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April 2013

April 14

Pilgrimage seeks to bring the Irish back to Ireland

April 14, 2013

WASHINGTON - An organization called World- Priest is offering a pilgrimage for priests and their parishioners and friends from around the world to experience the cultural heritage and spirituality of the Emerald Isle as part of “Gathering Ireland 2013.”

April 15

Pope names international panel of cardinals to advise on Vatican reform

April 15, 2013

VATICAN CITY - Amid rising concerns about corruption and mismanagement in the central administration of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis named an international panel of cardinals to advise him on the latest reform of the Vatican bureaucracy.

April 16

Boston cardinal says all feel 'deep sorrow' for victims of explosions

April 16, 2013

Updated 04/18/13 BOSTON - Within hours of two explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon April 15, Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley sent a message of prayer and support for those injured, their loved ones and those who experienced the trauma of the tragedy.

Pope's G-8: Troubleshooters, outspoken leaders will help reform curia

April 16, 2013

VATICAN CITY - The eight cardinals named by Pope Francis to begin work on ways to reorganize the Roman Curia are predominantly active archbishops of very large archdioceses, but they also have a wide range of pastoral and organizational experiences and skills.

April 17

Trudeau a stumbling block to pro-life cause

April 17, 2013

Pro-life activists are branding Justin Trudeau as a pro-abortion, anti-family Catholic politician committed to maintaining a legal vacuum around abortion.

Boston victim's father grateful for prayers

April 17, 2013

Updated 04/18/13 BOSTON - The first name released of someone killed in the April 15 explosions at the Boston Marathon was that of eight-year-old Martin Richard, whose picture in newspapers showed him grinning broadly, apparently at his first Communion.

April 18

Battle with the devil: Pope Francis frames the fight in Jesuit terms

April 18, 2013

VATICAN CITY - In the teaching of Pope Francis, the devil has a more dastardly agenda than just convincing people to break one of the Ten Commandments; "the enemy" wants them to feel weak, worthless and always ready to complain or gossip.

Drop debate over arming Syria; forge efforts for peace, says patriarch

April 18, 2013

VATICAN CITY - Unless western nations immediately find ways to bring peace to Syria instead of debating whether to arm opposition forces, the country will continue to be in turmoil and a victim of the West's indecision, said a Syrian patriarch.

Pope calls for prayers for victims of Texas factory explosion

April 18, 2013

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis called for prayers for the victims of a deadly explosion in Texas.

Trudeau could lure Catholics to Liberals, observers say

April 18, 2013

OTTAWA - After winning the Liberal Leadership with 80 per cent of the vote, Justin Trudeau may be able to woo some disaffected Catholics back to the Liberal fold say observers.

Nigerian bishops: Government should be wary of amnesty for Boko Haram

April 18, 2013

ISEYIN, Nigeria - Several Catholic bishops warned the Nigerian government to be wary of the consequences of granting amnesty to Boko Haram, a sect that wants to impose strict Islamic law, and at least one said Mass attendance had dropped because the Islamist sect often targeted churches with bombs.

Warawa abandons gendercide Motion-408

April 18, 2013

OTTAWA - Conservative MP Mark Warawa has decided to abandon his gendercide Motion-408 and replace it with a bill to protect sexual abuse victims.

Jesus shows us how to pray in a crisis

April 18, 2013

How do we lift our darkest, most depressed, most lonely moments up to God? How can we pray when we are most deeply alone, helpless and our whole world seems to be collapsing?

Self-giving love is not optional

April 18, 2013

Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year C) April 28 (Acts 14:21-27; Psalm 145; Revelation 21:1-5; John 13:1, 31-33, 34-35) Becoming a follower of Jesus Christ was not an easy task in the first century. It often involved the loss of friends, the estrangement of family and alienation from one’s culture. Occasionally violent persecution was thrown in.

Our mysterious exchanges with God

April 18, 2013

When asked by a deacon how best to communicate the Christian faith, St. Augustine encouraged him to share the story of salvation, especially drawing from the Bible. Scripture can be summarized as stories of God’s dealings with men and women and the unfolding of His love in their lives in order to bring them salvation.

‘Fashionable hatred’ targets Thatcher

April 18, 2013

There’s an extraordinary painting in the National Gallery of Scotland of a Spanish wake. Painted in 1864 by John Philip, La Gloria depicts a mother grieving in the shadows as her dead little daughter is taken from her home. Friends encourage her to look into the sunny square where the neighbours are celebrating the entrance of the little girl’s soul into heaven.

Even Tiger shouldn’t mess with the golf gods

April 18, 2013

After last week’s Masters golf tournament, perhaps Tiger Woods’ sponsor should change its marketing campaign to: “Don’t mess with the golf gods.” The world’s Number 1 ranked golfer again found himself in the middle of a media storm when in the second round of the Masters he took an illegal drop after his ball careened off the flagstick and into the water. When Woods later admitted to the mistake, the rules committee assessed him a two-stroke penalty and used a new rule to allow him to remain in the tournament instead of facing disqualification, which was the automatic penalty up until two years ago. Some thought he should have been disqualified, others thought a two-shot penalty was ample punishment...

Peace on Earth still

April 18, 2013

Fifty years after the publication of Pacem in Terris, one of the most important papal encyclicals of the 20th century, the world has changed radically but the 1963 teaching of Blessed Pope John XXIII remains as powerful as ever.

Nothing but R-E-S-P-E-C-T for the Queen of Soul

April 18, 2013

It is a bit silly for fortysomethings to be speaking about a “bucket list” but that’s what I heard leaving Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall after an Aretha Franklin concert. A man my age, who should be busy about living rather than thinking about dying, commented that seeing Aretha Franklin in concert was on his bucket list. That’s rather a nice compliment to Aretha, who has made all sorts of lists in her life, including some years back taking the No. 1 position in Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 100 singers of all time. How exactly one measures the top 100 singers is not clear, but to finish first in such a manner of list-making is be acknowledged as a rare talent. Aretha is still that, 50 years after she got her start.

Anti-human display

April 18, 2013

I write this column from my hotel in London, just a few hundred metres from the Houses of Parliament, Whitehall and 10 Downing St. Margaret Thatcher died two days ago. I am just a few feet away from County Hall, the former home of the notorious Greater London Council, an entity that was supposed to govern London but instead became the epicentre for Marxist politics in 1980s Britain. Thatcher abolished it, it’s now a hotel, and flies its flag at half-staff due to the death of Britain’s greatest Prime Minister since Winston Churchill.