Canadian Leaders of Religious Congregations to Gather in Montreal

MONTREAL, May 26 /CNW Telbec/ - More than 300 leaders of religious congregations from across Canada are to gather in Montreal May 27-31, 2010, for the General Assembly of the Canadian Religious Conference (CRC). The theme for this General Assembly is Seize for God the Energies of Love: Choose to Live the Vowed Life.

The vows of poverty, chastity and obedience are the very essence of the commitment to consecrated life. Religious life has endured for centuries without questioning its vows while always being able to adapt them to different eras. Today women and men religious live in a world that sees different cultures and religions living side by side. Ecology and protection of the environment are at the core of many preoccupations of our world. What does it mean to live the vows of consecrated life in this context? What challenges are emerging for religious life from these new realities in a world that is constantly changing?

Two internationally renowned speakers will help the religious leaders explore the Assembly theme. Father Sidbe Sempore, OP, from Burkina Faso, is a theologian whose research has examined religious life in Africa and the African Christian Churches. He has written many articles on these subjects that have appeared in several European and African publications. Sister Elaine M. Prevallet, sl, has a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She taught in Denver and at Pendle Hill, near Philadelphia. Sister Prevallet has written a trilogy on the impact of cosmological and evolutionary thinking upon the life of faith, and the interpretation of vowed life. The Canadian perspective will briefly be addressed by Lorraine Caza, cnd, and Rick van Lier, op.

Beginning May 28, 2010, a daily summary will be posted on the CRC web site at: www.crc-canada.org. The speaker presentations will also be made available during the assembly. A complete program will soon be published on our web site.

The CRC is an association that brings together the leaders of 200 congregations of women and men religious in Canada. The General Assembly is held every two years.

For further information: Louise Stafford, Communications Portfolio, [phone]/109; Cell: [phone], [email protected]; Bill Kokesch, Contractual Communications Associate, [phone], [email protected]