This past weekend, there was a terrible tragedy in LaLoche (SK) which left four people dead and many others injured.
Archbishop Murray Chatlain of Keewaitin-Le Pas granted an interview to the Canadian Press about the La Loche community and the suffering that they are now enduring.
As an expression of sympathy and prayerful closeness, the President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, His Excellency, Douglas Crosby (Hamilton) sent a letter to his brother bishop. The text of the letter, dated January 25, 2016, was published on the website of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Letter addressed by His Excellency, Douglas Crosby
Dear Archbishop Chatlain,
The prayers of all the Bishops of Canada and of Catholics across our country
accompany the community of La Loche and you in this moment of tragedy. With you and
the faithful of your Archdiocese, we pray for God’s healing -- of spiritual and physical
wounds, of families and friends torn apart by death and violence, of the hearts of the
perpetrator and the victims, of the community as it suffers through this present moment
and begins to look for ways forward which can offer new hope.
As you know so well from your own pastoral experience, healing and new vision
are only possible when the heart and the community experience mercy and find hope.
Filled with faith in God the Father, and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, Christians join
with Jesus in sharing hope and mercy. We do this each moment we bring Good News,
proclaim release from captivity, offer sight to the blind, and free the oppressed. Yet to do
this, we also need to recognize the suffering, the blindness, the forms of imprisonment
and oppression that are within us and among us. Together with you, we trust this present
tragedy will spur renewed and ongoing determination to bring about much needed
changes to the severe rates of unemployment, poverty and suicide which affect so many
in the North -- a people whom you admire for their generosity and caring.
May La Loche find mercy and hope through the deep faith and love of its people,
and so be a sign to communities across our land that new life is possible through the
mercy and hope offered us in Christ, and which we in turn are to offer others.
Fraternally in Christ, the face of God’s mercy,
(Most Rev.) Douglas Crosby, OMI
Bishop of Hamilton and
President of the Canadian Conference
of Catholic Bishops
 |
| Fires were set within the cemetery at La Loche (SK) in order to thaw the ground where victims will be buried |
Archbishop Murray Chatlain of Keewaitin-Le Pas granted an interview to the Canadian Press about the La Loche community and the suffering that they are now enduring.
As an expression of sympathy and prayerful closeness, the President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, His Excellency, Douglas Crosby (Hamilton) sent a letter to his brother bishop. The text of the letter, dated January 25, 2016, was published on the website of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
 |
| A memorial service was held at Our Lady of the Visitation church in LaLoche (SK) on Sunday, January 24 |
Letter addressed by His Excellency, Douglas Crosby
Bishop of Hamilton
President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
to His Excellency, Murray Chatlain
The prayers of all the Bishops of Canada and of Catholics across our country
accompany the community of La Loche and you in this moment of tragedy. With you and
the faithful of your Archdiocese, we pray for God’s healing -- of spiritual and physical
wounds, of families and friends torn apart by death and violence, of the hearts of the
perpetrator and the victims, of the community as it suffers through this present moment
and begins to look for ways forward which can offer new hope.
As you know so well from your own pastoral experience, healing and new vision
are only possible when the heart and the community experience mercy and find hope.
Filled with faith in God the Father, and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, Christians join
with Jesus in sharing hope and mercy. We do this each moment we bring Good News,
proclaim release from captivity, offer sight to the blind, and free the oppressed. Yet to do
this, we also need to recognize the suffering, the blindness, the forms of imprisonment
and oppression that are within us and among us. Together with you, we trust this present
tragedy will spur renewed and ongoing determination to bring about much needed
changes to the severe rates of unemployment, poverty and suicide which affect so many
in the North -- a people whom you admire for their generosity and caring.
May La Loche find mercy and hope through the deep faith and love of its people,
and so be a sign to communities across our land that new life is possible through the
mercy and hope offered us in Christ, and which we in turn are to offer others.
Fraternally in Christ, the face of God’s mercy,
(Most Rev.) Douglas Crosby, OMI
Bishop of Hamilton and
President of the Canadian Conference
of Catholic Bishops
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