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November 2014

November 23

Woodworker’s calling is furnishing churches

November 23, 2014

HILLSDALE, ONT. - A quick search online is all that’s needed to find a woodworking professional capable of crafting furnishings like tables and chairs.

Trying to reconcile faith with farming ethics

November 23, 2014

Charina Umagat has been an involved, engaged parishioner at St. Emile parish in Winnipeg for 20 years. The last thing she expected to find in her pew on a Sunday was a pamphlet casting moral doubt on her job and her employer.

Islam, ecumenism and regional conflict on Pope's agenda in Turkey

November 23, 2014

VATICAN CITY - Almost every papal trip abroad is a complex mix of the religious and political, and that will be especially true of Pope Francis' Nov. 28-30 visit to Turkey.

November 24

Pope meets Curia to discuss reform; names new head of worship office

November 24, 2014

VATICAN CITY - The same day he spent three hours meeting the heads of Vatican offices to discuss the reform of the Roman Curia, Pope Francis named 69-year-old Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah to be the new prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.

Pope, creating six new saints, uses newly abbreviated formula

November 24, 2014

VATICAN CITY - Using a newly simplified rite, Pope Francis proclaimed six new saints and praised them for the love and self-giving with which they served God and built up his kingdom by serving the poor and needy.

November 25

Church launches Year for Consecrated Life

November 25, 2014

VATICAN CITY - The first Sunday of Advent, Nov. 30, marking the start of the new liturgical year, will also inaugurate the Year for Consecrated Life.

Pope would 'never close the door' on talks with Islamic State

November 25, 2014

Pope Francis said he would "never close the door" on dialogue with the Islamic State in an effort to bring peace to a region of the world suffering from violence and persecution.

November 26

Pope Francis urges Europeans to reject ‘throwaway culture’

November 26, 2014

STRASBOURG, France - Pope Francis has urged European leaders to reject a “throwaway culture” that treats people like “cogs in a machine” too easily discarded through abortion and euthanasia.

November 27

Merciful Father is always present

November 27, 2014

One of the highlights of the year just ending was the canonization of the greatest pope and dominant religious figure of our times, John Paul II. Over the years I had attended many such events as a reporter or broadcaster in the media section, but I thought that this time I would take it in as a pilgrim. That meant arriving in St. Peter’s Square some four hours or so before the Mass began. How to spend those hours in a suitably pious and productive way? After all, the breviary and rosary don’t take that long, even at a leisurely pace.

Feed the world

November 27, 2014

Jason Brown was making millions of dollars playing in the NFL when he suddenly quit last winter to answer a call to feed the poor.

God is patient, merciful in action

November 27, 2014

Second Sunday of Advent (Year B) Dec. 7 (Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Psalm 85; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8) Anyone who has accompanied someone who is deep in grief or suffering knows how difficult it is to find the right words. In fact, most of the time it is better to say very little — presence and comfort go a long way. Above all, explanations or “answers” are seldom helpful.

Pontifical medal an award for whole order

November 27, 2014

Sr. Teresita McInally may have received the Pro-Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross herself, but the unexpected papal honour is really recognition of the work of her order, said the 87-year-old Sister of St. Joseph.

D&P hopeful, but wary, of federal corporate responsibility policy

November 27, 2014

A relaunched corporate social responsibility policy for Canadian mining companies has Development and Peace hopeful that Canadian companies will be held accountable for their environmental, labour and community investment records in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Auction helps do Mary Centre’s bidding

November 27, 2014

TORONTO - Toronto Maple Leafs fans can go for gold at The Mary Christmas Auction.

Media lost focus of Synod, bishops say

November 27, 2014

OTTAWA - Church teaching is not in for a radical overhaul, despite what made the headlines from the recent Synod on the family at the Vatican, say Ottawa’s bishops.

Goa Catholics flock to St. Francis Xavier exposition

November 27, 2014

GOA, INDIA - Expecting more than five million pilgrims for the once-a-decade exposition of the body of St. Francis Xavier in Goa, the Catholic Church in the former Portuguese colony has worked to ensure the event is “spiritually nourishing” for the visitors.

November 28

Fighting for faith

November 28, 2014

I jogged on the spot and glanced nervously around waiting to be called up to fight. It was my first Brazilian jiu jitsu tournament, and I was terrified. I had started training in this grappling martial art less than a year earlier. I was full of fear, doubt and worry, scared of letting my team down and disappointing my family.

Breaking down Christian barriers

November 28, 2014

MISSISSAUGA, ONT. - Young ecumenist Anupama Ranawana has strengthened her faith through learning about other Christian denominations.

Canada has a role to play in a lasting Mideast peace, CNEWA says

November 28, 2014

OTTAWA - Iraq’s once-thriving Christian community has been reduced by 85 per cent in the past decade and is still “on the run,” Carl Hetu told the House of Commons foreign affairs committee.

Enough with all the secrets

November 28, 2014

Last month Bishop Kieran Conry, Bishop of Arundel and Brighton and one of England’s most influential bishops, resigned after admitting to sexual affairs with women and being in a relationship with a married mother of two children. The lawyer for the husband of the said woman claimed, “My client is considering pursuing a possible High Court action against the Catholic Church because they’ve known for years that the bishop has been having affairs and if they’d taken action he almost certainly would not have lost his marriage and his children would not be having to be brought up in a broken family.”