EDUCATOR — Educator and former residential school student Flora Zaharia addressed the Winnipeg diocesan CWL convention held in Brandon April 9-10. (CWL photo)

CWL addresses national issues in Brandon

By Judy Albiani

BRANDON — The Winnipeg Diocesan CWL Council held its 89th annual convention April 9 - 10 at St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish in Brandon with Archbishop James Weisgerber, Winnipeg CWL Diocesan spiritual adviser Rev. Barry Schoonbaert and St. Augustine’s CWL spiritual adviser Rev. Dominic Yuen concelebrating the opening mass. An additional eight priests were in attendance.

During his homily, Weisgerber spoke about the turmoil we are experiencing regarding abuse in the church, encouraging his listeners to believe that their faith is stronger than the abuser and to have faith in the church. The aberrant behaviour of the abuser is an illness and it is not limited to the church.

Schoonbaert led had a discussion on this topic with a question-and-answer period at the Friday afternoon meeting. It was pointed out that, since 1983, the Catholic Church in Canada has had “zero-tolerance measures” in place, and these measures are constantly under review and improvement.

All three diocesan presidents were in attendance: Rolande Chernichan of St. Boniface and Ella Nogier of Keewatin-The Pas brought greetings. The convention was chaired by Mary-Margaret Patterson, Winnipeg diocesan president.

Provincial president Susan Bernier and National Spiritual Development chair Terri Scott brought greetings from their respective councils.

A new format for the meetings was well received, with more than 80 participants on Friday afternoon and 143 on Saturday. During the meetings on Saturday, a resolution for mandatory use of bicycle helmets in Manitoba was reviewed and passed and will be forwarded to the Manitoba provincial council for consideration at its 62nd annual convention in May.

Flora Zaharia was the guest speaker at the Saturday afternoon session. Born in Alberta, Zaharia attended residential schools until Grade 8, when she went to a non-Native high school for grades 9 - 12. She was the first female director of the Manitoba Native Education Branch, and co-ordinated the development of the Mokakit Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Curriculum which she piloted to many First Nations schools across Canada. She has received several awards, including the Order of the Buffalo Hunt from the Manitoba provincial government for her work in education.

Zaharia provided various definitions to bring participants to a better understanding of First Nations people and their culture. She explained various cultural and spiritual beliefs held by First Nations and showed their similarity to Christian beliefs. She also shared her story as a woman who had her identity challenged by the whims of political agendas and societal prejudices and grew stronger because of them.

Brandon was an excellent host council and city. CWL conventions are all about coming together, sharing ideas, learning, becoming stronger and having our voices heard. By these criteria, this convention was a success.