We did it! Thanks for Sony and The Priests, but especially thanks to you – last night we were able to do a live webcast of The Priest’s concert, from St. Paul’s Basilica in Toronto. The concert was a wonderful evening – there were some 800 people present and Frs. Eugene, David and Martin treated us to a selection from their new album, Harmony and a few others. Here are some photos of last night’s event for your viewing pleasure.
And… did you tune in to the webcast? Let us know what you think – should we be doing this sort of thing more often?
Here below is the full transcript of Fr. Thomas Rosica’s interview with Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X. Watch the half-hour interview this Sunday on Witness or view the entire program streaming online here. Fr. Rosica (right) and Bishop Fellay (centre) are pictured here with Fr. Jürgen Wegner (left), District Superior of the SSPX in Canada. Witness airs this Sunday at 8:30 PM, repeating the following Thursday at 8 PM. A separate French interview with Bishop Fellay airs on Témoin this Monday at 8 PM, repeating the following Saturday at 7:30 PM. (All times Eastern) Find additional broadcast times here.
Fr. Thomas Rosica, C.S.B.: Bishop Bernard Fellay, it’s a great pleasure to welcome you to Salt + Light Television in Canada. Thank you for coming, especially to see us.
Bishop Bernard Fellay: Thank you to you, that you receive me.
Fr. Rosica: We are in the month of June 2009, in fact, to be precise, it’s June 15th, several days before the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, which is certainly a special feast for you. And you are not a stranger to our viewers. You’re certainly not a stranger, your name is not foreign in the Catholic press, especially over the past few months. You are a bishop, you are a member of the Society of Saint Pius X and also the superior general of that community. Tell me where you’re from and what brings you to Canada.
Bishop Fellay: So I come from Switzerland. I was born there, raised there. In fact, since 1962, about eight years before Archbishop Lefebvre knew about l’Ecône, I was already there. My parents worked there, so I was all my life in front of this seminary, had my youth in the College of St. Maurice with the canons there, at the foot of the martyrs, and my life just went this way in this seminary. I had the beautiful example of the seminarians, young priests, who took their religion very, very seriously, and that’s the development I had there. Right after my priestly ordination I had to take care of the economic side of the society as the burser and then twelve years later I was elected as the superior general. And now, if I come here to Canada now, it’s as superior general. It’s some years now I have not visited the different places we have here in Canada, so just to see how things develop, how the priests behave, how they take care of the faithful, and also I took the opportunity to give some confirmations starting in Quebec. Read more…
You’ve likely now seen Beloved, Salt + Light’s documentary about the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia—better known as the Nashville Dominicans—who have developed a young, growing community through their charisms of contemplative focus, active apostolate, strong community life and love of the Church. Here is their 10-minute vocations video, created by S+L.
Five months since Pope Benedict lifted the excommunications of four Society of St. Pius X bishops, the traditionalist group continues to generate headlines by announcing priestly ordinations that the Holy See has called “illegitimate”. Yet, somehow, Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the SSPX, passed through Toronto last week largely unnoticed by the media.
He did, however, pay a visit to Salt + Light Television, where he granted a rare half-hour interview to Fr. Thomas Rosica, C.S.B. for both the English and French editions of Witness. No topic was off-limits, as the bishop discussed his revoked excommunication, disgraced Bishop Richard Williamson and Vatican II. The English episode premieres on S+L this Sunday, June 28th at 8:30 PM (ET), while the French interview airs the following Monday at 8 PM.
Until then, here are new excerpts from my own interview with Bishop Fellay that appeared in ZENIT. The bishop told me that, from his perspective, it’s the Vatican who must compromise during the society’s upcoming negotiations with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith—a point that he has already made clear to Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos, president of the pontifical commission that oversees relations with the SSPX:
I said to him, ‘Forget about us. There are problems in the Church.’ Our problem is that we say that there is a problem. So deal with the problems in the Church and you will see that the society is no longer a problem. […] You see, we have many major problems in the Church right now. And, of course, these may be affected by these discussions. I may say, that is what we hope. […] If these discussions can happen in a serene, calm and peaceful way, and we really get down to the bottom, to the crux of the matter, [then] I really think that we can expect good to come from it—not only for us, but for the whole Church.
Every weekend, the revolving-door cast of 64 Days with the Ark would ritualize their changes with a short ceremony. New pilgrims joining the pilgrimage would receive navy portageur hoodies and red bandannas. Those who had to return home were presented with wooden crosses carved from sticks found along the route.
My arrival in Trois-Rivières, Quebec for my two weeks with the Ark coincided with that of Marjolaine Trottier. A jovial Quebecer, her steps on the long walk would often be punctuated by a skip, a spin, or a little dance. Compared with my tense demeanor—I often felt frustrated by the obstacles of filming an event constantly on the move—Marjolaine was a free spirit, totally at ease with the unpredictable nature of the trek. Even her itinerary was carefree: from day one, she did not know whether she would stay for one week or continue all the way to Quebec City.
One year later
Looking back, Marjolaine recalls how the pilgrimage provided her with “small graces” that confirmed her calling to be a nurse, which she presently lives out in a Quebec City hospital. Yet she has also moved into a vocation discernment house with six other women, where she enjoys daily morning prayer and frequent spiritual direction.
“We share the responsibilities of the house between us,” she writes from Quebec. “It’s a very relaxed way of life.”
Reflecting on her experience carrying the Ark, Marjolaine remembers fondly how she was able to share her faith throughout la belle province.
“This pilgrimage created bridges between regions and also between generations. From everywhere and representing all ages, we found ourselves walking together for Christ.”
Episode 4 of 64 Days with the Ark airs today at 5:30 PM. The final episode of the five-part series airs this Friday at 6 PM, just prior to the one year anniversary of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress. Episode 5 repeats Sunday at 2:30 PM and next Tuesday at 5:30 PM (all times ET).
What sort of teenagers get involved in gangs? And what does a gang-plagued community look like? Before I began researching the issue for the S+L documentary Changing Course, my mind would conjure the usual stereotype of disaffected thugs congregating near austere social housing complexes. The most troubling aspect of this popular image of street life, perpetuated nightly on the local news, is how these individuals and communities are dehumanized. Most of us cannot relate to the dangerous gang lifestyle…and we’re comforted by this distance.
Don’t get too comfortable, warns Michael Tagliaferri, former principal of Guardian Angels elementary in Brampton (now at St. Simon Stock in Mississauga).
“Gangs are nothing more than young people coming together to fill a need that isn’t being met by the community as a whole,” he explained in an interview for Changing Course. Indeed, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board targeted Guardian Angels for new gang and bullying prevention initiatives not because the neighbourhood is socio-economically challenged. Rather, the pristine new school is surrounded by rows of gleaming new townhouses. New big-box complexes continue to pop up along the busy thoroughfares.
“You have a community here that, in the last four or five years, has probably doubled,” Tagliaferri explains, and the negative side of this growth was how quickly community services became insufficient. Combined with the lack of parental supervision for many kids returning home each day, it’s left to the schools to provide positive after-school activities.
These extracurricular programs were just one aspect of a comprehensive anti-gang and anti-bullying strategy employed at Guardian Angels and five other Greater Toronto Area schools. We followed their progress for one school year, resulting in Changing Course. When the bell finally rings for summer vacation, we’re left with a vivid impression of what happens when Catholic education meets urban realities.
Changing Course: A Catholic project for city schools airs on S+L this Sunday night at 9 pm. See encore presentations Monday at 1:30 pm, Wednesday at 8 pm, and next Thursday at 12 am & 12:30 pm (all times ET). Learn more about S+L’s latest documentary HERE.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has released more details about Pope Benedict’s meeting with Phil Fontaine, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and other representatives of Aboriginal and Catholic communities. Archbishop James Weisgerber, President of the CCCB, shared this firsthand account of the historic audience:
His face spoke even louder than his words. [...] He listened intently and one could see how saddened he was by these traumatic events of the past and their continued effects on the lives of the people today. The Holy Father expressed the prayer and hope that this event would help the Aboriginal communities of Canada be internally freed from this historic tragedy and enabled to create a strong future. The Pope offered his spiritual support and presence for the Church in Canada as it continues to work in partnership with Aboriginal communities in building this future together.
This afternoon, the Holy See Press Office also released this communiqué further detailing the meeting, which occurred in a private room in Paul VI Audience Hall following the Pope’s Wednesday General Audience. Read more…
I was recently invited by Loretto College School in Toronto to present a workshop at their First Annual Women’s Conference. The aim of the conference was to empower young females of today to become successful women of tomorrow. There were about four other all-girls’ high schools invited, 15 workshops hosted by women of different backgrounds, and two keynote speakers. Even though the rain and wind made it difficult to travel to the conference, around 300 students were present in the Atrium for the main talks and no less than 250 for the workshops.
My workshop was entitled “Being Salt + Light”. I shared the values reflected in my work, demonstrating them with clips from some of my programs. I then presented what I had gone through to get to where I was, naming some of my obstacles and successes. It so happened that my alma mater, Thomas Aquinas College in California, had written a profile about me that I was able to use in my presentation.
After concluding with a clip from my latest documentary, Beloved: The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, I encouraged the students to know themselves and to stand strong. I remember how tough high school was for me – I felt pressured to make decisions that I wasn’t ready for.
It was truly a wonderful experience to be able to share something of myself with others. I hope that through hearing these women speak about their struggles and priorities in life, they found new role models who value inner beauty and God’s voice speaking to their hearts. I continue to pray that such conferences bear great fruit in the lives of young women.
Sr. Marie Vianney Hamilton, O.P., one of the stars of Beloved: The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, was also one of the three Dominican Sisters who visited with Salt + Light Television this past weekend. Below is her reflection on the past weekend’s experiences.
The whole trip to Toronto was a tremendous grace for me. Here in Toronto was the beginning of my Catholic faith. And being back in Toronto again this past weekend, I experienced as never before the Catholic faith in its universal sense.
This experience included meeting Gita from former Czechoslovakia, who drove me around for two days; talking to Lily the receptionist at Loretto College who asked for prayers that she and her three children still in India could be reunited; participating in the Mass at St. Michael’s Cathedral where five priests and Archbishop Thomas Collins distributed Holy Communion to African, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and English Canadians for half an hour continuously; and then, more intimately, spending some time at the Salt + Light studio where He who is the Lord of the World is enthroned in the centre of all activities, bringing together, under Fr. Rosica’s direction, the diverse talents of the staff to produce truly Catholic programming.
It may have been raining all day, but the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia brought the sun with them to the Salt + Light studios. Three of them arrived on Friday from Nashville, Tennessee for Saturday’s “Meet and Greet with Toronto Youth” and the official screening of the documentary Beloved.
Sr. Catherine Marie (a member of the General Council) and Sr. Marie Vianney, two of the religious sisters featured in the film, were accompanied by Sr. Mary Emily (Vocations Director). They came bearing gifts, one of them being a painting (pictured) by Sr. Marie Vianney herself, who presented it to a very delighted Fr. Thomas Rosica. After a tour of S+L operations, they were quickly led to the studio. We kept them busy on camera, as we certainly couldn’t miss the opportunity to introduce them to our viewers in the rest of the country. Read more…
Every weekend, the revolving-door cast of 64 Days with the Ark would ritualize their changes with a short ceremony. New pilgrims joining the pilgrimage would receive navy portageur hoodies and red bandannas. Those who had to return home were presented with wooden crosses carved from sticks found along the route.
One year later 
I was recently invited by Loretto College School in Toronto to present a workshop at their First Annual Women’s Conference. The aim of the conference was to empower young females of today to become successful women of tomorrow. There were about four other all-girls’ high schools invited, 15 workshops hosted by women of different backgrounds, and two keynote speakers. Even though the rain and wind made it difficult to travel to the conference, around 300 students were present in the Atrium for the main talks and no less than 250 for the workshops.
Sr. Marie Vianney Hamilton, O.P., one of the stars of 
