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February 2015

February 12

Canada is now a lesser nation

February 12, 2015

The Supreme Court of Canada’s historic decision on assisted dying immediately took me back 15 years to the longest week of my life.

Maybe it’s time to go traditional and have altar boys only

February 12, 2015

Sad news from Scotland this week. The Archdiocese of St. Andrews and Edinburgh will begin closing churches this Easter. In 25 years only 30 of 113 parishes will remain. The reasons the archbishop offers for the loss of so many churches are threefold: fewer funds, fewer Mass-attending Catholics, and above all, fewer priests. He believes that we can count on having 30 diocesan priests until 2035.

God leaves no one behind

February 12, 2015

First Sunday of Lent (Year B) Feb. 22 (Genesis 9:8-15; Psalm 25; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15)

Now it’s on me

February 12, 2015

Well, that certainly caused a fuss didn’t it? I refer to my entirely reasonable discussion of a pro-life activist called Mary Wagner, who insists on entering abortion clinics against the wishes of the staff and patients, knowing she will be arrested. I was extremely respectful in my arguments and merely asked if Wagner was doing any good, was perhaps further marginalizing the pro-life movement, and wondered if this was even about the unborn.

Snow as sin: more toil than play

February 12, 2015

“Benedicite glacies et nives Domino; laudate et superexaltate eum in saecula!” During the ice storm of 1998, a friend of my uncle took a photograph of an outdoor crucifix in Montreal, thinly covered in ice and surrounded by trees encased as if in shimmering glass.

Pope Francis wants “absolute transparency,” pushes Vatican reform

February 12, 2015

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis called for a Vatican that operates with “absolute transparency” as he gathered more than 165 cardinals in Rome for high-level meetings aimed at tackling one of the toughest challenges of his reformist papacy: overhauling the dysfunctional bureaucracy of the Roman Curia.

The next Belgium

February 12, 2015

And so it begins. The Supreme Court of Canada decision to legalize assisted suicide (and by extension euthanasia) is chilling but no surprise. Poll after poll has shown Canadian public sympathy moving steadily in favour of some form of state-sanctioned killing.

Dublin archbishop appalled by delay in applying child safety guidelines

February 12, 2015

DUBLIN - Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin said he would seek assurances from religious congregations operating in his diocese that they are rigidly following child protection guidelines after a fresh round of audits raised serious concerns.

Pope Benedict has no regret, doubt about decision to retire, aide says

February 12, 2015

VATICAN CITY - Retired Pope Benedict XVI has never doubted or regretted his decision to resign, knowing it was the right thing to do for the good of the Church, said Archbishop Georg Ganswein, prefect of the papal household and personal secretary to the retired pope.

Education a priority for church agencies aiding displaced Iraqis

February 12, 2015

SHARIAH COLLECTIVE, Iraq - Young children happily sing songs in Kurdish and Arabic, play interactive games, learn to count and how to read and write under a big colorful tent. Meanwhile, teens and pre-teens study more serious subjects.

Sr. Dorothy Stang died fighting for Brazil’s landless; 10 years later, not much has changed

February 12, 2015

PARA, Brazil - On Feb. 12, 2005, two hired gunmen killed Sr. Dorothy Stang, 73, as she read aloud from the Bible in a remote settlement just off the Trans-Amazonian Highway.

February 13

Ryerson Catholics celebrate blessing of new student centre

February 13, 2015

What used to be a house in the heart of downtown Toronto is now a new home for Catholic students seeking a place to study and relax.

Voting with faith

February 13, 2015

This week wraps up election week for the University of Waterloo’s Federation of Students, or FEDs, as we call it. It’s been a busy two weeks of smiling, shaking hands, social media campaigns and general lack of sleep for the candidates. I can’t help but wonder if any of it is appreciated, or even noticed, by the majority of students on campus.

Regis’ Lenten retreat takes aim at busy youth

February 13, 2015

TORONTO - Everyone needs spiritual direction at some point in their life, said Sr. Mechtilde O’Mara.

Schools need to teach Canada’s black past

February 13, 2015

TORONTO - Everton Lewis is trying to raise awareness that black history is as much a part of Canada’s past as the stories of European explorers like Samuel Champlain.

Groups make effort to protect physicians’ conscience rights

February 13, 2015

OTTAWA - Doctors’ conscience rights are threatened by a proposed policy of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) that may force them to refer patients for morally problematic procedures, warn some physicians’ organizations.

February 14

Vaccines and abortion? The links are cloudy and complicated

February 14, 2015

WASHINGTON - With measles outbreaks in 14 states and health authorities imploring parents to weigh the minimal risks of vaccines against the ravages of preventable disease, some Christians are raising an objection of a completely different sort: the abortion connection.

Fifty Shades of Grey 'direct assault' on marriage, morality

February 14, 2015

WASHINGTON - The new movie Fifty Shades of Grey is "a direct assault on Christian marriage and on the moral and spiritual strength of God's people," Cincinnati's archbishop told pastors in his archdiocese.

Sealed with a kiss: The religious history of X and O (Commentary)

February 14, 2015

When I was a young girl, my mother taught me to add “x” and “o” — a kiss and a hug — after my signature. So deeply embedded was this English-language tradition that it never crossed her mind that these symbols had anything to do with religion. I never thought about it myself until she passed away a few years ago and I found myself emitting streams of “x’s” and “o’s” like a binary love code in the countless emails that consume much of my daily life.

Becoming a cardinal is a call to greater love, patience, Pope says

February 14, 2015

VATICAN CITY - In a Valentine's Day ceremony to create 20 new cardinals, Pope Francis offered a meditation on Christian love and, especially, what it means for those who guide and minister in the church.