Michael Swan

Opportunity awaits at London Catholic university

March 15, 2015

TORONTO - London, England, was never the centre of the Catholic universe. But it’s an interesting outpost with an interesting university, claims Bishop Richard Moth.

Once again, a Church is martyred

March 8, 2015

TORONTO - With anywhere between 240 and 350 Assyrian Christians kidnapped by ISIS as it swept up Syria’s Al Khabour River in late February — quickly taking the villages of Tal Shamiran, Tal Tawil, Al Hourmiz and more villages surrounding the town of Tal Tamer — Assyrian-Canadians are living a bad dream and a recurring one.

Higgins the scholar is undoubtedly a Merton fan

March 7, 2015

The Unquiet Monk, Thomas Merton’s Questing Faith, by Michael Higgins (Novalis, 126 pages, $14.95). Heroes matter. Which is not to say that our heroes define us. Superman has many admirers, but few who fly or fight crime. Despite the ways each of us falls short, every hero we admit into our personal halls of fame, whether starting pitcher or saint, gives us an opportunity to aspire as well as admire.

Ontario doctors must refer for abortions, says College of Physicians

March 6, 2015

TORONTO - Despite an overwhelmingly negative response from members of the public, physicians and organizations during a three-month online consultation, the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons voted 21-3 to force doctors to refer for abortions, contraception and other legal treatments or procedures even if they have moral or religious objections.

The familial ties that bind

March 1, 2015

In the end, after 70, 80, 90 years on the planet, chances are the people you will have known best, longest and most thoroughly will be your brothers and sisters. They are the people who came with you into the world out of the same womb.

Call builds to use notwithstanding clause to trump assisted-suicide ruling

March 1, 2015

A number of voices have called on the federal government to trump the Supreme Court’s assisted-suicide decision with the notwithstanding clause — the controversial section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which allows Parliament to pass laws contravening some rights and liberties for up to five years before legislators have to re-vote on the matter or craft new legislation.

Popular terror bill must respect civil liberties

February 24, 2015

Anti-terror legislation currently before Parliament needs thorough debate and close scrutiny to ensure civil liberties, including religious freedom, are fully protected, said the president of the Catholic Civil Rights League.

Hundreds gather to mourn Christians slain by Islamic State

February 24, 2015

MISSISSAUGA, ONT. - The Coptic Christians of Toronto and their friends gathered in Mississauga Feb. 22 to answer the murder of 21 Egyptian Copts by Islamic State allies in Libya. They answered the Feb. 15 beheadings with Bible readings, prayers, songs, hope and forgiveness.

Preserving liberal arts in a tech crazy world

February 21, 2015

Prof. David Seljak has been standing up in front of classrooms and teaching young men and women how to think about their society for approximately a generation. There’s always been an ebb and flow of students, but lately the ebb has the upper hand.

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