with you this prayer Pope Francis wrote for peace in our world, and ask you to join us in prayer and fasting on Ash Wednesday this year.
We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain.
Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: “Never again war!”; “With war everything is lost”. Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into forgiveness.
Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words “division”, “hatred” and “war” be banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be “brother”, and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam!
As Catholics we are bound to inform ourselves concerning social developments, particularly those of civic interest, and to consider them in light of the Church’s social doctrine.
This month we consider legislation intended to strengthen Canada’s response to the scourge of human trafficking, by (i) creating reporting requirements for businesses marketing goods made by forced labour, (ii) enabling the Border Services Agency to deny entry to goods identified with forced labour, and (iii) creating new offenses covering those who traffic in human organs.
Governments and the Church alike recognize new forms of the ancient evil of using human beings as property.
“Cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Bill S-211 – To enact the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act and to amend the Customs Tariff
Introduced by Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne on November 24, 2021. Not yet introduced in Commons.
The summary states that the Act is intended honor Canada’s commitment to the war on human trafficking by (a) imposing obligations on various government institutions and private-sector entities to report on measures taken to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour or child labour is used by them or in their supply chains and (b) providing an inspection regime applicable to businesses and other entities; and (c) prohibiting the importation of goods manufactured or produced by forced labour or child labour as those terms are defined in the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act.
No Charter Statement has been published, as this is a private bill. Bill S-223 – An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (trafficking in human organs)
Introduced by Senator Salma Ataullahjan on November 24, 2021. Passed in the Senate and awaiting second reading in Commons.
The Act would amend the Criminal Code to create new offences in relation to trafficking in human organs. Importantly, it extends criminal liability to Canadian citizens and permanent residents who traffic in human organs, even when they do so outside Canada.
It also proposes amendment of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to provide that a permanent resident or foreign national is inadmissible to Canada if the appropriate minister is of the opinion that they have engaged in any activities relating to trafficking in human organs.
The new legislation includes two new acts – theAnti-Human Trafficking Strategy Act, 2021and the Accommodation Sector Registration of Guests Act, 2021 – as well as amendments to the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 and the Prevention of and Remedies for Human Trafficking Act, 2017. Together, the acts build on the government’s response to combat human trafficking by:
Increasing awareness of the issue, supporting a long-term provincial response and emphasizing that all Ontarians have a role to play in combatting human trafficking;
Supporting more survivors and the people who support them in obtaining restraining orders against traffickers, with specific consideration for Indigenous survivors;
Strengthening the ability of children’s aid societies and law enforcement to protect exploited children;
Increasing penalties for persons, including traffickers, who interfere with a child in the care of a children’s aid society; and,
Clarifying how and when police services can access information from hotel guest registers to help deter trafficking and identify and locate victims, while establishing the power to include other types of accommodation providers, such as short-term rental companies.
Catholic Social Teaching
Like all other social initiatives, proposals for the battle against trafficking in humans should be considered in light of the full range of the Church’s social doctrine, including particularly the fundamental values of truth, freedom, justice, and charitable love; the principles of life and human dignity, the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity; and Christian virtues such as wisdom, humility, prudence, and good stewardship.
It seems clear that trafficking is primarily an affront to the principles of human dignity, the common good, and solidarity, and the values of freedom, justice and charitable love.
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church notes that the worldwide, “solemn proclamation of human rights is contradicted by a painful reality of violations, wars and violence of every kind, in the first place; genocides and mass deportations, the spreading on a virtual worldwide dimension of ever new forms of slavery such as trafficking in human beings, child soldiers, the exploitation of workers, illegal drug trafficking, prostitution.” (158)
“The rights of children,” the Compendium continues, must also be legally protected. “The situation of a vast number of the world’s children is far from being satisfactory, due to… the lack of health care, or adequate food supply, little or no possibility of receiving a minimum of academic formation or inadequate shelter. Moreover, some serious problems remain unsolved: trafficking in children, child labour, the phenomenon of “street children”, the use of children in armed conflicts, child marriage, the use of children for commerce in pornographic material, also in the use of the most modern and sophisticated instruments of social communication… These are criminal acts that must be effectively fought with adequate preventive and penal measures by the determined action of the different authorities involved.” (244-245)
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops recently published a pastoral letter on the issue of human trafficking in Canada. In it, they write that “Buying sex is the most common reason for trafficking human persons. In such transactions, one person provides a tangible item or good (e.g., drugs, money) in exchange for sexual services from another person. The buyer is both directly (by violating the person’s body) and indirectly (by financially supporting the system holding that person in bondage) responsible for the harm done to the prostituted person… The most common factors involved with entry into prostitution include being poor, being female, having experienced violence and/or neglect, and having a low level of education. According to the Canadian Federal Government’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking 2019- 2024, ‘Individuals at greatest risk of victimization in Canada generally include women and girls and members of vulnerable or marginalized groups such as: Indigenous women and girls, migrants and new immigrants; LGBTQ2 persons; persons living with disabilities; children in the child welfare system; at risk youth and those who are socially or economically disadvantaged.’
Pope Francis has described human trafficking as a “crime against humanity,” because it denies the human dignity of the victim, seeing him or her only as a piece of merchandise to be used to enrich or give pleasure to another. “In its multiple forms,” the Holy Father said, human trafficking “is a wound in the humanity of those who endure it and those who commit it… trafficking is an unjustifiable violation of the victims’ freedom and dignity, which are integral dimensions of the human person willed and created by God. This is why it must be considered, without a doubt, a crime against humanity.” (NCR, April 11, 2019)
In 2014, Pope Francis established an annual International Day of Prayer and Reflection against Human Trafficking, to coincide with the feast of Saint Josephine Bakhita, patron of trafficking victims. He was motivated, in part, by estimates that human trafficking is a $150 billion annual business supported by profits generated at the expense of 25 million victims worldwide. (Catholic News Agency, February 8 2022).
Points to Ponder
Consider discussing the following questions with your local candidates, elected officials, and the parties, and with your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and fellow parishioners. On prayerful reflection, consider sharing your conclusions with your elected representatives by writing respectful and informative letters.
February 22nd is Human Trafficking Awareness Day in Canada. How might we, as individuals and nations, use the day to improve our understanding of the causes, evils, and solutions for human trafficking?
Are you able to recognize the signs of trafficking? Would you like to stay informed on the topic, and become active in fighting it? The Collaborative Network to End Exploitation is active in education, advocacy, and action. Learn more, and get involved, at www.CNEE.ca.
All national political parties have called for continued commitment to the fight against trafficking. What more, if anything, could be done to fight this evil? In their recent pastoral letter, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops writes that “Exiting prostitution is a complex process that most often takes numerous attempts and several years to achieve. Some women might never get out of prostitution. Research by Melissa Farley revealed that of 854 prostituted persons from 9 countries, including Canada, 89% of the women wanted to escape prostitution but were forced to remain because they had no other option for survival. Only a small percentage are fortunate enough to be able to exit… Many barriers to exiting need to be addressed in the healing process. Some obstacles include lack of safe housing, poor employment histories, physical and mental health issues, low educational levels, financial instability, and age of entry. There is a correlation between the age of entry and the number of barriers experienced in attempting to exit. Those who enter prostitution as children encounter a greater number of barriers than those who entered as adults. A key component in any process of exiting is returning the power for decision making back to the survivors, so that they can recover their self-determination.” What can different sectors of society—the Church, the government, local communities, the private sector, or the wider non-profit or charitable sector—do to support those who want to escape situations of human trafficking? What can we personally do to help?
The nature of work is changing. The COVID-19 pandemic has helped drive a transformation in the ways Canadians work—bringing to bear new questions about the dignity of work, most especially for essential workers like healthcare staff and grocery store workers, those working primarily from home, or the many whose lost working hours due to lockdowns, relying more than ever on precarious work. Remote work has increased, as has work in the gig economy—whether app-based delivery services, or otherwise. The Government of Ontario launched a Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee to analyze the many shifting realities of the labour market and propose changes to various government programs that support workers.
The Government of Ontario has announced it intends to implement several of the committee’s recommendations, including:
Appointing an expert to design and test a portable benefits program, where contributors could be employers, workers, and the government;
Introduce the “right to disconnect” from work email and work obligations after regular hours, to enhance work-life balance; and,
Give basic employment rights to gig or platform workers in the app-based space, like termination pay, minimum wage, regular payment of wages, and more.
OUR ANALYSIS:
CST CONCEPT—THE DIGNITY OF WORK
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church says that work has a “particular dignity” which makes it more than just an impersonal element of productivity. Work, it says, “is an expression of the person.” The final goal of work is the human person—work must be oriented to the subject who performs it. That’s why the dignity of work is tied so crucially to the dignity of the human person—work is at the heart of who we are, as co-creators with God, in the model of Christ, who also worked.
That’s why it is crucial that work be dignifying. Work, says the Compendium, is “superior to every other factor connected with productivity”, especially in regard to capital—referring, of course, to the money and other material goods which are products or elements of the economy. In Part 279, the Compendium states that:
The relationship between labour and capital often shows traits of antagonism that take on new forms with the changing of social and economic contexts. In the past, the origin of the conflict between capital and labour was found above all “in the fact that the workers put their powers at the disposal of the entrepreneurs, and these, following the principle of maximum profit, tried to establish the lowest possible wages for the work done by the employees”. In our present day, this conflict shows aspects that are new and perhaps more disquieting: scientific and technological progress and the globalization of markets, of themselves a source of development and progress, expose workers to the risk of being exploited by the mechanisms of the economy and by the unrestrained quest for productivity.
This is important context in considering efforts—such as Ontario’s—to address the new realities of working that we engage in today. It used to be common for workers to remain with the same firm their entire lives, to be part of unionized workplaces, to have access to steadier and more consistent work. Today we see a proliferation of work that does not rely on traditional employment hours, or regular wages. Instead, time is banked, tips are depended on, hours are determined by the employee rather than the employer. Yet benefits programs in Ontario are often tied to such traditional employment. For less traditional employees—like those in app-based companies—benefits are harder to come by.
We must consider—for the sake of solidarity and the dignity of work, how can we reform these programs, so they capture the full measure of employment categories today?
CST RIGHT—REST FROM WORK
The Compendium states that “rest from work is a right.” This right goes back to Scripture, as even God rested after seven days of good work creating the world in Genesis. Human beings must have sufficient rest and free time for family, cultural, social and religious life. All of these are critical to a full, human life, lived in community and in service to others.
One of the great challenges of the modern economy is how totalizing work can be. For many professionals especially, constant access to work email and the blurring of regular working hours can lead to far more work done than is renumerated for. The pandemic has accelerated these trends—as more and more work from home, more and more the lines between work and home have disappeared.
The so-called “right to disconnect” and laws supporting it have appeared in recent years, ensuring that employers cannot contact or engage their employees outside of working hours. Can this be considered an expression or a fruit of Catholic social teaching’s “right to rest from work”? Others might have different views, but for myself, I believe so, and I would like to see a deepening conversation about this Catholic principle of a right to rest.
One famous Catholic writer, Josef Pieper, wrote a book called Leisure as the Basis of Culture. He writes that:
“The ability to be ‘at leisure’ is one of the basic powers of the human soul… the power to be at leisure is the power to step beyond the working world and win contact with those superhuman, life-giving forces that can send us, renewed and alive again, into the busy world of work…”
Here again we come back to the Compendium. Rest is needed to make possible so much of life—participation in the life of the Church, participation in culture, social life, relationships, friendships, family life, the list goes on. How do we protect it?
In this webinar, we asked – how do scientists understand theology and theologians understand science? How can we see the logos – the order, rationality, beauty, and intelligibility – in nature through the extraordinary coherence of physical reality? What does nature tell us about God? The team at Catholic Conscience were grateful for the occasion to have a wide-ranging exploration of these matters with Rev Dr Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti.
Meet our guest:
Fr Giuseppe is a Full Professor of Fundamental Theology at the School of Theology, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, as well as an Adjunct Scholar of the Vatican Observatory. He was formerly part of the Italian C.N.R. fellowship and an astronomer at the Astronomical Observatory of Turin. He is also a member of the International Astronomical Union and is currently Editor in Chief of the Interdisciplinary Encyclopedia of Religion and Science.
You can find his work on his website and look forward to his forthcoming book – ‘Scientific Perspectives in Fundamental Theology: Understanding Christian Faith in the Age of Scientific Reason’, published by Claremont Press.
Further resources:
John D. Barrow, The Artful Universe (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995)
Marco Bersanelli and Mario Gargantini, From Galileo to Gell-Mann. The Wonder that Inspired the Greatest Scientists of All Time (Conshohocken: Templeton Press 2009)
Alister McGrath, The Re-enchantment of Nature. Science, Religion and the Human Sense of Wonder (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2002)
Alister McGrath, Re-Imagining Nature: The Promise of a Christian Natural Theology (Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2016)
Tom McLeish, The Poetry and Music of Science. Comparing Creativity in Science and Art (Oxford: Oxford University, Press 2019)
Michael Heller, The World and the Word (Tucson AZ: Pachart, 1986)
David C. Lindberg, Ron L. Numbers (eds.), God and nature. Historical essays on the encounter between Christianity and science (Berkeley – London: University of California Press, 1986)
Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti, Scientific Perspectives in Fundamental Theology, Claremont Press, CA, forthcoming (Spring 2022)
Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti, “The Book of Nature and the God of Scientists according to the Encyclical Fides et ratio”, in The Human Search for Truth: Philosophy, Science, Faith. The Outlook for the Third Millennium (Philadelphia: St. Joseph’s University Press, 2001), 82-90
Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti, “The Two Books prior to the Scientific Revolution,” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 57 (2005), n. 3, 235-248
Announcing the Catholic School Trustees Workshop, new Fratelli tutti series, and more
Catholic Conscience Newsletter January 2022
A LETTER FROM BRENDAN
Hi, I’m Brendan. It’s nice to meet you! As executive director of Catholic Conscience, I’m one of the people behind this newsletter, and the work of our apostolate.
It’s important we get to know each other. Why? Because Catholic civic and political engagement—our mission at Catholic Conscience—is all about friendship and fellowship. Two words you don’t often hear in politics! But friendship is how I got started here.
Three years ago, I met our founder, Matthew Marquardt in a coffee shop in downtown Toronto. Matt had been doing a lot of good work engaging Catholics during elections. I know a little about elections. I had spent ten years prior to this engaged in partisan politics—working on campaigns, for politicians, and seeing how ideologies skewed the truth and beauty of life while undermining human dignity. After meeting Matt, I felt the Holy Spirit calling me to join Catholic Conscience’s mission, bringing the Gospel into public life by forming citizens through the full breadth of Catholic social teaching—citizens like you! (If you’re curious to hear the full origin story, this podcast has all the details)
That’s why we’re here: for you. This apostolate is about all of us. I am confident that learning about the incomparable wisdom of Catholic social teaching and discovering how God wants you to serve your neighbours will change your life for the better—and change the communities and country we love! Whether you’re called to vote with Catholic social teaching at heart (this one’s for all of us), or called to run for office; called to volunteer for a cause, work for government or a political party, or called to start a new ministry or company; whatever the case may be, here at Catholic Conscience we ask, how can we help you do the good you’re meant to do by equipping you with the knowledge and wisdom of Catholic social teaching?
The good you are meant to do matters for all of us. In this issue of the Catholic Commons, you’ll read about a keynote speech the Pope gave last year talking about a global retreat from democracy into authoritarianism—the kinds of societies where people can’t give the fullness of their gifts to their neighbours for the common good of all. Responding to that speech, Matt writes in Catholic Social Teaching Applied that one of the greatest crises of our times is the lack of active citizen participation in public life. This lack of participation deprives our communities of many gifts, leaves numerous social issues under-addressed, and prevents us from building the culture of human dignity, subsidiarity, solidarity, and the common good that Christ desires. This is a huge problem! We need everyone all-in, well-formed in the tenets of our faith. Great Catholics are great citizens, after all, and they bring others to Christ through the love they bring to public life.
This big challenge has been our focus here ever since I started on this journey with Matt. Three years later, Catholic Conscience now reach Catholics across the country, and we’ve done a lot to shape a new generation of Catholic leaders for public service as voters, politicians, civic-minded servant-leaders, and more. But it all started with that coffee between strangers—the beginnings of a friendship between Matt and I that has become a site of incredible grace in my life.
We all need friendship right now. These are wondrous but challenging times. Catholics can build a better society and politics when we learn Christ’s vision for our communities through Church teaching and discover how God is asking us to, in the words of the Catechism, “participate, each according to his position and role, in promoting the common good.” Thank you for joining us on that journey of service—I hope we help you become the disciple God made you to be!
Here’s four quick things you might be interested in, happening at Catholic Conscience right now:
Our next webinar in the Beauty of Creation series on science, Catholicism, and civic life is coming on February 5th: exploring God’s revelation in nature with an associate of the Vatican Observatory (Isn’t it amazing the Vatican has an astronomical observatory?), Rev. Dr. Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti. Click here to register—the event is totally free!
Are you interested in running for election as a Catholic school board trustee? We’re hosting a one-day workshop on Saturday, April 9th alongside the St. Monica Institute and Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association designed to help those discerning. It’s a friendly, hospitable space to learn from experts about trustees and what they do, explore the Catholic vision for education and student well-being, and discover whether you want to serve your community in this profoundly impactful way. Learn more and find out how to apply by clicking here.
We just launched a new videos series, diving into Fratelli tutti—Pope Francis’ encyclical on social friendship and fraternity—chapter-by-chapter with Catholic leaders. You can watch the full series by clicking here. We’re passionate about this encyclical and how deeply it connects to our mission. We hope the series helps you discover the fullness of wisdom in Pope Francis’ words!
Please send me an email at brendan@catholicconscience.org if you ever have an idea or want to learn more. God bless you—please pray for us, that this apostolate may be fruitful for the building of our Lord’s Kingdom! We are praying for you, and I look forward to seeing you soon.
In this monthly feature, we will share with you a summary of one Bill currently being considered by a Canadian parliament and the dialogue around that Bill: its purpose, a short summary of the views of its proponents and opponents, and what elements of Catholic social teaching might be utilized to shed light on the proposal. A condensed summary will be offered in our newsletter. You can visit our website for the full brief.
BILL C-6: HEALTH-BASED APPROACHES TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE
This month we review a government-sponsored Bill currently being considered by the Canadian Parliament, intended to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug-related crimes, as a part of a federal policy to treat drug abuse as a health problem, rather than a criminal matter.
The Act summarized below is intended at least partly to advance the government’s shift toward treatment of addictions and substance abuse as health issues, rather than criminal matters. A broad range of health professionals, police officers, and others have spoken in support of the change.
Bill C-5 – An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drug and Substances Act
Government Bill, introduced in Commons on December 7, 2021.
The summary reads: “This enactment amends the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to, among other things, repeal certain mandatory minimum penalties, allow for a greater use of conditional sentences and establish diversion measures for simple drug possession offences.”
Status: The Bill’s first reading was completed December 7, 2021. The Bill is in the process of undergoing Second Reading.
Charter Statement:
Overview of Bill Bill C-5 would make a number of amendments to the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that seek to fulfill the Government of Canada’s commitment to address systemic inequities, including the overrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples, Black, and marginalized Canadians, in the criminal justice system. There are three areas of proposed reform in the Bill: (1) the repeal of all mandatory minimum penalties of imprisonment (MMPs) for offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the repeal of MMPs for a tobacco offence and some offences involving the possession or use of firearms under the Criminal Code; (2) changes to increase the availability of conditional sentences under the Criminal Code; and, (3) changes to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to promote the use of diversion for simple possession of drugs.
Three recent news stories for you to ponder as a civic-minded Catholic:
CATHOLICS INSPIRE LOCAL MP TO ENDORSE CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY LAW: Have you ever met with your local Member of Parliament? You’d be amazed how few people ever reach out personally to their local representatives—but these conversations can convert hearts and make a real difference.
That was the recent experience of the parishioners of St. Joseph’s Parish in Sarnia:Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu has joined with Development and Peace – Caritas Canada in endorsing a proposed new international corporate accountability law. “We need a law in Canada that will require Canadian companies to act that way in the world — to prevent human rights abuse and environmental harm overseas and include real consequences for companies that fail to take adequate steps to prevent harm,” Gladu said in a 36-second video Development and Peace posted to its Facebook account just before Christmas. The Sarnia-Lambton MP made the video after hearing from Development and Peace members at St. Joseph’s Parish in Sarnia about their support for model legislation requiring Canadian corporations to monitor and report on human rights throughout their supply chain. Luke Stocking at D&P (and a Catholic Conscience board member!) says: “Any time you can get a Conservative to endorse a campaign demand like the one we have right now, it’s only a good thing for building political consensus… It’s not partisan. We’re not engaged in partisan politics. We’re remaining faithful to the social teaching of the Church.”
Point to ponder: Participation is a core principle of Catholic social teaching. Is there a local ministry, apostolate or group you are part of, which is passionately engaged on a particular issue? Have you tried reaching out to your local politicians to engage them in this issue—even if you think they won’t agree because of the political party they are part of?
POPE ENCOURAGES BUSINESS LEADERS WHO TRY TO PUT EMPLOYEES FIRST: In a recent audience, Pope Francis had some encouraging words for Catholic business leaders—including managers and entrepreneurs—seeking to live out the fullness of their faith in their vocations: Pope Francis also told the business leaders that what he has told pastors about “smelling like the sheep” applies to them as well and involves knowing their employees, their talents, dreams and struggles. And, he said, the best exercise of authority is to share it when possible, recognizing and encouraging every employee to contribute what he or she can to the business.
The Christian manager is called to consider carefully the place assigned to all the people in his or her company, including those whose duties might seem of lesser importance, because each is important in God’s eyes,” he said. Even if being the boss sometimes means making tough decisions, there should be a general approach of allowing “each person to give the best of himself or herself, to feel that he or she is participating, to bear his or her share of responsibility and thus contribute to the good of the whole.”
Point to ponder: All of us collaborate with others in our professional lives. Some of us have individuals who we are directly responsible for as leaders and managers. The Catholic social teaching principle of subsidiarity—that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, most local, competent authority—applies to institutions, but also applies to people. Do you allow those you work with the maximum freedom within their competency to execute their work responsibly and creatively, encouraging them to take ownership in using their gifts? How can you improve in this?
CONSIDERING UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME THROUGH THE LENS OF CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING: One of the challenges we face as civic-minded Catholics is how to take the principles and ideas of Catholic social teaching and apply them in the real world, especially in how we think about political ideas and policy proposals. Brendan recently sat down with Dr. Brett Salkeld at the Archdiocese of Regina for a podcast discussion of one idea—a universal basic income—and together they used Catholic social teaching as a frame of analysis, considering the pros and cons. “A good stance, I think, for a Catholic going into a policy debate is to know that a) there will be no silver bullets, and b) there will be unintended consequences of almost any policy,” said Brendan. You can listen to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of the conversation by following those links.
Point to ponder: After listening to the conversation, what aspects of Catholic social teaching do you think Brendan and Brett didn’t consider but are nonetheless relevant when analyzing the issue? What other facts should be taken into consideration when reviewing proposals for a universal basic income, beyond the principles highlighted in the podcast?
During a keynote speech in Athens, Greece—“where democracy was born”—Pope Francis expressed his grave concerns with a worldwide movement away from democracy and called for a “change in direction.”
“Democracy requires participation and involvement on the part of all; consequently, it demands hard work and patience. It is complex, whereas authoritarianism is peremptory, and populism’s easy answers appear attractive.”
“Universal participation is something essential; not simply to attain shared goals but also because it corresponds to what we are: social beings, at once unique and interdependent.”
“Let us help one another, instead, to pass from partisanship to participation; from committing ourselves to supporting our party alone to engaging ourselves actively for the promotion of all.”
OUR ANALYSIS: Written by Matthew Marquardt
CST PRINCIPLE—PARTICIPATION Pope Francis, speaking in Athens to the president and other Greek governmental and civil leaders, renewed his plea for recommitment by world democracies to the foundational values of truth, freedom, justice and charity.
Pope Francis made specific reference to other nations as well as Greece, citing rising threats of populist nationalism and enculturated consumerism as particular concerns.
As an antidote to such problems, the Holy Father called citizens of all countries to active participation in their societies. The Church, of course, has long advocated active participation at all levels of society, in accordance with the depth of the gifts that have been entrusted to each individual by God. The Pope would appear to support the notion that widespread involvement by properly formed voters is key to the democratic success.
Although Canada, thankfully, is not yet critically threatened by populism, our democracy does indeed appear to be under attack, an attack that is abetted by our own lack of participation… CLICK HERE TO READ OUR FULL ANALYSIS
Prayer
The early new year is a difficult time for many, when seasonal depression and loneliness are high—challenges made all the more acute because of the pandemic. Dorothy Day (pictured above) knew what suffering meant as a disciple of Christ and lived a life where such suffering was put to the purposes of God. She once wrote: “Compassion—it is a word meaning ‘to suffer with.’ If we all carry a little of the burden, it will be lightened. If we share in the suffering of the world, then some will not have to endure so heavy an affliction.” Brendan, our executive director, recently wrote a reflection about this quote and its timely reminder that “to place oneself entirely at the service of others [amid suffering] is the surest path to brilliant joy.” You can click here to read the full reflection.
In this hard season, may we all reach out to others in our lives and help carry a little of their burdens—so that none of us must endure so heavy an affliction. DOROTHY DAY ON PRAYER An excerpt from her personal journal
So I resolved then to be more careful not to omit certain devotions that I let myself off from on account of my irregular life and fatigue. After all, when I have been working from seven until twelve at night, or traveling fifteen hours by bus, I can realize all the more these words, “Can you not watch with me one hour?” (Matt 26:40). That, I have resolved, is to be my motto for the coming year, in order to foster recollection.
“Can you not watch with me one hour?”
I shall remember this whenever I am tired and want to omit prayer, the extra prayers I shall set myself. Because after all I am going to try to pray the simplest, humblest way, with no spiritual ambition.
Morning prayers, in my room before going to Mass. I always omit them, rushing out of the house just in time as I do. If I were less slothful it would be better….
Around the middle of the day to take, even though it be to snatch, fifteen minutes of absolute quiet, thinking about God and talking to God.
The thing to remember is not to read so much or talk so much about God, but to talk to God. To practice the presence of God.
The Catholic duty of participation requires that we inform ourselves of social developments, particularly those of civic interest, and that we fully consider those developments in light of the Church’s social doctrine.
This month we review a government-sponsored Bill currently being considered by the Canadian Parliament, intended to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug-related crimes, as a part of a federal policy to treat drug abuse as a health problem, rather than a criminal matter.
“Cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Act summarized below is intended at least partly to advance the government’s shift toward treatment of addictions and substance abuse as health issues, rather than criminal matters. A broad range of health professionals, police officers, and others have spoken in support of the change.
Presumably, at least Bill C-5 is intended to implement a part of the framework laid out by the government in its policy backgrounder Strengthening Canada’s Approach to Substance Use Issues, published in September 2018.
Bill C-5 – An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drug and Substances Act
Government Bill, introduced in Commons on December 7, 2021.
The summary reads: “This enactment amends the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to, among other things, repeal certain mandatory minimum penalties, allow for a greater use of conditional sentences and establish diversion measures for simple drug possession offences.”
Status: The Bill’s first reading was completed December 7, 2022. The Bill is in the process of undergoing Second Reading.
Charter Statement:
Overview of Bill Bill C-5 would make a number of amendments to the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that seek to fulfill the Government of Canada’s commitment to address systemic inequities, including the overrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples, Black, and marginalized Canadians, in the criminal justice system. There are three areas of proposed reform in the Bill: (1) the repeal of all mandatory minimum penalties of imprisonment (MMPs) for offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the repeal of MMPs for a tobacco offence and some offences involving the possession or use of firearms under the Criminal Code; (2) changes to increase the availability of conditional sentences under the Criminal Code; and, (3) changes to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to promote the use of diversion for simple possession of drugs.
The minister assessed impact of the bill on two Charter provisions: Section 12 protections against cruel and unusual treatment or punishment; and Section 7 rights to liberty. The minister concluded that the bill comports with Charter rights.
Catholic Social Teaching
Like all other social initiatives, policy developments pertaining to substance abuse and addictions should be considered in light of the full range of the Church’s social doctrine, including particularly the fundamental values of truth, freedom, justice, and charitable love; the principles of life and human dignity, the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity; and Christian virtues such as wisdom, humility, prudence, and good stewardship.
Life & human dignity, solidarity, charitable love From the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church: “ So many needy brothers and sisters are waiting for help, so many who are oppressed are waiting for justice, so many who are unemployed are waiting for a job, so many peoples are waiting for respect. How can it be that even today there are still people dying of hunger? Condemned to illiteracy? Lacking the most basic medical care? Without a roof over their head? The scenario of poverty can extend indefinitely, if in addition to its traditional forms we think of its newer patterns. These new patterns often affect financially affluent sectors and groups which are nevertheless threatened by despair at the lack of meaning in their lives, by drug addiction, by fear of abandonment in old age or sickness, by marginalization or social discrimination…” (Section 5)
Social institutions, subsidiarity, the common good From the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church: “The family is the primary unit in society. It is where education begins and the Word of God is first nurtured. The Church considers the family as the first natural society, with underived rights that are proper to it, and places it at the centre of social life. Relegating the family to a subordinate or secondary role, excluding it from its rightful position in society, would be to inflict grave harm on the authentic growth of society as a whole.” (Sections 209-211).
The proper role of government and other human institutions is to foster human life and dignity by maintaining social conditions that enable and encourage us to serve God in one another, and thereby to promote that which is truly in the common interest. In virtue of the principle of subsidiarity, public authorities have no right to take away from the family tasks which it can accomplish well by itself or in free association with other families; on the other hand, these same authorities have the duty to sustain the family, ensuring that it has all the assistance that it needs to fulfil properly its responsibilities.
Freedom, justice, humility Pope Francis, in Fratelli tutti: “Some people are born into economically stable families, receive a fine education, grow up well nourished, or naturally possess great talent. They will certainly not need a proactive state; they need only claim their freedom. Yet the same rule clearly does not apply to a disabled person, to someone born in dire poverty, to those lacking a good education and with little access to adequate health care.If a society is governed primarily by the criteria of market freedom and efficiency, there is no place for such persons, and fraternity will remain just another vague ideal.” (Section 109)
“The Catholic Bishops of Canada are deeply troubled by the devastating effects of [drugs such as opioids like fentanyl and carfentanyl], in particular their ability to extinguish human life in an instant. Even when they do not kill directly, their addictive power creates what Pope Francis recently referred to as “a new form of slavery.” Persons suffering from addiction often have a distorted perception of reality and of what should be desired; the addiction itself is neither representative of who they really are nor is it an authentic expression of their will.
“Moreover, the social ramifications of drug addiction are many. It can be the cause of family breakdown and all kinds of impoverishment (social, educational, economic, emotional, spiritual, etc.). During pregnancy, the use of narcotics can result in miscarriage as well as infant chemical dependency and congenital health problems. Beyond the measurable effects of the crisis today, there are others that we do not yet know: effects that are passed down to the children of those afflicted by addictions or that linger in families and communities for years to come.
“A drug addiction crisis is a complex reality involving a combination of diverse narcotics, people, backgrounds, and contemporary pressures.”
Our Bishops also remind us that:
The Gospels chronicle how he [Jesus] cured the sick, restored sight to the blind, raised the dead, and cast out demons. He also brought hope to the burdened and brokenhearted. His message extends also to caregivers, for he taught that when we care for the sick, we care for Christ himself. We are called, therefore, to bring hope and healing to those enslaved by drug addiction as well as to their families and communities.
Points to Ponder
Consider discussing the following questions with your local candidates, elected officials, and the parties, and with your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and fellow parishioners. On prayerful reflection, consider sharing your conclusions with your elected representatives by writing respectful and informative letters.
These bills are steps in a broader National Approach to Substance Use initiative, which calls for amendment of several acts, and changes in the operations of several ministries, in order to shift substance abuse from a problematic, potentially criminal issue to a healthcare matter. For example, C-286 would direct the national minister of health to begin developing a strategy for treatment of substance abuse.
It is prudent to enact one part of the strategy before other parts are in place and ready also? It seems possible that decriminalization of possession might have significant effects on markets for commonly misused substances, and therefore the amount of substances available for misuse. Might that influence the number of users requiring care and assistance?
If true, could these consequences be adequately offset by increased access of affected individuals to mental and health care professionals?
As noted by the Canadian bishops and by Pope Francis, among others, substance abuse is a complex issue which has many, often interrelated causes and effects. For example, identified causes of substance abuse include family breakups, economic troubles such as job loss or unsatisfying work, loss of individual purpose or sense of purpose tied to communal or national life, other mental health challenges or personal tragedies. There would seem to be many causes of individuals losing hope.
Does our national strategy effectively and justly address all of the causes of substance abuse? For example, what about the availability of fulfilling, dignified work, and affordable, dignified housing?
It is generally conceded that contributing causes of substance abuse includes family breakdown and an unjust economic system. Is Canada, as a nation, establishing a social and economic framework that is truly supportive of families? If not, what more could be done?
Is our national healthcare system ready for any increased burdens these proposals might place on it? Numerous government officials at all levels have already noted that our healthcare system is overburdened, inefficient, and too expensive, and unable to serve the population now. This has been particularly true during the pandemic and is reported to have resulted in many deaths due to lack of available healthcare services.
Moreover, our Canadian bishops have noted that a significant contributing cause to the rising number of abuse-related deaths has been mis-prescription of opioid painkillers.
Is our healthcare system prepared to properly administer prescriptions, including alternative substances intended to help users end their addictions?
What is the plan for offering effective and appropriate health care and mental care for those seeking help for addictions? Should a broad range of addictions specialists be called together to craft proposals, and should there exist a process for funding those proposals?
Some are concerned that the legislation would work to de-stigmatize drug abuse, by striking references to abuse and attempting to make those who may be addicted feel more welcome to seek treatment, and thereby contribute to increased levels of abuse.
Do proposals include adequate educational efforts to warn children and others of the dangers of substance misuse, for example by campaigning for support for former addicts, or inclusion of expert descriptions of the real stories of addicts, in order to minimize addiction, with its massive personal and social costs?
A stated goal of Bill C-5 is to “address the overrepresentation of Indigenous people, Black Canadians, and members of marginalized communities [in Canada’s criminal justice system]. Bill C-5 focuses on existing laws that have exacerbated underlying social, economic, institutional, and historical disadvantage and which have contributed to systemic inequities at all stages of the criminal justice system, from first contact with law enforcement all the way through to sentencing.” The government states that mandatory minimum sentencing laws—those which this Bill would eliminate—have led to over-incarceration of these communities in Canada. The government further argues that the sorts of individuals affected by these mandatory minimum sentencing laws are the least likely to re-offend once released and deserve a second chance.
Will the proposal make a positive contribution to addressing these real issues as the government argues?
During a keynote speech in Athens, Greece—“where democracy was born”—Pope Francis expressed his grave concerns with a worldwide movement away from democracy, and called for a “change in direction.”
“Democracy requires participation and involvement on the part of all; consequently, it demands hard work and patience. It is complex, whereas authoritarianism is peremptory, and populism’s easy answers appear attractive.”
“Universal participation is something essential; not simply to attain shared goals but also because it corresponds to what we are: social beings, at once unique and interdependent.”
“Let us help one another, instead, to pass from partisanship to participation; from committing ourselves to supporting our party alone to engaging ourselves actively for the promotion of all.”
OUR ANALYSIS:
Written by Matthew Marquardt
CST PRINCIPLE—PARTICIPATION
Pope Francis, speaking in Athens to the president and other Greek governmental and civil leaders, renewed his plea for recommitment by world democracies to the foundational values of truth, freedom, justice and charity.
Pope Francis made specific reference to other nations as well as Greece, citing rising threats of populist nationalism and enculturated consumerism in many nations as particular concerns.
As an antidote to such problems, the Holy Father called citizens of all countries to active participation in their societies. The Church, of course, has long advocated active participation at all levels of society, in accordance with the depth of the gifts that have been entrusted to each individual by God (Matthew 25; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1913-1917). The Pope would appear to support the notion that widespread involvement by properly formed voters is the key to democratic success.
Although Canada, thankfully, is not yet critically threatened by populism, our democracy does indeed appear to be under attack, an attack that is abetted by our own lack of participation. And we can see the approach of populism in the highly polarized invective that has come to mark our politics. Nor can it be denied that much of what binds Canadians together is a deep, too often thoughtless commitment to the accumulation of maximum individual material wealth, without reference to need – our own or the needs of others. Watching news stories and trends in Canadian legislation, for example, we might ask ourselves whether an insidious and aggressive consumerism is being promoted by less-than-scrupulous power seekers in order to undermine the foundations of our Canadian brand of democracy, with various federal and provincial initiatives chipping away at personal and familial freedoms of conscience, speech, and religion—even the freedom to make our own personal health choices—while we distract ourselves with newer and ever-flashier gadgets and radical forms of self-expression and indulgence.
It’s common these days, for example, to attack social conventions and traditions—which are, after all, the fundamental premises of all governments—as obsolete and pointlessly restrictive ‘social constructs.’ Alarmingly, too many of these attacks appear to be spearheaded by ruling governments themselves.
As the Holy Father has suggested, the answer to these woes is participation. And it is critical to accept the need for a common basis of participation, if truth, freedom, justice and love are to overcome selfishness, lies, and the slavery of populism and consumerism.
Historically, of course, modern democracies were founded on precisely these values: the enculturated Christian values of truth, freedom, justice, and love guiding application of the principles of human dignity, the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity. It is not coincidence that the historically-accepted values of society are the same Christian social values expressly adopted by Catholic social doctrine.
These development and application of these principles and values was made possible because Christian society, in common with our Jewish and Muslim cousins, shared a common understanding of the meaning of life: that we, being lost children of God, are meant apply ourselves, using our full strength, to the search for truth—which for us is God—and thereby find our ways back to Him. And we Christians have been instructed, by Christ (Matthew 22) that this process intimately involves bringing with us on the way to God as many of our neighbors as we can bring by mean of gentle persuasion—persuasion based on joyful witness to Christ as an integral part of our daily lives.
It is the rejection of that common purpose of life that is being instigated by those who deny the existence of either God or any other objective truth. Such forces insist that our creation is an accident, and that the best we can do with this life is to pursue our own personal definitions of pleasure and ‘well-being.’
With no broadly accepted purpose of life, it is not possible to propose any broadly-agreed role for government; and society quickly devolves into one form or another of might-makes-right, or, as we have defined in the context of nature, as “the survival of the fittest.”
Two of the many items Catholic Conscience looks for when reviewing a party’s platform and constitutional documents while preparing our election guides are the party’s positions on the meaning of life and the purpose of government. At this point, few of the parties are willing to share commitments on these issues. One of our current priority goals is to encourage them to do so. Please join us in encouraging parties and candidates to define and share their positions on these and other issues, so that we can begin to build consensus on the purpose of our societies, and in so doing help to strengthen our democracy and ensure its durability.
When you think about your own political beliefs and decisions—how you vote, who you donate money to, what causes you support—do you consider the purpose of life in those choices?
What do you believe is the purpose of life? What does Christ tell us about the purpose of life?
In our own democracy, what do you believe are the most serious threats to a society based in truth, charity, and human dignity? What does Catholic social teaching say about these issues? Pray about how you could make a contribution to addressing these challenges.
A conversation with two Catholics trained in neuroscience and psychiatry. During the discussion, we explored health, the unity of body and soul, and the nature of human well-being, synthesizing science and Catholic wisdom about the human person. A webinar in our Beauty of Creation Series.
DISCLAIMER: this is a philosophical and theological discussion of health and does not constitute medical advice.
Our Guests – Fr Peter Turrone & Dr Natasha Fernandes:
Fr Peter has a background in medical science and neuroscience, working as a research scientist at Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH) on the side effects of antipsychotic drugs before he was called to the priesthood. After 5 years at the Newman Centre at UofT, Fr Peter is now Pastor of the Forest Hill parish in the Archdiocese of Toronto.
Dr. Fernandes is a general Psychiatrist and Assistant Professor who specializes in the care for adults with developmental disabilities. She works in the Adult Neurodevelopmental Services outpatient clinic and provides consults to the Emergency Department and Inpatient units at CAMH.
Christian disciples journey into Pope Francis’ encyclical on fraternity and social friendship
Join us in conversation with Catholic leaders in ministry, apostolate, and public life, as we together read and explore Pope Francis’ encyclical, Fratelli tutti—on fraternity and social friendship—chapter-by-chapter through the lens of Catholic social teaching and the most pressing moral challenges of our times.
Hosted by our executive director, Brendan Steven, this series of conversations produced by Catholic Conscience goes prayerfully and deeply into the text of the encyclical—walking together through this extraordinary guide for loving and serving our neighbours in civic and political life, as offered by our Holy Father.
Catholic Conscience is Canada’s non-partisan Catholic civic and political leadership and engagement organization. Our mission is civic evangelization through Catholic social teaching: forming citizens in the full breadth of our faith’s social vision, and thereby forming our Catholic community into a diverse, influential, and gently persuasive family of voices within Canadian civil society and politics. We are deeply inspired in this lay apostolate by Fratelli tutti, and Pope Francis’s exhortation to political love. We are excited to present this series to you in celebration of this encyclical and in hopes of helping to unlock all it can offer for Catholic neighbours living generously for all Canadians, seeking to have real encounters with others, and to build real fraternity and solidarity with all.
*Expand each panel below to view each video.
Chapter One: "Dark clouds over a closed world"
Chapter One: “Dark clouds over a closed world” with Agnes Richards, Mouvement Laudato Si’ Movement Canada
We begin our in-depth reading of Fratelli tutti with its opening chapter. In conversation with our guest Agnes Richards - a passionate, Catholic climate change activist inspired by Pope Francis’ previous encyclical, Laudato Si’ - this video includes explorations of:
How our idea of who our neighbour is hasn’t necessarily widened, even as the horizons of culture and the economy widen through globalization;
Knowing and respecting our past as a prerequisite for building our future;
New forms of emerging poverty, particularly with the onset of climate change;
The importance of nurturing local cultural models, rather than forcing universal, imperial cultural models as a supposed prerequisite for material prosperity; and,
The hope found in those who, “in the midst of fear, respond by putting their lives on the line,” and the hope we have for the future even as climate change continues to threaten creation.
Working with an Advisory Circle, Faith & the Common Good, and with GCCM International, Agnes Richard is Coordinator of the Mouvement Laudato Si’ Movement – Canada, a nation-wide network of Catholics focused on raising awareness of the Papal Encyclical Laudato Si’, and inspiring Catholics to act publicly to bring the values of ecological justice to life in Canada. She is a Climate Reality Leader trained with Hon. Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project.
In addition to Catholic Conscience, Agnes is an advisor to several community activist groups, including the “For the Love of Creation” general working group, the “Forum for Integral Human Ecology” of Catholic Conscience, and the Advisory Circle for Villa St. Joseph Ecology and Spirituality Centre.
Agnes is the mother of two lovely daughters, and works to ensure they inherit a just, stable, and sustainable environment in which to thrive.
Chapter Two: "A stranger on the road”
Chapter Two: "A stranger on the road” with Father Santo Arrigo, the Redemptorists
Our in-depth reading of Fratelli tutti continues with a closer look at chapter two—which includes the Pope’s moving reflection on the Good Samaritan parable—in conversation with Redemptorist priest, Father Santo Arrigo.
Alongside Father Santo, we explore in this conversation (among other topics):
How Pope Francis invites us into contemplation and reflection on how we are like each of the characters in the Good Samaritan parable in our own lives;
Imitating God’s compassion for all living beings, even those we cannot meet or see;
Overcoming the temptation to isolation and separation from our culture, our brothers and sisters, and fleeing the world instead of evangelizing within it;
The idolatry of time and busyness;
Letting the sight of a person suffering disturb us into loving action; and,
The Pope’s powerful assertion that to “include or exclude those lying wounded on the roadside can serve as a criterion for judging every economic, political, social and religious project.”
Fr. Santo is a Redemptorist Priest. He is a former member of the Redemptorist Youth Mission Team, a graduate of the Canadian Certificate in Youth Ministry Studies, and has experience in Parish Youth Ministry, Diocesan Youth Events, Young Adult Ministry and Inner-City Ministry. He served as the Coordinator of Redemptorist Vocation Ministry, Coordinator of Redemptorist Young Adult Ministry and Formation Director for the Redemptorist Community.
Chapter Three: "Envisaging and engendering an open world”
Chapter Three "Envisaging and engendering an open world" with Luke Stocking, Development & Peace
Our journey deeper into the wisdom of Fratelli tutti continues in conversation with Luke Stocking on chapter three, and the Pope’s call for openness to strangers and “the other.”
In this discussion, we explore among other topics:
Cultivating openness to others and a sense of real fraternity;
The virtue of openness to others;
How virtues depend on fostering unity with others;
Being open to others in a world where cultural status is often imbued by social hierarchy, and how we must be “free of every label and position” like the Good Samaritan to love generously; and,
Creating real fraternity with others in a culture that often reduces our fellow people to “associates”, based on their economic or social value to us.
Luke Stocking was born in Toronto but grew up on a 50-acre farm in a town called Uxbridge.
Today, he works for Development and Peace – Caritas Canada, the international solidarity movement of the Catholic Church in Canada. Luke was first involved with the movement as a high school student at the age of 16, when D&P had a special campaign to end sweatshop labour. He joined the staff of D&P in November 2006 as the Central Ontario Animator and served in that role for 12 years, working to inspire, educate and organize Canadian Catholics and all people of good will to bring the Gospel call to international solidarity to life. He has led trips for volunteer members to visit D&P partners in Zambia, the Philippines, Paraguay and Ethiopia. He is the Deputy Director of Public Engagement and the face of D&P’s leadership team for the Ontario and Atlantic regions. Luke has a Master of Arts in Theology from St. Michael’s at the University of Toronto with a focus on Catholic Social Teaching.
He is happily married with two children and lives in the Junction neighbourhood of Toronto. He sees himself as blessed to be able to support his family while living his vocation, which is living and giving witness to the social justice message of the Catholic Faith.
Chapter Four: “A heart open to the world”
Chapter Four - “A heart open to the world” with Deacon Rudy Ovcjak, Office for Refugees, Archdiocese of Toronto
We come now to chapter four in our exploration of Fratelli tutti. Alongside Deacon Rudy Ovcjak, we explore this chapter which so particularly calls attention to the plight of refugees and migrants. In this video, we look at these issues through the lens of Deacon Ovcjak’s work at the Archdiocese of Toronto’s Office for Refugees—one of the largest private sponsors of refugees in Canada—and his experience working with refugees in our country.
In this video, we explore among other topics:
Pope Francis’ four words describing a human response to the arrival of migrating persons—welcome, protect, promote and integrate;
Welcoming refugees as full participants in society, as citizens, with all the rights and responsibilities inherent in these;
The importance of gratuitousness, doing things simple because they are good in themselves, especially when it comes to welcoming the stranger;
The importance of having our own sense of rooted identity as we dialogue with others, and an openness between peoples based on love for one’s own land, people, and cultural roots; and,
The neighbourly and hospitable approach Catholics take in welcoming, sponsoring, and promoting refugees in our society.
A native of Toronto, Deacon Ovcjak graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in geography from Ryerson University in 1988 and began his career in the private sector, working for a number of national and international corporations.
In 2004, he graduated with a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario. He was ordained to the diaconate and graduated with a Diploma in Theology from the University of Toronto in 2010.
In 2015, Deacon Ovcjak began working with the Archdiocese of Toronto as a Parish Campaign Director. The following year, he joined the Office for Refugees at the Archdiocese of Toronto (ORAT), where he oversaw its day-to-day operations. He was appointed Director of ORAT by H.E. Cardinal Thomas Collins in 2017.
Deacon Ovcjak also currently serves at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church in Pickering, Ontario and as Chaplain of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences.
Chapter Five: “A better kind of politics”
Chapter Five: “A better kind of politics” with John Milloy, Centre for Public Ethics
As we now enter the second half of Fratelli tutti, we begin to explore the crucial chapter five, which hones in on Pope Francis’ ideas of political love, the vocation of the politician, and the need for a better politics. We are joined in this conversation by a Catholic, former Ontario education minister, and former prime ministerial advisor—John Milloy.
With John, this video explores among other topics:
Why our world can’t function without politics;
Politics as one of the highest forms of charity when oriented towards the common good;
Love in politics, and the need for a loving politics;
A politics where those on the margins are invited to participate fully, where their perspectives are privileged;
How politicians must practice love both in their work for all, and in their daily, interpersonal relationships; and,
From 2003 to 2014, John Milloy served as the member of provincial parliament (MPP) for Kitchener Centre in Ontario, holding five cabinet portfolios. Prior to that he worked on Parliament Hill as a political adviser to a number of senior cabinet ministers as well as spending five years on the senior staff of former prime minister Jean Chrétien. Today, he is an Assistant Professor of Public Ethics at Martin Luther University College, and Director of the Centre for Public Ethics. From 2003 to 2014, John Milloy served as the member of provincial parliament (MPP) for Kitchener Centre, holding five cabinet portfolios. Prior to that he worked on Parliament Hill as a political adviser to a number of senior cabinet ministers as well as spending five years on the senior staff of former prime minister Jean Chrétien. Today, he is an Assistant Professor of Public Ethics at Martin Luther University College, and Director of the Centre for Public Ethics.
Chapter Six: “Dialogue and friendship in society”
Chapter Six: “Dialogue and friendship in society” with Leah Perrault, Catholic author and speaker
In the wake of chapter five on political life, it’s appropriate we now turn to the topic of dialogue and friendship in society. As we explore these ideas in chapter six of Fratelli tutti, we are joined by Catholic author and speaker Leah Perrault, whose perspectives on dialogue are energizing and refreshing.
In dialogue with Leah, we discuss among other topics:
Dialogue as the basis of society;
The heroism of dialogue;
The Pope’s idea of a society of bartered self-interest, especially as a place where the law of the strongest prevails;
Society as a polyhedron, where differences coexist, complementing, enriching, and reciprocally illuminating one another, even amid disagreements and reservations; and,
Creating new processes of encounter, and a real culture of encounter, that leads to profound and concrete solidarity and fraternity with our fellow citizens.
Leah (McDonald) Perrault is the Executive Director of Southwest Homes in Swift Current. She left Saskatoon in the spring of 2021 where she served as the Director of Mission at St. Paul’s Hospital, since of September of 2018. She served as Executive Lead of Corporate Initiatives with Emmanuel Care (the Catholic Health Ministry of Saskatchewan) from 2015 to 2018. Between 2007 and 2015, Leah served as the Director of Pastoral Services for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon. When she’s not busy with her day job, she speaks, consults and writes on the side. Her words find a home at retreats, schools, conferences, book clubs, board meetings, church groups, articles, books and hopefully in the hearts of those who hear and read them.
Leah has a master’s of arts in pastoral theology from the University of St. Michael’s College at the Toronto School of Theology (2009). Her bachelor’s of arts in English comes from Campion College at the University of Regina (2005), where she perfected the art of writing in the early mornings before sunrise, while her room mates were still sleeping.
Leah met her husband, Marc, during her first day on the university campus in Regina. They dated for four years and married in 2005. Since then, they have been working hard at this adventure called marriage, making each other better people in the process and hoping that their relationship is as good for the world as it is for them. Leah and Marc have been blessed with four amazing little people – Robyn, Eliot, Charlize, and Atticus. Their home is full of noise, books, toys, and big ideas.
Chapter Seven: “Paths of renewed encounter"
Chapter Seven: “Paths of renewed encounter" with Archbishop Donald Bolen, Archbishop of Regina, and friends
In chapter seven, we dialogue through our only group discussion of the series at the behest of our friend, Archbishop Donald Bolen of the Archdiocese of Regina, Saskatchewan. In this chapter centering on the need for truth, reconciliation and peace among different groups in society, we explore these themes specifically through the lens of ongoing struggles for truth and reconciliation in the relationship between Canada and Indigenous communities. To explore this journey of reconciliation, we are honoured to be joined by Jeannine Whitehouse—who plays a critical role integrating Indigenous curriculum and culture into Saskatchewan education—and Tashia Toupin, who works on these issues as the Archdiocese of Regina’s Social Justice Coordinator.
In this conversation, we touch on (among other themes):
Learning to cultivate a penitential memory;
Peace processes as requiring an enduring commitment in seeking truth and justice, honouring the memory of victims;
Truth as an inseparable companion of justice and mercy;
Building social peace;
The value and meaning of forgiveness; and,
The work of the Archdiocese of Regina, Catholics in Saskatchewan, Indigenous communities, and Jeannine’s work specifically on Indigenous cultural participation and curriculum in Catholic schools, as examples of hopeful steps towards truth and reconciliation here in Canada.
Archbishop Donald J. Bolen was installed as the eighth archbishop of the Regina archdiocese on October 14th, 2016. He took as his motto, Verbum Vitae, or Mercy within mercy within mercy. You can read more about Archbishop Bolen’s extensive work as a servant of Christ by clicking here: https://archregina.sk.ca/archbishops-office
Jeannine Whitehouse is an education consultant with the Government of Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Education.
Tashia Toupin is Social Justice Coordinator at the Archdiocese of Regina.
Chatper Eight: “Religions at the service of Fraternity in our world"
Chatper Eight: “Religions at the service of Fraternity in our world" with Father Kevin Belgrave, St. Augustine’s Seminary
We conclude our exploration of Fratelli tutti on a crucial topic expored in chapter eight: the role of religions in promoting fraternity in our world, and specifically, the role of religious people in building fraternity within society. We are excited to be joined in this exploration by Father Kevin Belgrave, who leads the lay formation program at St. Augustine’s Seminary in Toronto.
In this final video, we discuss among other topics:
That we are “not orphans, but children,” and how without God there can be stability to co-existence but not real fraternity;
The collapse of just relations when we don’t acknowledge universal truth and the transcendent dignity of the human person;
Why we as Catholics are called to publicly witness to our faith, even as some parts of the culture tell us that faith must be hidden in the most private spheres of life;
The Church as a family of families, and the powerful role it can play on the world stage today as mother of us all; and,
The essential connection between the Gospel and advancing the dignity of all.
Fr. Kevin Belgrave is the Director of the Institute of Theology at St. Augustine’s Seminary where he also teaches a number of courses in moral theology, including bioethics, foundations of moral theology, human sexuality and Catholic social teachings. Fr. Belgrave received his Doctorate in Moral Theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome in 2014. In addition to his responsibilities at St. Augustine’s, Fr. Belgrave is actively involved in ongoing consultation and pastoral work for the Archdiocese of Toronto in a number of areas related to moral theology.
