To read statistical surveys of religion in Canada and the United States is to believe organized religion is imploding. 

Scientists warn that Earth is in the early stages of the “sixth mass extinction,” with a decrease of up to 60 per cent since the 1970s of the numbers of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and fish on the planet.

Jean Vanier, Canadian writer, philosopher and humanitarian who died May 7, was a champion for people with intellectual disabilities and touched countless lives through his constant message of love.

Until five minutes before The Curse of La Llorona began, my wife and I were the only people in the darkened void of the theatre at our local Cineplex.

For fans of the Edmonton Oilers, like myself, the Stanley Cup playoffs are a time of mourning. Our team has only made it to the playoffs once in the last 13 years. Well, we can cheer for another Canadian team, but this season all three which made the playoffs — Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs — lost their first-round series.

A power struggle at the top of the U.S. National Rifle Association ‘pert near turned its annual convention into a Gunfight at the O.K. Corral last weekend.

God’s creation

Re: Healthy eating (Letters to the Editor, April 14):

All of God’s creation, animal and plant, was meant for man to use judiciously. Those who misuse or abuse any form of creation are going to have to be accountable to God. Plants are as much part of creation as are animals. 

At Mass a few weeks ago, I heard an unusual noise coming from the entrance of the church. Without thinking, I turned and found myself fearing the worst. An attack? After Mass I asked others if they felt the same way and, to my surprise, some did. 

More than half a million Canadians are living with dementia and many more people than that live with a dementia sufferer. In little more than a decade those numbers are projected to almost double.

We are witnessing a collapse of religious freedom in Canada. Anyone who doubts it is naïve or completely uniformed. There may be some who simply cannot believe this is happening in a modern democracy. But it is.

There’s a line in Pope Francis’ recent Apostolic Exhortation to young people Christus Vivit that jumps out at me. When he writes that “digital media can expose people to the risk of addiction, isolation and gradual loss of contact with concrete reality,” he is speaking to my own millennial heart.