Social Justice

The following are the primary ways in which the Social Justice Department attempts to respond to the call to be prophetic and witness to transformative action in a highly disillusioned culture, according to the demands of the Social Teachings of the Church as presented in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church:

Offers various presentations and workshops.
Works creatively in ecumenical groups and committees, including Kairos and Restorative Justice circles.
Provides the leadership required to shape ‘A Deanery’s Spotlight on Social Justice’, an approach designed to assist the Implementation of the Vision of the Archdiocese of Regina. A ‘Deanery’s Spotlight on Social Justice’ replaces the ‘Social Justice in Motion’ conferences.
Joins various advocacy and action groups that it might be informed by and give support to secular groups and coalitions who work out of concern for the environment and on behalf of persons who are in need of better support.
Participates in the Annual Western Social Justice Conference, a weekend gathering of many representatives from the 18 dioceses in Western Canada, enabling it to work in wider regional social justice forums.
Hosts and chairs the three or four commission meetings that take place each year. The Archdiocesan Social Justice Commission is a body made up of two representatives from each deanery. The work of the commission is to pray, offer support and challenge to the Coordinator, provide a two-way line of communication, discuss any current justice issues of regional concern, and assist the department in developing and promoting an annual Archdiocesan or deanery wide Social Justice event.

The Social Justice Department of the Archdiocese of Regina is staffed by the Social Justice Coordinator, Bert Pitzel, and part time secretary Jo-Ann Selinger.

What's New

Social Justice Conferences in the Archdiocese

Last updated on June 26, 2017

Before we begin the official part of today’s proceedings with a prayer, I want to welcome each one of you and thank you for coming. We expect to do great things together—great things are needed from us.

I will also take 5 minutes to give a short history of Conferencing in the Archdiocese.

Today’s conference does not just stand by itself, it stands in line with 11 other conferences that have been hosted throughout the Archdiocese of Regina over the past 15 years. Collectively they are known as ‘the Archdiocesan Social Justice in Motion Conferences’. The first one was held in Moose Jaw 2002. Since then other cities and towns within the Archdiocese have taken their turns to host a conference on an annual basis.

In 2003 it was in Swift Current, then it moved to Esterhazy (2004), Estevan (2005), Fort Qu’Appelle (2006), Weyburn (2007), Melville (2008), Windthorst (2009),

2010 was a misstep(Shaunavon), Assiniboia (2011),then for different reasons there were...

Statement on Canada's Opiod Crisis

Last updated on April 13, 2017

Statement on Canada’s Opioid Crisis and Drug Addiction by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops

12 April 2017

It has become increasingly clear in recent years that Canada is facing a serious substance abuse crisis. Although this problem has existed in various forms for some time, the recent deaths of so many Canadians due to overdoses – particularly through the use of new potent opioids like fentanyl and carfentanyl – is alarming. In British Columbia, for example, 914 deaths resulted from street drug overdoses in 2016, almost twice as many as in the previous year. The majority of these deaths are connected to fentanyl use. Opioid overdose deaths are also on the rise across the country, posing a serious problem for health authorities.

The Catholic Bishops of Canada are deeply troubled by the devastating effects of these drugs, in particular their ability to extinguish human life in an instant. Even when they do not kill directly, their addictive power...

My Very Brief Overview of Laudato Si

Last updated on April 7, 2017

Epilogue: Tanis is now in Saskatoon awaiting her second stem-cell transplant. She continues to meet each day head on--and I continue to learn how to walk. Both point to the pilgrimage that lies at the heart of making a better world. Every pilgrimage is a quest for illumination, a search for a full heart; it is a time to discover what is really going on within, to use the gift of freedom in a way that brings about deeper commitment and engagement in life-giving responsibilities.

Creating a short pilgrimage can help address key questions: ‘Do I need to momentarily take leave from the highly competitive world in which I live? Would I like to find relief from the speed of rapidification that I am asked to travel? How can I gain perspective? What is the best way to live in these times? This paper could be of interest to those who are attracted to the idea of creating their own Camino-like Walk, tailor made to fit their particular needs. Designing a Laudato Si walk provides an...

Bringing Light to the Darkness

Last updated on April 13, 2017

On Sunday, March 19, the Archdiocese of Regina held its first annual prayer vigil to mark the Archdiocesan initiative to acknowledge the sorrow and pain endured by victims of clergy sexual abuse. The service, held at St. Cecilia parish in Regina, was hosted by Archbishop Don Bolen and attended by about 75 people. After warmly welcoming people at the door, Archbishop Bolen began the service with this introduction:

“This prayer vigil represents an Archdiocesan initiative to begin to acknowledge the sorrow and pain victims of clergy sexual abuse have endured at the hands of all facets of the Catholic Church including the bishops, priests and laypeople. This is an opportunity to pause and take time to acknowledge how we as a church must change and begin to become a welcoming community for victims of clergy sexual abuse. We need to support victims, learn from them and develop resources for healing. We come together this evening in prayer, to sit in silence and to listen, to...

Saskatchewan Budget

Last updated on March 27, 2017

SASKATCHEWAN BUDGET

MARCH 22 2017

The March 22 Saskatchewan 2017-2018 budget has some not so obvious impacts that will be felt not too far down the road. Social Services and Health each received more money but some programs within those budgets will be cut or diminished when the legislation enabling the government to implement the budget is introduced in the future.

Education, the third of the big three in the budget, took some big hits with K-12 education dropping 1.2% and post-secondary institutions getting a five per cent cut in their operating budgets. Post-secondary institutions will likely see tuition increases and possibly some programs may have to be dropped in order to cope with the reduction in their grants. School board boundaries won’t change and elected trustees will remain but the government intends to limit the number of trustees in each school division and compensation packages for trustees and education administrators may be capped at a yet-...

Nash Memorial Lecture

Last updated on March 24, 2017

NASH MEMORIAL LECTURE, CAMPION COLLEGE

MARCH 21 2017

You don’t hear much about Omar Khadr these days, but he is alive and well, living in Edmonton with the intent of pursuing a career in nursing. At one time, in the early 2000s, he and his Canadian family were the subjects of much diplomatic activity between the United States and Canada as various groups in both countries advocated for and against his release from prison.

His journey from Afghanistan to Guantanamo Bay Prison to Edmonton, was the subject of this year’s Campion College Nash Memorial Lecture held March 21 in the University of Regina’s Education auditorium. Lecturer Dr. Arlette Zinck is an Associate Professor of English and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Edmonton’s The King’s University. The title of the lecture was, Discerning a Path Toward hope: A Liberal Arts University’s Journey with Omar Khadr.

Khadr was 15 years old when he joined his father fighting with the Taliban against the...

Helping Gang Members to Change Their Lives

Last updated on March 21, 2017

Forward Together Lecture Series of March 17, 2017

Barking to the Choir: Now Entering the Kinship of God

by Jesuit Father Gregory J. Boyle

HELPING GANG MEMBERS TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES

Reverend Greg Boyle, S.J. could be described as an individual who goes where others fear to tread. He is founder and Executive Director of Homeboy Industries of Los Angeles, California, the largest and most successful gang intervention and rehabilitation program in the world.

Boyle was the guest speaker at the ninth annual Forward Together lecture series sponsored by the University of Regina and its three federated colleges, Campion and Luther, and the First Nations University of Canada.

He begins his talks with the phrase, “It’s the privilege of my life to have worked with gang members and it will never come when I have more courage or be any more noble or be closer to God than the thousands and thousands of men and women who have walked through our doors...

Laudato Si Walk, 6 of 6

Last updated on March 20, 2017

This final segment of the walk will be followed by, on March 30, two weeks from now, one more blog, given to offer an ‘epilogue’, or an ‘aftermath--it has been about 4 months since the completion of the reflection on the walk.

Station #5- I leave the First Nations University of Canada to head home, via the University of Regina, a thirty minute journey for giving careful thought to ways in which my behavior could change. How can I turn painful awareness into personal discomfort so that I might discover what can be done about what is happening to, our common home? I take to heart the direction found in Pope Francis’ framework for change. Change means coming to see things differently, think differently, develop new processes of education and ways of worshipping that are more life-giving. The search is on—what new habits does the current situation call for? I need to be a part of that dynamic which eventually will help to bring about new policies that will address the...

Fresh Leafy Greens for Regina Food Bank Clients

Last updated on March 14, 2017

FRESH LEAFY GREENS NOW AVAILABLE YEAR-ROUND FOR REGINA FOOD BANK CLIENTS

MARCH 13, 2017

“There’s a continuous food supply that goes through here so we’re not tied to the summer season,” said Food Bank CEO Steve Compton. He was speaking with the Prairie Messenger in what was a storage shed and is now called the Four Seasons Agriculture Centre.

It was minus 15 Celsius on March 8, but warm and humid inside the well-insulated hard shell building that resembles a circus tent. Compton explained that the building was onsite when the Food Bank moved to their present location and had been used as a non-food storage facility, and for some training programs.

Inside there are 48 “growing towers,” each containing 70 growing pods peeking out the side of a circular multi-tiered structure. “An irrigation system is connected to each tower. “Plants are watered for one minute every day, so it’s very efficient,” said Compton. “The centre of each tower is a compost, with...

Letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from CCCB President Bishop Douglas Crosby

Last updated on March 10, 2017

Prime Minister,

On 8 March 2017 the Government of Canada announced $650 million over three years for "sexual and reproductive health and rights". According to a backgrounder provided to the media, a major part of the funding will be toward removing "judicial and legal barriers to the fulfilment of sexual and reproductive health and rights". As cited by the Globe and Mail on 9 March 2017, a federal official has confirmed "these barriers include the anti-abortion laws in many countries."

Such a policy is a reprehensible example of Western cultural imperialism and an attempt to impose misplaced but so-called Canadian "values" on other nations and people. It exploits women when they are most in need of care and support, and tragically subverts true prenatal health care. It negates our country's laudable efforts to welcome refugees and offer protection to the world's homeless, when the youngest of human lives will instead be exterminated and the most vulnerable of human...