A bitter clash has erupted in the United States following the release of two videos that show officials from the American arm of Planned Parenthood allegedly negotiating the sale of tissue and organs from aborted fetuses. It’s a conflict that should sound alarm bells in Canada.

Much has been written about the impressive physical legacy the Pan Am Games has generated for Southern Ontario. More than $2 billion was spent on housing, transit and sport facilities that will benefit future generations long after the Pan Am flame is doused.

Let it never be said that the Vatican under Pope Francis is predictable. The latest case in point is a Vatican invitation extended to Canadian feminist and environmental activist Naomi Klein.

More than a call to clean up the planet, Laudato Si’ is a plea for humankind to clean up its act. The Pope’s straight-talking encyclical implores people of all nations and faiths to unite in a bold cultural and spiritual revolution to reverse the destruction of the environment.

Corruption is a child of greed and vanity. It tempts those blinded by arrogance and seduced by money. It is found across society, in business, sports, the Church, but particularly in politics.

Among the action calls from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report on residential schools is an insistence that Pope Francis apologize in person to Canada’s aboriginal peoples.

The truth has been well and tragically documented. Now comes the real work — reconciliation.

Of all the rhetoric that followed Ireland’s referendum that legalized same-sex marriage, none was more absurd than the Toronto Star declaring the vote revealed “21st-century Ireland as a model of inclusivity and tolerance.” Nonsense.

A year ago Pope Francis dramatically indicated where the Vatican stands on Palestine when he stopped his motorcade and bowed his head in silent prayer at the security wall that divides the West Bank from Israel and the rest of the world. The image of a solemn Pope praying for peace made front pages around the world.

Among Omar Khadr’s first words after tasting freedom for the first time in 13 years was a vow to prove that the boy terrorist has become a law-abiding young man.