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Browse › 2015 › February

February 2015

February 15

Pope Francis calls for a welcoming church that isn’t afraid of the margins

February 15, 2015

VATICAN CITY - In a powerful homily that signalled his desire to push ahead with historic reforms, Pope Francis on Sunday (Feb. 15) said the Roman Catholic Church must be open and welcoming, whatever the costs.

Mother walks the walk for autism

February 15, 2015

OTTAWA - Dee Gordon, a Catholic mother of three, walked to Ottawa from her home in Toronto in the dead of winter to raise awareness of the autism crisis. “It was so incredible I was able to make this walk,” said Gordon in an interview from her home.

February 16

Overcoming a globalization of indifference

February 16, 2015

Editor’s note: over the coming weeks, Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, will offer a series of biblical reflections on Lent. On Ash Wednesday the Church begins her great Lenten journey with Jesus on the road to Jerusalem. For centuries, Lent has been a very intense spiritual journey and experience for the followers of Jesus Christ.

Lent is about spiritual commitment to Christ

February 16, 2015

Sacred Journey: Daily Reflections for Lent 2015. By Krystyna Higgins. (Novalis. 49 pages. $2.50). 40 Days, 40 Ways: A New Look at Lent. By Marcellino D’Ambrosio. (Servant Books, an imprint of Franciscan Media. 127 pages. $14.99). Sacred Silence: Daily Meditations for Lent. By Phyllis Zagano. (Franciscan Media. 132 pages. $9.99). Lent is upon us and it’s time to make some room for change. This year, will Lent pass us by as little more than 40 days of good intentions or will it become a life-changing journey? These three books remind us that it’s not enough to give up chocolate or some other vice — although sacrifice does have its place. Authors Krystyna Higgins, Marcellino D’Ambrosio and Phyllis Zagano remind us each in their own way that Lent is about renewing our spiritual commitment to Christ and hopefully going deeper and maturing in our relationship with Him.

Pope Francis condemns Islamic State’s executions of Christians in Libya

February 16, 2015

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on Monday (Feb. 16) denounced the brutal slayings of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya by militants linked to the Islamic State, saying “they were assassinated just for being Christian.”

February 17

Coptic Christians increasingly feel endangered in Libya and Egypt

February 17, 2015

CAIRO - The gruesome video released by militants from the Islamic State showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Copts in Libya has focused the world’s attention on the plight of Christians there and the government’s ability to respond.

Pope seeks prayers for Egyptians beheaded by Islamic State

February 17, 2015

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis called for prayers for the Egyptian Christians beheaded by Islamic State militants in Libya and asked that God recognize these men killed for their faith.

Martyrs in Libya 'whispered' name of Jesus before death, bishop says

February 17, 2015

VATICAN CITY - The 21 Coptic Christians who were beheaded by Islamic State militants died as martyrs, invoking the name of Jesus, said an Egyptian Catholic bishop.

CCCB to keep Synod survey results private

February 17, 2015

OTTAWA - The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) released a revised set of questions Feb. 10 for the upcoming Synod on the Family, but maintain that the consultations’ results will stay private.

More Canadian dioceses to put Synod questionnaire online

February 17, 2015

Twenty of the 70 Catholic dioceses in Canada are using their web sites to ask Catholics for opinions about family life — questions that range from how the Church can welcome families with gay members to how economics and media are shaping family life.

Hong Kong's Cardinal Zen seeks whereabouts of two bishops

February 17, 2015

HONG KONG - Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, retired bishop of Hong Kong, protested at the Chinese Liaison Office in the city and asked the whereabouts of Bishop Cosmas Shi Enxiang of Yixian, who was said to have died in detention.

February 18

Speculation mounts on response to euthanasia decision

February 18, 2015

OTTAWA - With one year to come up with a solution after the Supreme Court struck down Canada’s laws against physician-assisted suicide, there are any number of options being bandied about on all spectrums of the political divide.

Church moving forward on sex abuse, but issues still to be resolved

February 18, 2015

MONTREAL - The Roman Catholic Church is moving forward in the aftermath of the devastating child abuse crisis, yet a sense of helplessness around the issue still has to be resolved before the damage can be fully repaired, says a leading clinical psychologist and member of a papal committee examining child abuse.

Return with tears to God's loving embrace during Lent, Pope says

February 18, 2015

ROME - Lent is a journey of purification and penance, a movement that should bring one tearfully back to the loving arms of the merciful Father, Pope Francis said at an Ash Wednesday Mass that began with a procession on Rome's Aventine Hill.

In the face of unrelenting snow, New England churches soldier on

February 18, 2015

If God brought all this snow, He also made it very hard to get to church. New Englanders, clobbered by four major storms in the past month and bracing for a fifth, are finding it difficult to travel anywhere, including to services on Sundays.

February 19

Enough suffering, time now for Mideast peace

February 19, 2015

The history books will remember 2014 as a devastating year for people of the Middle East.

School chaplaincy engages students in the faith

February 19, 2015

The role of chaplaincy in Catholic education has a long history. When Catholic high schools were founded, by religious orders, it was often with great sacrifice that a community would identify a chaplain who had theological training, often a priest or professed religious. Those early communities understood the value of chaplaincy.

Benedict Daswa African martyr

February 19, 2015

One of the dynamics of last year’s Synod on the Family was the contrast between the German-speaking bishops, who have been preoccupied with finding a way for those in invalid marriages to receive Holy Communion since Joseph Ratzinger and Walter Kasper were young theologians, and the African bishops. The latter, not to put too fine a point on it, objected that it was not possible for the Church to teach that simultaneous polygamy was immoral for poor black Catholics in Africa while serial polygamy was okay for rich, white Catholics in Europe.

Patriarchs' Lenten messages focus on struggles of Mideast Christians

February 19, 2015

BEIRUT - The Middle East is suffering a "Way of the Cross" that is the greatest tragedy since the Second World War, Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregoire III Laham said in a Lenten message about suffering.

Death wins out

February 19, 2015

In 35 years of journalism, I’ve had two significant encounters with jailhouse views of life and death. Memories of both came back sharply standing in Canada’s Supreme Court earlier this month when nine justices declared doctor-assisted killing legal.