The Catholic Leaders Mission

Working as a Catholic in a civic or political vocation is more than a job or volunteer experience. In the vision of Catholic teaching, civic participation is a vocation—one of the most important for nourishing the true common good of all.  For Catholic civic leaders, proper formation is critical: the well-being and integrity of our communities is at stake. In the words of Pope Francis:

I ask God to give us more politicians capable of sincere and effective dialogue aimed at healing the deepest roots – and not simply the appearances – of the evils in our world! Politics, though often denigrated, remains a lofty vocation and one of the highest forms of charity, inasmuch as it seeks the common good. We need to be convinced that charity is the principle not only of micro-relationships (with friends, with family members or within small groups) but also of macro-relationships (social, economic and political ones). I beg the Lord to grant us more politicians who are genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of the poor!

205, Evangelii Gaudium

The formation of such leaders is the purpose of our Catholic Leaders Mission: our two-day workshops offer spiritual and moral formation, methods of discernment, and practical skills needed for working in politics and civic vocations.  Our graduates emerge ready to serve their communities in a spirit of political love, through commitment to the principles of Catholic social teaching and the enhancement of the dignity of every Canadian –  including the unborn, the elderly, the young, families, and those who are too often forgotten by society, as well as workers, farmers, business owners, and all future generations.

Who will benefit from the Catholic Leaders Mission Program?

  • Catholic politicians and political candidates;
  • Catholics who are discerning a decision whether to or not to stand for election or seek appointment to political office, whether that office be trustee, city council, or provincial or federal office;
  • Catholics who work in politics, including political staff and public servants;
  • Catholics who work for or volunteer for Catholic charities and advocacy organizations; and
  • Catholics who serve in community leadership roles, such as service on a board of directors, a parish council, or a committee.

Christians must be conscious of their specific and proper role in the political community; they should be a shining example by their sense of responsibility and their dedication to the common good; they should show in practice how authority can be reconciled with freedom, personal initiative with solidarity and the needs of the social framework as a whole, and the advantages of unity with the benefits of diversity.

Gaudium et Spes (“The Church in the Modern World”)
Vatican II, 1965, #75.

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