Winnipeg Archbishop Richard Gagnon said his 40 years of service to the Canadian Catholic Church, first as a priest and then as a bishop, “has gone by so quickly and is so full of events and people.”

The following is the Christmas message from Archbishop Richard Gagnon, president of Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and Archbishop of Winnipeg:

As Canada goes over 11,000 COVID deaths and 300,000 cases — with medical professionals calling for “circuit breaker” shut-downs and Canada’s largest archdiocese having to cancel public Masses in "lockdown" areas — the Church has to respond with unflinching concern for the common good, said Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops president Archbishop Richard Gagnon.

Thank you to Winnipeg’s Archbishop Richard Gagnon, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, for daring to state that that a malaise is affecting the Church in this country because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sometimes, even the obvious does not become real until it is named, and Archbishop Gagnon has done that in comments published in last week’s Catholic Register.

OTTAWA - A bill to make it easier for Canadians to legally kill themselves with a doctor’s aid goes far beyond what a court decision prompting the legislation calls for, say euthanasia opponents.

OTTAWA -- The COVID-19 pandemic may have forced the Catholic Church in Canada to significantly change the way it operates, but the far ranging impact of the global health crisis has reinforced and strengthened the Church’s commitment to its mission, said Archbishop Richard Gagnon.

The following is the Easter message from Richard Gagnon, Archbishop of Winnipeg and president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

OTTAWA -- Like anyone starting a new job, Winnipeg Archbishop Richard Gagnon concedes there is going to be a learning curve involved as he settles into his new role as president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) for the next two years.

OTTAWA -- The Catholic Church is doubling down on its efforts to encourage increased government and societal support for palliative care as the best way to help Canadians experience a “dignified natural death” as a barrage of Canadian court decisions continue to chip away at the safeguards surrounding assisted suicide in the country.

All summer long Winnipeg’s St. Boniface Hospital has been in the eye of a storm over its right as a religious health care institution to refuse to provide euthanasia and assisted suicide.