WELCOME

The Catholic Office of Religious Education and Liturgy exists to assist Archbishop Collins with his mandate "to pass on the tradition with integrity" and "oversee the celebration of the Eucharist and the other sacraments. The purpose of the office is, therefore, educational, pastoral and liturgical.

We work with clergy, Separate School personnel at all levels, the Institute for Catholic Education, parish catechists, lay pastoral associates, R.C.I.A. teams, the University of St. Michael's College, the Faculties of Education at the University of Toronto, York University, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology,and Niagara University, parents, and three Archdiocesan Resource Committees (R.C.I.A.; Religious Education; Liturgy).

We are responsible for

• helping parishes with the proper implementation of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults and the modified Order of the Rite for unbaptized children of catechetical age;
  
• providing programs and assistance to those teaching Catholic students not enrolled in the Catholic school system;
  
• providing resources and opportunities for adult faith development in the parishes;
  
• assisting pastors in providing immediate sacramental preparation in the parishes;
  
• providing religious education programs for children with special needs;
  
• providing liturgy resources to catechists and clergy;
  
• overseeing the Catholic quality of the pre-service Religious Education courses offered to future Catholic teachers at the Faculties of Education;
  
• providing ongoing formation for parish catechists;
  
• training parents to assist with sacramental preparation in the parishes.

CORE has also been given responsibility for assisting parishes and schools with liturgical celebrations and the training of lay liturgical ministers.

CORE has also been mandated to develop sacramental preparation programs for use in Archdiocesan parishes.  An experienced team of volunteers and staff collaborated to design these programs, which have been piloted in a variety of parishes to ensure that the material is relevant, accessible and usable in a variety of communities.