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April 2013

April 1

At Rome's Colosseum, Pope says cross is God's response to evil

April 1, 2013

ROME - Gazing from a hillside overlooking Rome's Colosseum, where thousands of people gathered to pray the Way of the Cross, Pope Francis said Christ's cross is God's response to evil in the world.

Going the distance in the Holy Land

April 1, 2013

A discount flight, a tour bus and guide will put you in the middle of biblical history in a matter of hours. Particularly at Easter, pilgrims by the thousands arrive in the Holy Land.

D&P seeks CIDA move details

April 1, 2013

There’s nothing wrong with dissolving the Canadian International Development Agency to make it part of a new Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, says the Catholic bishops’ development agency. But there’s a host of devils in the details.

Benedict leaves Francis with a starting point on social justice, Jesuit says

April 1, 2013

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has left his successor with some unfinished business that Jesuit economist and theologian Fr. Bill Ryan would like to put at the top of the new pontiff ’s agenda.

Ouellet happy to serve new Pope

April 1, 2013

Unverifiable reports in the Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore and MacLean’s magazine have clarified Cardinal Marc Ouellet didn’t just tell media before the conclave that becoming pope would be a nightmare, he also threw his support to Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio before the fifth and final vote that chose Pope Francis.

Pope urges Catholics to let grace transform, work through them

April 1, 2013

VATICAN CITY - Catholics must allow the grace of their baptism and of the Eucharist to transform their lives and make them instruments of God's grace in the world, Pope Francis said.

April 2

Pope recites St. Peter's Gospel professions of faith at apostle's tomb

April 2, 2013

VATICAN CITY - Kneeling before the tomb of St. Peter, Pope Francis repeated the three professions of faith the Gospels report the apostle making: "Lord, you are the Christ, the son of the living God," "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life," and "Lord, you know everything; you know I love you."

April 3

A few of the Pope's favourite things

April 3, 2013

VATICAN CITY - Here are a few of Pope Francis' favourite things, which he revealed in a series of interviews granted while he was archbishop of Buenos Aires.

April 4

Focus Ontario budget on poor

April 4, 2013

TORONTO - The religious leaders who run food banks, shelters and community services want this spring’s Ontario budget to boost incomes for minimum-wage employees and people on Ontario Works.

Safeguarding creation expected to be major theme at WYD in Rio

April 4, 2013

VATICAN CITY - When hundreds of thousands of young Catholics gather with Pope Francis in Rio de Janeiro in the summer, reflections on safeguarding the environment will be part of the program.

Pope expresses his closeness to victims of flooding in Buenos Aires

April 4, 2013

VATICAN CITY - Affirming his closeness to his "beloved Argentine people," Pope Francis offered his prayers for the victims of recent flooding in Buenos Aires and surrounding areas, and he urged government offices and private citizens to help those most in need.

Catholic teachers seek lifting of restraints

April 4, 2013

TORONTO - Ontario’s Catholic teachers are asking provincial Finance Minister Charles Sousa for freedom — freedom from bureaucrats, freedom from standardized tests, freedom to teach all kinds of students from four-year-olds to special needs kids to adult learners.

We need God’s divine mercy

April 4, 2013

“Jesus is risen, there is hope for you, you are no longer in the power of sin, of evil! Love has triumphed, mercy has been victorious! The mercy of God always triumphs!”

Edinburgh can’t offer an Easter lamb cake like Roncesvalles

April 4, 2013

During Holy Week I went on a quest for a lamb cake mould. We had Polish guests for Easter, and I was determined to produce Polish Easter dishes and cakes, including the traditional three-dimensional lamb cake. This proved more challenging in Edinburgh than it would be in multicultural Toronto, and as I scurried from shop to shop in the unseasonably frigid air, I could be heard muttering, “I know exactly where I could find one on Roncesvalles.” If you are what you eat, it would seem that the three dimensional cake-bakers of Edinburgh are high-heeled shoes, garden bugs and the Easter Bunny. I began to loathe the Easter Bunny, so prominent was he in the cooking departments and shops of Edinburgh. In Britain lambs are considered a harbinger of spring, so I was surprised not to find even chocolate ones among the regiments of rabbits and eggs...

The what ifs of all those years ago

April 4, 2013

When I was 12 years old, a Grade 8 classmate at Holy Cross Catholic School in East York was working at Maple Leaf Gardens selling ice cream and popcorn.

Morality trumps all

April 4, 2013

The sports conglomerate that clothes and equips the world’s No. 1 golfer would have us believe that “winning takes care of everything.” That’s the slogan Nike is trumpeting in an ad campaign with Tiger Woods, the golfing impresario who lost his moral compass and his putting stroke three years ago. But Woods is back on top now and that has rejuvenated a marketing bonanza for a sponsor intent on convincing consumers that winning erases his past failings.

Pro-marriage doesn’t make you anti-gay

April 4, 2013

Oh please Senator Rob Portman, please! This career politician, once considered a Republican vice-presidential candidate, resurrected his failing career at the end of March by announcing that he had changed his mind on the issue of gay marriage because his son is homosexual. Actually, his son came out two years ago, but it’s apparently taken the senator this long to “feel comfortable” with speaking about the issue.

April 5

New secretary of state will be sign of Vatican reform

April 5, 2013

VATICAN CITY - Of the several widely acknowledged priorities in the run-up to the conclave that chose Pope Francis, including the challenge of secularism and the growth of the Church in the global South, none was more prominent than a need to reform the Roman Curia, the Church’s central administration in the Vatican.

Single-gender schools give girls confidence

April 5, 2013

Choosing between an all-girls high school and a co-ed high school is a tough choice for teenage girls. It can determine the quality of their education and their future circle of friends.

Youth struggle with religion on stage

April 5, 2013

OTTAWA - Youth don’t see the need for religion, according The god Monologues, a play presented by a newly formed ministry of the United Church that seeks to unite faith and the arts through various programs