CIRCULAR TO PARISHIONERS WEEK 80 - DEC 10, 2005
REJOICE AND BE MERRY! Again and again...
HEAR! Sunday, Dec.11th at 7.30 pm
WHERE? St. Gregory’s Church, Rathburn & Kipling
AND THERE! St. Mary, Star of the Sea Church, Lakeshore & Mississauga Rd. Sunday, Dec.18th
at 7.30 pm
Our (exiled) Choir is ready to welcome you in a festive evening of Advent and Christmas songs and
carols.
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PANETTONES ARE SPOTTED (and we don’t mean the raisins)
Boxes of Panettones have been spotted arriving in the parish! These delicious Christmas favourites
have been imported from Italy - just $15 each and profits from the sale will benefit our Knights of
Columbus charities. They are available after the masses this weekend and next. Get yours now!
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CONFLICT RESOLUTION
St Martin of Tours Parish is unique. But the problem here is not unique - just the failure to address and
resolve it. Other parishes have had problems very similar to St. Martin's. The difference is in how
other dioceses resolve conflict. In Hamilton Diocese, for example, an appeal to Bishop Anthony
Tonnos set a procedure in motion that quickly and successfully resolved a situation in an Oakville
parish. In the Archdiocese of Kingston, also recently, a communication to Archbishop Anthony G.
Meagher resulted in quick and effective action. Why? Both these dioceses appear to have a working
mechanism in place to resolve conflict. By contrast, the plight in our parish has not as yet been
resolved. Two enquiries have been conducted - with what outcome?
St. Martin of Tours Parish seems to have an actual policy of division. Parishioners of proven integrity
and loyalty to Mother Church are prohibited from full participation in parish life - not because of
oversight, not because of ignorance, but because of a deliberate policy of discrimination. Should
this be accepted? No! Should we become complacent? No! Should we get discouraged? No! Are
there people of goodwill striving to effect a resolution? One would like to think so! A reliable source
has indicated that a report on our parish “situation” exists. What does this report contain? What are its
recommendations? When will we know? What is the parish doing about it? Ask!
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CHRISTMAS WISH LIST
God loves all his creatures. He obligates us to share in this with each other. “If ye love me, keep my
commandment. Love one another as I have loved you”. So, what if someone offends us? Do we
fault him? It’s so easy to fault those who hurt us. Do we quit on him? It is even easier to write him
off. But God does not have a “hit list” or a “quit list”.
In the Christmas season of peace and goodwill, let us engage in positive interaction. A living example is
Toronto peace activist James Loney and his companions in Iraq. Let every church in the Archdiocese
join in prayer for these victims of violence.
Let us pray, pray, pray! But let us also work to overcome defective leadership both temporal and
spiritual. If we fail in this, we will always have parishes in conflict; we will always have people
marginalized; we will always have “Iraqs” to attack.
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NEED A REASON? ’TIS THE SEASON!
Pencils, pencils and more pencils – they don’t ask for much. Dr. Simone is just back from West
Africa, where there is an urgent need for pencils and other school supplies. Also dry foods, soap,
candles, bicycles, shoes, blankets, clothes, tools. To donate please contact 416-231-2817, or email
aasimone@rogers.com
1. Dr. Simone’s Canadian Food for Children, 40 King George Rd. Toronto, ON M8X 1L3
2. Catholic Missions in Canada, 201-1155 Yonge St., Toronto, Ont. M4T 1W2
3. Solidarite-Sud (Haiti), c/o Maison Alonzo Wright, 2425A St-Louis St., Gatineau QC J8V 1E7
4. St. Vincent de Paul Society, 240 Church St., Toronto, Ont. M5B 1Z2
5. Birthright Mississauga, 307-2600 Edenhurst, Mississauga, Ont. L5A 3Z8
6. Ian Anderson House, 430 Winston Churchill Blvd. Oakville, Ont. L6J 7X2
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Give us your feedback by email or phone call: Aisling Egan 416 671-4710
Pat DeAngelis 416 809-1819 Duncan Walker 905 277-9825
Lucy Pires 905 273-6093 Dunstan Bazely 905 275-3946
Judy Byrnes 905 275-1536 Patricia Russell 905 279-9205
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Email: bishop.boissonneau@rogers.com Fax: 416 207-4984
ambrozic@archtoronto.org Fax: 416 934-3452
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