A strong and old bond

By Shari Guinta, President Elect and Chair of the Standing Committee, The Catholic Women’s League of Canada

The Catholic Women’s League of Canada has had a long relationship with Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada. A portion of our national Permanent Voluntary Fund, which receives funds from councils across Canada, is donated annually to the organization. In 2021-2022, we donated $13,123.70.

The work of Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada dovetails nicely with the work of The League. Recently, The League has ventured into a five-year Strategic Plan to redesign the organization to be more defined and focused. Our new mission statement says, “The Catholic Women’s League of Canada calls its members to grow in faith, and to witness to the love of God through ministry and service.” Focus on Faith, Service and Social Justice will now form the Core Values of the League. The work remains the same but is more streamlined.

The national Theme for 2022 and 2023 is Catholic and Living It! This theme was gifted to members by our president Fran Lucas who recently said, “One major goal of this theme is to build or rebuild relationships.”

Relationships in the Catholic Women’s League are very important. We have relationships with organizations such as Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada, the Coady International Institute, the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, the Catholic Near East Welfare Association and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. A delegation also meets with the federal government, usually annually, to present our resolutions on many topics.

The League is known in parishes for its service to the parish and the community, locally, nationally, and internationally. Any Catholic woman from 16 years old may join The Catholic Women’s League of Canada through her parish. For any woman, membership in the sisterhood of the League offers a chance to learn about the Catholic faith, to serve her community and to grow in awareness of many issues and how to help in areas that concern her, her council and the Church.

Members are encouraged to write letters of concern to the government (federally, provincially and municipally) expressing not only views of the Church, but also of their community. The latest resolution from the 2022 convention held in Kelowna, B.C., was “Enact Federal Legislation to Reduce Food Loss and Waste.” It was discovered through research that food waste is astronomical in restaurants, processing and agriculture. This is just one example of very profound resolution statements that come from the members of the Catholic Women’s League of Canada.

For more information about the League, you are invited to visit www.cwl.ca.

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