To aspiring, emerging, or established lay leaders who wish to join us in responding more deeply to Christ’s call to be salt of the earth, and to do so precisely in and with their own lay professions:
We write to you in the wake of the Holy Father’s penitential pilgrimage to Canada. His apology for Catholic failures to uphold the Gospel draws attention to Catholic ignorance of and neglect of Catholic Social Doctrine. How different would the last two summers be if over the last century and a half, we had consistently implemented the core principles of Catholic Social Doctrine: Human Dignity, Solidarity and Subsidiarity. Pope Francis also reiterated the call of Christ to commit ourselves more deeply to the service of others, especially the vulnerable and marginalized. As Benedict XVI emphasized, the promotion and application of Catholic Social Doctrine is itself one of the three primary works of mercy. For example, to shelter the homeless is vital, but it is no less important and often more impactful to prevent homelessness by bringing our social, cultural, political, and economic structures and practices into greater conformity with the Gospel.
If this resonates for you as it did for us, we invite you to attend the virtual launch, on September 17, of the Canadian chapter of the Vatican-based Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation.
The primary mission of CAPP is to transform society by cultivating, especially among lay Catholic leaders, a deeper understanding, integration, and holistic application of Catholic Social Doctrine. Our secondary mission is to support Papal charities, directed to urgent needs as they arise. In advancing our two-fold mission, we also welcome the support and collaboration of non-Catholics.
Our lay-led mission is exercised in close unity with our bishops, starting with our founder. Established in 1993 – “Pro Pontifice” (for the Pope) – at the request of Saint John Paul II, CAPP has been supported, promoted, and relied on, by him and his successors.
At our launch, we will hear from Msgr Christian Lépine, Archbishop of Montreal and CAPP-Canada’s ecclesiastical counselor; Prof. Ana Maria Tarantola, CAPP Foundation Chairwoman; Robert Nalewajek, co-founder and Vice-President of CAPP-USA; as well as new members of CAPP-Canada.
For the full agenda, registration, or information on how to help promote our launch, please visit www.cappcanada.ca/launch.
Dr. Cecil Chabot
Professor Danielle Morin
CAPP-Canada Coordinators
Montreal, August 5, 2022
