Helena Burns

There was much buzz at the recent Synod on Synodality in Rome regarding the possibility of women deacons. In the New Testament, St. Paul refers to a woman named Phoebe as a “servant” or “deacon,” and “patron of many” (Romans 16:1-2), and it seems that at one time in the early Church, women had designated roles of service that no longer exist in the same form today.

Have you been hearing news from the ongoing Synod on Synodality in Rome about proposals such as women deacons and ordaining women to the priesthood? As a former radical feminist who believed that women could and should be ordained to the priesthood, allow me to respond.

On an ordinary weekday, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, tens of thousands of ordinary Canadians took to the streets of our major cities and sleepy towns to protest the extraordinary promotion of gender ideology to children and youth in our schools. They called it “The 1 Million March 4 Children.” Seemingly out of nowhere, passionate parents, concerned citizens and fed-up youth took to the streets to peacefully protest the deluge, the unrelenting onslaught of often explicit and graphic LGBTQ+ issues being highlighted in cross-curricular fashion from pre-K through to high school graduation.

Gender is a nothingburger. I don’t mean that gender is irrelevant, but that “gender” doesn’t have a life of its own. It’s virtually synonymous with “sex.” Because of this fact, I shall from now on render gender as “sex-gender.” Hyphens are fantastic. They keep things together that go together — especially those in danger of separation: “What God has joined together, let no man tear asunder.”

Have you ever visited Toronto’s unique and beautiful outdoor Marian Shrine of Gratitude? If you haven’t, you’ve missed a real treasure — and if you have, you know what a jewel it truly is. Either way, the Shrine needs you to help save it!

If you’ve ever wondered: “Why do I need to confess my sins to a priest?”…we need to talk. I truly don’t mean to be insulting or condescending, but any Catholic who asks this question is in need of remedial catechesis. But, I get it. We haven’t been catechized properly, enough or at all — and we haven’t kept up studying our faith as adults.

The recent kerfuffle regarding the Los Angeles Dodgers honouring “The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” at Dodgers Stadium got me investigating the bad Sisters. I knew very little about them, except that they would often show up on the news in full nun regalia (over-the-top garish and even ghoulish, akin to the horror film The Nun) to receive accolades for their “charitable work.”

The weather is getting warmer, and that means… tick season. Tick season means… Lyme disease. Lyme disease is extremely “controversial.” People with Lyme are often deemed to be perfectly healthy, are misdiagnosed or dismissed with “it’s all in your head.”

Not long ago, there was a round table discussion produced by The Daily Wire that included Dennis Prager (Jewish), Jordan Peterson (raised Christian, open to belief in Jesus) and Jonathan Pageau (Orthodox). For want of a better word, The Daily Wire, along with these particular men, is known to be “conservative,” in wanting to conserve what’s good in the culture.

No doubt you’ve heard about the sold-out, international “SatanCon” that took place in Boston over the weekend of April 28-30. Of course, the “Con” stands for “Convention.” It was put on by The Satanic Temple (not to be confused with The Church of Satan — I guess even Satan’s followers have denominations).