Nuncio praises bishops' efforts

By DEBORAH GYAPONG
Canadian Catholic News
Cornwall, Ont.

The pope's ambassador to Canada has praised the way Canadian bishops fought to protect traditional marriage in the recent debate over same-sex marriage legislation.

"In keeping with your duty of pastoral care, you have participated, not without difficulty, in the public debate proper to a democratic society, not only as the voice of the Church, but as the voice of reason seeking the common good," Archbishop Luigi Ventura told the annual meeting of the Canadian bishops' conference.

Ventura, apostolic nuncio to Canada, also praised the Canadian Church's investment in young people. He linked participation in World Youth Day to the maturation of priestly vocations.

Ventura said the sponsoring of World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto "gave fruit that already had stimulated our hope and our ministry." He praised the fact that 7,000 Canadian young people attended WYD 2005 in Cologne last month.

"The Catholic Church in Canada has invested much and can count on the presence and the engagement of many young people to assure her radiance; much has been accomplished in the last years in the pastoral ministry to the young."

Ventura noted that encouraging participating in WYD may provide a route to encouraging priestly vocations. He has met several seminarians who said their vocation matured while participating in WYDs in Denver, Paris, Rome or Toronto in addition to participation in faith groups.

Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 -- Western Catholic Reporter