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March 12, 2014
The better they know him the more Canadians like Pope Francis.
March 13, 2014
Can a pope be too popular? The question may seem odd but it is worth asking as the papacy of Pope Francis turns one year old.
I was a little nervous about Pope Francis’ meeting with the clergy of Rome last week. As a seminarian and a new priest, I always looked forward to Blessed John Paul’s annual Holy Thursday letter to priests. To my disappointment, Pope Benedict XVI did not continue that tradition, but replaced it with an annual encounter with the clergy of Rome in the first days of Lent. Pope Francis opted this year to continue Benedict’s practice, and so met with the parish priests of Rome last week.
Crowds at Parti Quebecois whistle stops during the provincial election have been chanting: “We want a country!” They’re perfectly entitled to both the desire and its democratic expression, of course, even as Quebec Liberal leader Philippe Couillard is equally justified in asking rhetorically: “Don’t we already have one?”
WASHINGTON - A coalition of nearly 200 Catholic dioceses, agencies and businesses has asked a federal court in Oklahoma to block enforcement of a Department of Health and Human Services mandate that it says would force its members to violate their religious beliefs.
Have you ever noticed that the lineup for Apple products always seems to be the longest in the mall? Certain products have a strong brand loyalty. It is similar with Catholic education.
So many questions, so few answers. That’s often where we find ourselves as Catholics and as people.
Third Sunday of Lent (Year A) March 23 (Exodus 17:3-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42) When the going gets tough, faith is often the first victim. Negativity, doubt and fear corrode faith and courage like the strongest acid.
The Church has always struggled with sex, but so has everyone else. There aren’t any cultures, religious or secular, pre-modern or modern, post-modern or post-religious, that exhibit a truly healthy sexual ethos. Every church and every culture struggles with integrating sexual energy, if not in its creed about sex, at least in the living out of that creed.
Getting the Vatican’s financial house in order will be no small task for the newly appointed members of the Vatican’s Council for the Economy, the lone Canadian on the 15-member council told The Catholic Register.
VATICAN CITY - As Pope Francis reaches the one-year mark of his papacy, his global flock and a fascinated public are starting to measure the changes he is making against the sky-high hopes for transforming an institution many thought impervious to change.
Standing in the dim, evening light on St. Peter’s Square a year ago, it never occurred to me a Pope might creep in, switch on the light and rouse us all from our sleep.
Pope Francis was a virtual unknown outside Church circles when he was introduced to the world a year ago. Catholic News Service reports 10 interesting things we’ve learned about him since then.
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - Maria Delamonica spoke somewhat sourly of the state of affairs in Argentina, where the economy is teetering and politics are polarized. But her voice brightened when the topic turned to Pope Francis and the changes in the country since he was unexpectedly elected one year ago.
When the College of Cardinals began the conclave on March 12, 2013, the excitement and expectations were palpable. With the Habemus Papam the following afternoon came the name of a stranger, and outsider, who instantly won over the world with the words, “Fratelli e Sorelle, buona sera!” (“Brothers and sisters, good evening!”)
Making a documentary about Pope Francis is like making a motion picture about a moving target. Things are changing all around this Pope.
Fr. Tomas Halik, a Roman Catholic priest and philosopher, one-time Czech political activist and an advocate for religious freedom and interfaith dialogue, won the 2014 Templeton Prize March 13 for religious and spiritual progress.
TORONTO - Couples for Christ is callingToronto’s singles.
March 14, 2014
While reading the news in class instead of paying attention to the ramblings of my professor, I stumbled upon a message from Pope Francis in one of his daily meditations. It read: “A faith that does not bear fruit in works is not faith.” I tuned out my professor and reflected on this message.
OTTAWA - The Quebec election call may have killed euthanasia Bill-52, for the time being, but the Parti Quebecois’ (PQ) divisive Charter of Quebec Values has put the separatist party in line for a majority government better able to push a more secular society.