Coworkers in the Lord's vineyard

“Co-workers in the Vineyard” was the theme of the 2017 Forum for Canadian national Catholic movements and associations held early in October, in Châteauguay, Quebec.

The forum, organized every three years by the Standing Committee for Relations with Catholic Movements and Associations of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), provides a unique opportunity for national Catholic organizations to share and discuss their activities and charisms with one another and with the Bishops on the Standing Committee.

The meeting brought together representatives from over 25 national Catholic organizations from across Canada who engaged in three major discussions: the formation of leaders in the Church, the different faces of social, material, and spiritual poverty present in Canada, and the use of the social media in the Church’s mission of evangelization.

In the keynote address, the Auxiliary Bishop of Québec, Msgr. Marc Pelchat, reflected on the letter the Pope Francis addressed to Cardinal Marc Ouellet, President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, on 19 March 2016, and specifically on the Pope’s call to involve lay people in the life of the Church.