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June 18, 2015
In the 1970s there was a marked contrast between the Catholic faith as it was taught in my elementary school and as it was taught in the church around the corner. At school, it wasn’t taught as much as it was assigned, and religion class often morphed into art class. At the church, the faith took on much larger dimensions, as if in school we had been looking at it through the wrong end of a telescope, and only when we went to Mass were we able to see it the right way round.
In a matter of days the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to release its decision on same-sex marriage. While it has ruled on issues related to gay unions in the past, this time it will address the big question: is marriage a fundamental right afforded to every citizen under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?
WASHINGTON - Long before Pope Francis' encyclical on care for creation was released, it was providing a boost for a group of women struggling to keep the negative influences of modern-day life from erasing valued Mexican traditions and treasured cultural practices along the Mexico-Texas border.
Two recent papal-related events highlighted that Catholicism is meant to be a religion of culture. Every culture, as St. John Paul II taught, answers the fundamental questions of life and different cultures are differentiated by their response to the mystery of God.
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, author of a rabbinical letter on climate change, said he can sum up his response to Pope Francis’ groundbreaking encyclical on the environment in one word: Hallelujah.
[Read the Pope's encyclical on the environment here.] VATICAN CITY - The earth, which was created to support life and give praise to God, is crying out with pain because human activity is destroying it, Pope Francis says in his long-awaited encyclical, Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home.
Corruption is a child of greed and vanity. It tempts those blinded by arrogance and seduced by money. It is found across society, in business, sports, the Church, but particularly in politics.
June 19, 2015
Throughout my undergraduate experience I was actively involved with many leadership opportunities on campus. In my final year, I was blessed with the opportunity to help shape the future of my alma mater.
WATERLOO, ONT. - Students at St. Jerome’s University don’t have to wonder where their coffee is made.
For many, the massacre at a black church in Charleston, S.C., is simply another mass shooting. But for African-Americans, church violence has historic dimensions.
JERUSALEM - The Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land issued a strong condemnation against an early morning arson attack on the Benedictine Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee on June 18.
MEXICO CITY - Pope Francis aims to touch the hearts of people so that they act to stem climate change and change their lifestyle to reduce negative impacts on the planet in his encyclical on the environment, said a priest at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.
OTTAWA - Justin Trudeau has joined Parliament in overwhelmingly passing a motion in Parliament in support of holding free votes on conscience matters.
TORONTO - The Catholic Civil Rights League once again highlighted the power of the pen by awarding author Donald DeMarco the award for Catholic Excellence in Public Life.
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on June 19 criticized world powers for their failure to find a solution to the Syrian conflict, saying the country’s Christians had been united by “the blood of the martyrs” lost in war.
June 20, 2015
The Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul are striking out on a bold new future that is rooted in a proud past.
TORONTO - For several years now, my office at the Paulist Ministry Centre has been flanked on either side by the office of a Paulist Father. I have appreciated the Paulist presence more each day, the priests who’ve occupied those rooms, and the spirit and community present with them. I’ve learned about their community through their actions and words, and through encountering the day-to-day life of the people at St. Peter’s parish and the Ministry Centre.
Paulist priests preached their first mission in Canada 156 years ago. Fifty-six years later they arrived in Toronto where they came to operate St. Peter’s parish and open the Newman Centre on what is now the campus of the University of Toronto. Due to declining numbers they are being forced to cease Canadian operations and return home. Here is a timeline of their years in Canada.
TORONTO - The Paulist Fathers don’t want to leave Toronto, they have to. That strange uptick in vocations after the Second World War has now worked its way through the system and there aren’t enough priests left to staff the ambitious little empire of Paulist ministries that once dotted cities across North America. So, after a century in Toronto, the U.S.-based Paulists are going home.
OTTAWA - For the Catholic Health Alliance of Canada, there is no debate about euthanasia and assisted suicide.