CCCB

"My dear sisters and brothers,

This coming Sunday, 17 March, with the approval and support of the Bishops of Canada, the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCOPD) is undertaking the Share Lent Collection. The 2013 theme for this annual project involving our dioceses and parishes is Human Dignity: More than Ever."

Read the complete letter from Most Reverend Richard Smith, President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The drought and food shortages currently affecting 18 million people in six countries in West Africa are signs of a growing humanitarian crisis in the region. Although this situation is receiving little media attention, Catholics are not waiting for the crisis to worsen in order to start acting. Most Rev.

This Sunday marks World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. It was on June 17^th 1992 that the UN adopted the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). It is a day to remember the dangererous impacts of desertification and drought in the world. For the 18 million people currrently threatened by food shortages in West Africa, the dangers associated with desertification are all too real.

Since the month of May, we at Development and Peace have joined our voice with those of our sister agencies within the Caritas Internationalis confederation to sound the alarm on the situation in West Africa.

Today, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) announced their full support for this campaign, by appealing to all Canadian Catholics to show solidarity with the communities threatened by a major food crisis in the coming months.

“For Catholics in Canada, the annual Share Lent Collection offers a special opportunity to hear the cry of the poor and to reach out to those in need,” writes Most Reverend Richard Smith, Archbishop of Edmonton and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In their mission report, the president and vice president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) note that, “Development and Peace has earned a reputation in Haiti for its sense of partnership, respect for the capacity of the local community, and insistence on a sustainable, long-term approach to projects.”