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August 2014

August 21

China warns Pope Francis to not ‘interfere’ with religion

August 21, 2014

VATICAN CITY - China has reacted cautiously to a bid by Pope Francis to open new dialogue with Beijing, with some officials quick to warn the Vatican not to “interfere” with the country’s religion.

Focus on what is found, not what is lost

August 21, 2014

Sometimes everything can seem right on the surface while, deep down, nothing is right at all. We see this, for example, in the famous parable in the Gospels about the Prodigal Son and his older brother. By every outward appearance the older brother is doing everything right: He’s perfectly obedient to his father, is at home and is doing everything his father asks of him. And, unlike his younger brother, he’s not wasting his father’s property on prostitutes and partying. He seems a model of generosity and morality.

Will we ever be able to understand suicide?

August 21, 2014

I have known several people who have taken their own lives and each time it has been a colossal shock to me. A beloved professor from university who had been brilliant and gifted; the first man to give me work as book reviewer in Canada, the literary editor at the Toronto Star; a respected writer at the Globe and Mail whose last piece for that paper was a profile of me. As a young man I could never understand how life could be so painful that death would seem preferable. But we grow up, we learn, we mature and we put away childish things.

Canada to take in more Iraqi and Iranian refugees

August 21, 2014

The crisis in Iraq and Syria is pushing Canada to accept more refugees. Canada will take another 5,000 Iraqis and Iranians from refugee camps in Turkey in coming months and years, said Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander.

Refugee backlogs ‘unacceptable’

August 21, 2014

It is unacceptable that Canada has a backlog of almost 21,000 sponsored refugees waiting to see if they can come to this country, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander told The Catholic Register.

Catholic, Orthodox patriarchs visit Irbil to support displaced Iraqis

August 21, 2014

BEIRUT - A delegation of Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs visited Irbil, Iraq, to show their support and solidarity with the more than 100,000 Christians and minorities displaced in the country by the advance of Islamist militants.

Pope Francis hears of hopes and trials of the displaced in Iraq

August 21, 2014

VATICAN CITY - Cardinal Fernando Filoni said Pope Francis "was really taken" by the cardinal's description of Christians and other minorities forced from their homes in northwestern Iraq by militias belonging to the Islamic State terrorist group.

Pope Francis' 2015 World Peace Day message to focus on human trafficking

August 21, 2014

VATICAN CITY - Human trafficking destroys the lives of millions of children, women and men each year, making it a real threat to peace, the Vatican said as it announced Pope Francis' 2015 World Peace Day message would focus on the phenomenon.

Pope Francis appeals to Iraqi president to end crisis

August 21, 2014

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis wrote to the president of Iraq, calling for an end to the “brutal suffering of Christians and other religious minorities” and urging political leaders to end the humanitarian crisis in the country.

August 22

Nuns’ radical love

August 22, 2014

Chicago’s Michigan Avenue was alive with spirit, laughter and heart on the last weekend of July. While the rock festival Lollapalooza drew many tourists to Chicago, for me and other young women, Nunapalooza took centre stage. The annual Come and See weekend retreat, hosted by the Daughters of St. Paul, was held on the same weekend and in the same city as the music festival, but it called young women to come together for a different purpose: to better know God.

Catholic voice needs to be heard in municipal elections

August 22, 2014

TORONTO - There’s no democracy like local democracy, and no reason for your parish to ignore it. As Toronto and the rest of Ontario gears up for local elections Oct. 27, Cardinal Thomas Collins has reminded Greater Toronto Area parishes they have a role to play.

Pope Francis delivers condolences to slain U.S. journalist's family

August 22, 2014

Updated 08/22/14 NEW YORK - Pope Francis phoned the bereaved family of James Foley, a U.S. journalist killed by Islamic State militants in Syria.

Cardinal Szoka, former Detroit archbishop and Vatican official, dies

August 22, 2014

DETROIT - Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka, who rose from poor beginnings to reach the highest levels of service to the Church, died Aug. 20 at Providence Park Hospital in Novi. The cardinal, who was 86, died of natural causes.

Women unaware of their feminine power

August 22, 2014

TORONTO - Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body holds answers women seek from the Church, but many are unaware of its teachings.

As battles rage, Catholics in Ukraine request Independence Day prayers

August 22, 2014

VATICAN CITY - As Ukrainians prepared to mark their Aug. 24 Independence Day under the cloud of fierce fighting in the East, Catholic leaders condemned the threat to Ukraine's territorial integrity and prayed for a speedy end to the hostilities.

Displaced Iraqis face daily struggle against desperation, boredom

August 22, 2014

MANCHESTER, England - A typical day for many Iraqi Christians encamped at Ankawa, near Irbil, would probably involve another round of struggle against desperation, frustration, anxiety, boredom and fear.

100 plaques recall WWI internment of Ukrainians

August 22, 2014

TORONTO - From coast-to-coast 100 plaques were unveiled as a sign that the internment of more than 8,500 Ukrainian “enemy aliens” during the First World War is not a forgotten piece of Canadian history.

August 23

Diversity is The Giver of life, film teaches

August 23, 2014

Depicting a society in which every aspect of daily life is state-controlled — even birth and death — The Giver takes moviegoers on a journey from childhood naiveté to the harsh realities of shattered innocence.

Catholicity goes hand in hand with Italian roots

August 23, 2014

TRAVESIO, ITALY - It’s not every Sunday you’re escorted to Mass by a procession. Upon arriving in Travesio in northern Italy, a marching band and about a dozen people carrying banners representing various comunes (or municipalities) in the region come into view. As they lead us through the winding streets to the parish of St. Quirino for a Mass celebrated by the regional bishop, we wave back at onlookers. With a backdrop of bells ringing atop the stone tower beside the church, it’s time for the celebration to begin.

At Liberty University, big goals — and big money — for sports

August 23, 2014

LYNCHBURG, Va. - In December 2011, Turner Gill sat in the plush presidential suite atop Liberty University’s football stadium, on the verge of accepting the school’s head coaching job.