Browse › 2014 › February
February 18, 2014
OTTAWA - Negative remarks from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty have social conservative groups concerned the Tories might abandon a key promise in their 2011 election campaign to allow income splitting for families.
February 19, 2014
An 84-year-old nun was sentenced to nearly three years in prison Feb. 18 for breaking into a Tennessee nuclear facility in 2012.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A Tennessee pharmacist and a Baptist church deacon who lost his job after an ongoing dispute over selling Plan B contraception has sued his former bosses, claiming he was fired because of his religious beliefs.
VATICAN CITY - After a night of violent confrontations between protesters and police and the deaths of more than two dozen people, Pope Francis and Ukrainian Church leaders called Feb. 19 for an end to all violence and a serious commitment to dialogue for the good of Ukraine.
VATICAN CITY - High-level debates over Catholic teachings on marriage and divorce and other hot-button issues heated up today (Feb. 19) as a highly anticipated effort to overhaul the Vatican bureaucracy slogged through the devilish details of financial reform.
February 20, 2014
When Pope Benedict shocked the world one year ago by abdicating the See of St. Peter there was no precedent to suggest how this would play out. It had been 700 years since a Pope freely resigned but even then the departure was for reasons other than frailty and declining health.
Foolishly I read only half the memo: the Oratorian’s Missa Cantata for Candlemas would not only be at 10:45, it would be at Holy Family Church in Parkdale. I discovered my mistake only at 10:40 a.m., when I was happily chatting at the back of St. Vincent de Paul on Roncesvalles.
The only problem with the Roman Catholic Church is that it is composed of Roman Catholics. To be more specific, composed of people. The divine vessel given to us by God is staffed and even sometimes led by people who are good or bad, light or dark, humble or ambitious.
Last week, Feb. 11 was marked everywhere in the Catholic world as the first anniversary of the abdication announcement of Benedict XVI. Understandably so, for it was without precedent — the very definition of news — and it opened the door for a renewed energy and enthusiasm under Pope Francis.
The key to the great illusionist Harry Houdini was the art of misdirection. Houdini could do things like make elephants on stage disappear by misdirecting the eyes and ears of the audience so their minds believed something quite different.
OTTAWA - Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller has asked the British Columbia government to reconsider its decision not to prosecute Canada’s prostitution laws.
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) March 2 (Isaiah 49:14-15; Psalm 62; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5; Matthew 6:24-34) Many at one time or another have felt abandoned or forgotten by God. Faced with the many painful and disconcerting situations that life can deal us, they wonder if God cares or even remembers them.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Mohammad Asghar, a 69-year-old paranoid schizophrenic, faces a death sentence in Pakistan for claiming to be the Prophet Muhammad in letters written to officials and police in 2010.
External appearances can easily fool us, and often do. That’s true in every area of human life, and religion is no exception.
TORONTO - Starting this fall the job of forming new parish priests at St. Augustine’s Seminary is going to a parish priest.
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis opened a major two-day meeting on the Church’s approach to the complexities of modern family life today, telling the world’s Catholic cardinals that the Church needs a “pastoral” approach that is “intelligent, courageous and full of love” and not focused on abstract arguments.
February 21, 2014
TORONTO - When police stormed the Maidan in Kiev their first target was the tent-chapel where since November priests had heard confessions, offered prayers and counselled young Ukrainians who were in the square demanding new elections and democratic reform. The police burned the improvised chapel to the ground.
The Supreme Court has given Canadians a year to figure out how they want to deal with prostitution and so far the answers have ranged from nothing to police crackdowns and new criminal laws.
A few days ago, while glancing through my calendar to plan my schedule for the next few weeks, I noticed March 5: Ash Wednesday. Lent starts in mere days, and I must confess, I wasn’t pleased.
Twelve university students from across Canada gave up their spring break to warm hearts in a cold climate as Catholic Christian Outreach conducted its first mission to the Yukon.