Education and Health Communique #6

Submitted by: Jeanne Wilson

Thank you, to the chairs that have sent me copies of their communiqués.

Palliative Care

Last spring I asked the chairs to complete a survey on palliative care in their diocese.

I then made a report and sent it to Cecile Miller, National Chair. At the National convention at our luncheon meeting, Cecile reported that not provinces had sent in their surveys and she was not at that time able to write a full report on the palliative care situation in Canada.

We have to urge our members to take part in palliative care, even in a small way. If you do not feel that you can be a palliative care volunteer, find another way to help a family or person in need. First, start by asking someone from palliative care or hospice to give a talk or presentation at a meeting. Perhaps, have councils brain storm and come up with ways that they can help at hospice or with palliative care. There are a lot of little things that can be done. “We can do no great things – only small things with great love. ” Mother Teresa

Bursary

In the Fall 2009 League Magazine, there was a list of bursary recipients. There was not one recipient from B.C. or Yukon. Out of 29 members who applied, 24 received a bursary. Criteria and application forms are available on the CWL National website. Please make councils aware of the bursary.

Catholic Health Association of BC

I would like to thank Johanna Nethercott for attending the annual convention of the CHABC.

In her communiqués she reported that CHABC staff met with the Privacy Commissioner’s office and both agreed that the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act is not meant to deprive the patients of services in the form of access to a chaplain or priest.

If any council is interest, the CHABC is happy to do presentations about the work they do and in particular about Parish Nursing and Advance Care Directives. You can email smhouse@shawlink.ca for more information.

Catholic Health Association of Canada

The CHAC held their annual convention in April. A DVD with the keynote addresses- one from Dr. Margaret Somerville and one from Michael Panicola is available from Catholic Health Alliance of Canada at their website www.chac.ca. I have obtained a DVD of the addresses and I am willing to lend it.

Educate, Educate, Educate

Salt and Light Television, Canada’s Catholic Network, has some excellent DVD at a reasonable cost to help educate members on some topics. For example: Coady’s Dream on Moses Coady and the Coady Institute: Changing Course – A Catholic Project for City Schools; Exodus 09- the National March for Life and Turning the Tide on Euthanasia. Check out their website, www.saltandlighttv.org, and encourage councils to order a DVD to show at their parish meetings. DVD’s could be traded among councils. Throughout the month of December, Salt +Light is offering Christmas Bundles. Choose any 3 Salt + Light documentaries and pay only $50.00.

Literacy

According to the Council of Ministers of Education Canada, about nine million Canadians struggle with low literacy kills, including more that five million who lack the skills necessary to read a newspaper of fill out a job application.

The province of BC and Yukon run literacy programmes for adults and the programmes always need volunteers. In B.C. contact 1-888-READ-234 or info@literacy,bc.ca to find literacy programs that need volunteers in your diocese.

Assisted Suicide

At the Provincial Convention in Prince George, I presented a petition which was signed by all the members present and sent to Harold Albrecht MP for Kitchener – Conestoga.

Thanks to everyone’s efforts, Motion 388, the motion to clarify the assisted suicide law in Canada concerning Internet Suicide Predators unanimously passed at second reading on November 18th. The motion will now go to the Justice Committee for further discussion.

Euthanasia

Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Why Not? is a new brochure from the Canadian Organization for Life and Family and can be ordered from www.colf.ca.  COLF has excellent, inexpensive brochures that can be used at the parish level to educate our members.