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May 2014

May 28

Pope's Holy Land trip raises hopes, questions

May 28, 2014

VATICAN CITY - Given the Holy Land's long and complex history of military, religious and cultural conflict, the run-up to Pope Francis' May 24-26 pilgrimage was inevitably marked by fears it would be marred by controversy — or worse.

Commitment to maternal care a start, but further challenges remain

May 28, 2014

TORONTO - While progress has been made towards the Millennium Development Goals of improving maternal health and reducing child mortality, challenges remain in order "to reach the most vulnerable and to reach those most excluded," said Rosemary McCarney, co-chair of the Canadian Network for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.

The sad story of a dying soul

May 28, 2014

I was a child when John Lennon was shot and killed in New York. My mother asked me not to remember the name of Lennon’s killer, as the reason he had shot the musician was to be remembered. And since that day I have done my best not to remember or repeat the names of those who kill for fame.

May 29

Clergy abuse victims are divided over Pope Francis’ offer to meet

May 29, 2014

Pope Francis’ announcement this week that he would meet with victims of sexual abuse by priests is dividing victim advocates, with some dismissing the move as “meaningless” and others endorsing it as a positive step, albeit taken belatedly and under pressure.

Canada’s bishops seek release of condemned Sudanese Christian woman

May 29, 2014

OTTAWA - Canada's Catholic bishops are pressing both the Canadian and Sudanese governments for the release of a Christian woman condemned to death for apostasy from Islam.

Give prayer a chance

May 29, 2014

In the powerful image shown around the world, Pope Francis is standing at the imposing wall that partitions Bethlehem from the outside world. His right palm presses the concrete, his head is bowed in silent prayer. Graffiti above him proclaims, “Pope we need some1 to speak about justice.”

Trudeau under fire for not condemning gendercide abortion

May 29, 2014

OTTAWA - Conservative MP Mark Warawa blasted Liberal leader Justin Trudeau May 27 for failing to condemn the practice of sex-selection or gendercide abortion.

REALWomen’s Gwen Landolt honoured with Exner award

May 29, 2014

TORONTO - Gwen Landolt is only the third woman to win the Archbishop Adam Exner Award since the Catholic Civil Rights League established the honour a decade ago.

House of Commons adopts Angus motion on palliative care

May 29, 2014

OTTAWA - The House of Commons passed NDP MP Charlie Angus' private member’s Motion-456 calling for a national palliative care strategy.

May 30

Superhuman struggles

May 30, 2014

This summer, power and responsibility are prominent themes on the silver screen. In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker struggles between personal desire and greater responsibilities, while in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America, motivated by professional values, battles the corrupt forces in power.

German priest influenced conversion

May 30, 2014

TORONTO - A decade after converting to Catholicism, Stephan Brunck is now a deacon.

Teens to LEAD the way

May 30, 2014

TORONTO - Steubenville conferences are gathering young Catholics to LEAD.

Harper pledges another $3.5 billion for maternal care

May 30, 2014

TORONTO - Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged to pump another $3.5 billion into improving the health of mothers, newborns and children in the developing world between 2015 and 2020.

Graduates postpone careers for volunteering

May 30, 2014

WASHINGTON - Like many students graduating from college this spring, Ivy Seraphin always assumed she would go straight to graduate school.

Msgr. Foy was pro-life before there was pro-life

May 30, 2014

TORONTO - Vincent Foy paced back and forth, tears rolling down his 10-year-old cheeks, and promised God that if the Lord would spare the life of his mother, he would do everything in his power to become a priest.

Pope decries 'globalization of indifference' to war, suffering in Syria

May 30, 2014

VATICAN CITY - A "globalization of indifference" has taken hold of too many of the world's people, numbing them to the horrifying reality faced by the people of Syria and other innocent victims of war and violence around the world, Pope Francis said.

Hammarskjold, Merton and sexuality and desire

May 30, 2014

The lusts of the flesh reveal the loneliness of the soul.

Hearts on fire

May 30, 2014

It can be tough to speak up even when something burns inside you. Especially if everybody seems happiest not saying or hearing it, and you wonder if you’re crazy or misguided, and won’t you look like a fool or a downer if you do say it.

‘One God, one world, one people’

May 30, 2014

Pentecost Sunday (Year A) June 8 (Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23) People have many different understandings of the Holy Spirit. For some, it is a life-changing encounter with the divine, while for others it remains a distant and abstract theological formula. Even within the pages of the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is cloaked in differing forms and works in various ways.

May 31

A painful search for love, life after death and a loving divine presence

May 31, 2014

If bitterness, pain and the F-word are exactly what you do not want to read, then don’t read this book. But if you have ever questioned God or redemption, ever felt unsure of exactly what you believe, then you might take the challenge of riding with Maggie Prentice. She’s the bitter, beyond middle-aged, alcoholic, anti-heroine narrator in The Walking Tanteek. She’s also a compelling, not easily likable character who escapes anguish in all the wrong places.