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April 27, 2014
Saints are not saints because they fit some precast mould of perfection. The Church has proclaimed at least 20,000 saints over its two millennia and no two of them are the same.
OTTAWA - In a career as a senator, academic and former seminarian in Rome, Senate Speaker Noel Kinsella met both Pope John XXIII and John Paul II.
VATICAN CITY - With the canonizations of John XXIII and John Paul II, 80 former popes have been declared saints. The vast majority came from the early days of the Church, when many popes were martyred. Here are 10 of the more interesting sainted popes:
The following is excerpted with permission from John Paul II: A Saint for Canada by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, published by Novalis Publishing, www.novalis.ca.
VATICAN CITY - Blesseds John XXIII and John Paul II left lasting marks on the way the Catholic Church understands other religions and the way it interacts with believers of other faith communities.
VATICAN CITY - Canonizing two recent popes in the presence of his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis praised the new Sts. John XXIII and John Paul II as men of courage and mercy, who responded to challenges of their time by modernizing the Catholic Church in fidelity to its ancient traditions.
VATICAN CITY - Volunteers wearing neon yellow vests interlocked their arms and led the crowds, several hundred at a time, slowly toward St. Peter's Square.
VATICAN CITY - From the moment Pope Francis said, "We declare and define Blesseds John XXIII and John Paul II be saints" and "they are to be venerated as such by the whole church," their October feast days automatically could be celebrated at Masses around the world.
VATICAN CITY - When preparing for two canonizations that draw nearly 1 million people to Rome, people usually pack essentials like food, water, raingear and sunhats.
VATICAN CITY - St. John Paul II would not want Catholics' applause, but he would want to inspire the way they live, especially in defending the family and the sacredness of human life, said Cardinal Angelo Comastri.
April 28, 2014
AMMAN, Jordan - A steady stream of Iraqi refugees, smiling and displaying purple index fingers, emerged from a polling station in the Hashemi Shamali district, where the majority of these urban refugees live in the Jordanian capital.
TORONTO - A voice committed to faith and fairness has been silenced. Catholic Register columnist and executive director of the Catholic Civil Rights League Joanne McGarry succumbed to pancreatic cancer April 28. She was 60 years old.
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis and his council of eight cardinals are unlikely to complete a radical shakeup of the Holy See’s administration, or Curia, before 2015, the Vatican said Tuesday (April 29).
April 29, 2014
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has appointed three cardinals, including Cardinal Gerald Lacroix of Quebec, to try to resolve a long-standing dispute with a Peruvian university and see if it would be possible to restore the university's designation as "pontifical" and "Catholic."
VATICAN CITY - As Pope Francis prepares to address the new Vatican panel charged with tackling the clergy sexual abuse scandal, victims are demanding the Catholic Church take immediate action to expose perpetrators and punish the bishops who protected them.
On a cold and rainy spring day, members of the Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition gathered to pray for each and every Member of Provincial Parliament by name near the front steps of Queen’s Park.