The Office for Religious Freedom in Canada was opened in February 2013. In March of 2016 it was closed by the Government. Its international mandate includes the following: protect, and advocate on behalf of, religious minorities under threat; oppose religious hatred and intolerance; and promote Canadian values of pluralism and tolerance abroad.

Many groups opposed this decision. Among them are: The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) the Catholic Refugee Sponsors Council (CRSC) and some Government leaders including Patrick Brown the leader of the Opposition in the Province of Ontario.

The CCCB, in its statement pointed out that the office was an important signal to the international community and to Canadians – as well as a reminder to our civil servants and our country’s diplomats – of the singular importance of religious freedom, and of the unfortunate lack of voices in society prepared to come to its defence.

Please read the entire statement by the CCCB here: CCCB Letter of Regret

Catholic Refugee Sponsors’ Council (CRSC) also expressed disappointment at the closure. Please read the CRSC letter here: CRSC Letter of Disappointment

The leader of the opposition in Ontario, Mr. Patrick Brown MPP has written a letter as well. He expresses dismay on behalf of the Opposition Party in Ontario to the closure of the Office of Religious Freedom. He refers of various United Nations declaration to which Canada has accepted which speak of religious freedom and the necessity to uphold and promote it.

Please read the entire letter from Mr. Brown here: Mr. Patrick Brown Letter of Dismay

Your comments and feedback are welcome: Catholic Refuge Sponsors’ Council

The Sudbury Star, on April 18, 2016, published an article entitled “Middle East Mission” by Carol Mulligan. The article tells the story of a group of people from Canada who travelled to Lebanon to interview Christian refugees to come to Canada. Sudbury Project Hope is an umbrella group that has been working to bring refugees from Syria and Iraq to the city as part of a Canadian government initiative to relocate 25,000 victims of the war in Syria. Jim and Donna Gordon were part of an 11-member team that travelled to Lebanon to interview prospective new Canadians. They noted that forty per cent of the population of Lebanon is Christian, a country that has deep Christian roots. Donna Gordon said that connection to the earliest days of Christianity could be felt during the team’s two-week stay, where members were accommodated at a convent for Roman Catholic nuns. The Gordons worked long days interviewing some of the people and in fact the couple and other team members conducted the interviews on the seventh floor of a Jesuit centre in Beirut. Sudbury Project Hope had selected two families to sponsor to come to the Nickel City. One opted to go to live in Australia and the other, the Alramadan family, is “moving through the system,” said the couple. As a result of the mission to Lebanon, three Christian families from Iraq will also likely come to Sudbury. Jim said one of the sights he found most touching was young couples, young men and women, holding hands, essentially going on “dates” and visiting churches or shrines.

The couple urges people to give the plight of Christians in the Middle East more thought and to question what Canadians can do to ensure they aren’t extinguished.

Please read the entire article: Middle East Mission

Your comments are encouraged: crsponsorscouncil@gmail.com

On April 20, 2016 the Catholic Register published an article by Michael Swan describing how the Archdiocese of Toronto may be able to help a record number of Syrian refugees to come to Toronto. In the interview with Dr. Martin Mark, director of the Office For Refugees of the Toronto archdiocese,  he indicated that the staff were surprised by a sudden announcement that many applications could be accepted by April 1, 2016. Suddenly, on March 30, Immigration Minister John McCallum announced all privately sponsored refugee applications already in the system before the end of the day March 31 would be allowed in addition to whatever quota is eventually assigned. Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees spokeswoman Nancy Caron said that every effort will be made to process these refugees by the end of 2016 or early in 2017. Dr. Mark had conducted interviews in Lebanon this past spring and it is hoped that approximately 150 families would be placed in Toronto this year.

Please reads the full article: Blitz could open doors

You can also find the article here.

Your comments are welcome: crsponsorscouncil@gmail.com

The Mary Ward Centre was host to the presentation by Fr. Tom Smolich SJ, the Director of Jesuit Relief Services (JRS) on April 12, 2016. Fr. Smolich spoke about the global crisis and the challenges facing the people around the world who are forced to move from their homeland. He provided some statistics, indicating that there are approximately 4 million people in Syria who have been forced to move within Syria and another 4 million who have left Syria. He also mentioned the refugees from Darfur who have moved to Chad and have been in camps for over 15 years.

In Canada the Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) carries out the work of JRS. The CJI has projects and missions in Mexico, Jamaica, India and elsewhere.  JRS held an international meeting in Rome to formally establish their “Mercy in Motion” campaign which is inspired by this Holy Year of Mercy as proclaimed by Pope Francis. The goal is to educate more than 100,000 new students in the next five years.

The focus on education is vital. Fr. Tom reminded the group that education transforms communities, builds human dignity and creates safe spaces. His main inspiration for the work is that we cannot  become what we need to be by staying where we are.

The Catholic Register published an article by Michael Swan on April 6, 2016 dealing with the Catholic work in raising $3.75 million in matching funds dedicated to helping Syrian refugees. Three Catholic agencies with projects in Syria and throughout the Middle East raised nearly $3.75 million for Syria before the Feb. 29 deadline set by the federal government. The three agencies are Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, Catholic Near East Welfare Association and  Aid to the Church in Need. Development and Peace raised $2.4 million, Catholic Near East Welfare Association — Canada raised $925,051.37, while Aid to the Church In Need — Canada came up with $440,326.59. The federal government matches funds raised by eligible agencies and the agencies apply for grants to help in the crisis.

Please read the full article from the Catholic Register: Catholic efforts

You may also read it from our site: Matching funds

Your comments are welcome: Catholic Refugee Sponsors’ Council

In this season of new beginnings, new hopes and new joys, we wish you every happiness, prosperity and continued success.

From all of here at Catholic Refugee Sponsors’ Council.

Event sponsored by Diocese of Saskatoon, Rock of Ages Church, Knights of Columbus, and Friends of Pakistan
This is an article by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Prairie Messenger, published on March 21, 2016. The article describes an evening of awareness and fundraising that was held March 6 with the proceeds going to  a newly-established start-up fund to assist parishes interested in sponsoring refugees. The event was sponsored by the Diocese of Saskatoon, Rock of Ages Church, Knights of Columbus Council #8215, and the Friends of Pakistan.

Please read the article at this link: Prairie town starts fund for Christian refugees

Your comments are welcome: Catholic Refugee Sponsors’ Council

The B.C. Catholic paper published an article by Agnieszka Krawczynski on February 28, 2016 celebrating the arrival of a Syrian family of eleven. They came from the balmy temperature of war-torn Syria to the ice and snow of northern Canada. The Muslim family, with children from 21 to 16 months, were greeted by a welcoming crowd of about 100 people, including local municipal officials. Raquel de Queiroz is head of the interfaith group Yukon Cares who greeted them at the airport. Yukon Cares sponsored the family with the help of the Diocese of Whitehorse and the Archdiocese of Vancouver. Under the sponsorship agreement the Archdiocese of Vancouver holds with the federal government, it can allow the Diocese of Whitehorse to sponsor families, thanks to a memorandum of understanding. The father of the Syrian family said, “The weather here is cold, but the community is very warm.”

Please read the article Yukoners Welcome Syrian Refugee Family of 11

Your comments are welcome: Catholic Refugee Sponsors’ Council

On March 6, 2016 the Catholic Register published an article by Michael Swan which discussed the growth of the Office for Refugees in the Archdiocese of Toronto. In describing this office, he points out that there are five staff and dozens of volunteers who put in crushing hours struggling with the stack of forms and reports that goes into every refugee sponsorship application. Their work days stretch into long nights meeting with volunteers to ensure parishes are fully part of the process of bringing refugee families into their communities. They keep in touch with hundreds of Toronto families who are waiting to be reunited with their refugee relatives. They check back in on the hundreds of refugees who have already arrived and maintain contact with thousands more around the world waiting to exit their camp.

On the same weekend that Canada surpassed its goal of bringing in 25,000 Syrian refugees, the Office for Refugees continues to serve a much wider world of refugees in Africa, Asia and Latin America. For seven years the office has averaged between 100 and 200 new cases annually. By Dec. 31 the Office for Refugees had submitted paperwork for 2,300 individual refugees. Those 2,300 new cases are added to an inventory of about 1,500 cases currently on the books.

So the Office for Refugees is hiring new staff and moving into new offices across the street from archdiocesan headquarters on Yonge Street in midtown Toronto. Luciano Moro, the community outreach worker says,  “The work of refugees will not simply end tomorrow with the establishment or the growth of the office,” he said. “The more conflicts or situations where people are uprooted beyond our borders, the more the demand is for us to reach out and to help more people. That requires us to dig deep as a community and to reflect on how we can better be able to assist more people.”

Please read the entire article:  Refugee office growth meets demand

Your comments are welcome: Catholic Refugee Sponsors Counci

Lorne Dueck is the host of a weekly TV program “Context” a weekly independently produced television program. The program explores news and current affairs stories from a Christian world view. The February 21 edition was entitled “Refugee Reality Check”. The guests include a variety of individuals including: Gerry Mills from “Immigrant Settlement and Integration in Nova Scotia; Moy Wong-Tam Immigrant and Community Services; Ming Man a Vietnamese Refugee; Apkar Mirakian Armenian Community Centre.

They explore the various questions and issues surrounding refugee settlement in Canada.

Please watch the entire program – REFUGEE REALITY CHECK

Your comments are welcome. CRSC