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July 2015

July 1

Notice for our print subscribers

July 1, 2015

Once again The Catholic Register will be implementing a reduced publishing schedule in July and August. Beginning with the July 5th issue, the paper will be published every second week until resumption of the normal weekly publishing schedule with the Aug. 30 issue. Throughout the summer, however, our staff will continue to regularly update our web site (catholicregister.org) with breaking news and features. Also please note that our office will be closed on Fridays throughout July and on the first three Fridays of August.

Pope Francis will try to break out of ‘the bubble’ on his U.S. trip, details show

July 1, 2015

The Vatican has released details of Pope Francis’ itinerary for his Sept. 22-27 United States visit, his first, and it shows how this “pope of the people” wants to avoid becoming a prisoner of the East Coast “power corridor” during his five days in Washington, New York and Philadelphia.

Canadian numbers on the rise for families’ conference

July 1, 2015

Nearly 500 Canadians have already signed up to be in Philadelphia with Pope Francis for the 2015 World Meeting of Families.

July 2

Politics, pastor and presidents

July 2, 2015

When the massacre at Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., took place, I was in the United States. I heard the news from another priest who, clearly devastated by the bloodshed in the house of God, added quickly thereafter a comment about the debate over gun control. I was struck at how even such a great wickedness was seen so quickly through the prism of politics. And indeed, in the days after the massacre, the talk shifted to political debates over gun laws and the confederate flag. The pastor of Mother Emmanuel, Clementa Pickney, murdered in his own church while leading a Bible study, was also a member of the South Carolina state senate, a pastor holding political office.

The uniqueness of the marriage bond

July 2, 2015

“Marriage is not just any relationship between human beings,” wrote the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. “It was established by the Creator with its own nature, essential properties and purpose. No ideology can erase from the human spirit the certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman, who by mutual personal gift, proper and exclusive to themselves, tend toward the communion of their persons. In this way, they mutually perfect each other, in order to co-operate with God in the procreation and upbringing of new human lives.”

The health benefits of forgiveness

July 2, 2015

We’ve heard a lot about forgiveness lately, especially the immediate forgiveness from victims’ families to the shooter in the heinous murders in a Charleston, South Carolina, church.

Often man refuses to hear the truth

July 2, 2015

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) July 12 (Amos 7:12-15; Psalm 85; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:7-13) Hit the road, Amos, and don’t come back! That was the message that Amaziah delivered to Amos. Amaziah was a priest at the sanctuary of Bethel in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, but he was also the king’s man. He belittled Amos’ qualifications, calling him “seer” rather than prophet, and he forcefully invited him to preach in his own land. He didn’t belong to the right guild or have the proper credentials. But Amos insisted he was an ordinary dresser of sycamore trees rather than a professional prophet. His prophetic call was the result of a direct and personal call from God.

May she find life, with her father

July 2, 2015

The early evening was warm and the sun had brought out the convertibles with their roofs down and music blaring. I was walking down Jarvis Street and passing Allan Gardens.

A primal understanding of the Eucharist

July 2, 2015

Christian de Cherge, the Trappist Abbott who was martyred in Algeria in 1996, tells this story of his first communion. He grew up in a Roman Catholic family in France and on the day of his first communion he said to his mother: “I don’t understand what I’m doing.” She answered simply: “It’s okay, you don’t have to understand it now, later you will understand.”

Family of Faith tops the $100-million mark

July 2, 2015

With five months of fundraising still to go, the Family of Faith campaign has passed the magic $100 million mark and has reached 97 per cent of its minimum objective.

Strange bedfellows

July 2, 2015

Let it never be said that the Vatican under Pope Francis is predictable. The latest case in point is a Vatican invitation extended to Canadian feminist and environmental activist Naomi Klein.

Without gratitude, we lose everything

July 2, 2015

At a conference I attended in Belgium, people around the dinner table got talking about the different countries they were from, and the characteristic spirit of each nation.

Timmins diocese investigates cemetery mystery

July 2, 2015

TIMMINS, Ont. - Alex Cande and his brother Marcel Mandeville are stirring up trouble and searching for the graves of their dead ancestors.

The morality of a cap-and-trade system

July 2, 2015

The Ontario government is steaming ahead with a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gasses despite a clear warning from Pope Francis about buying and selling “carbon credits.”

Vatican enlists Canadian activist Naomi Klein in environmental fight

July 2, 2015

VATICAN CITY - Anti-capitalism activist Naomi Klein on July 1 praised Pope Francis for standing up to Republicans who are warring against environmentalists, as the Vatican continues its battle against climate change with a high-level conference at the Holy See.

Patriarch’s family survived by fleeing genocide

July 2, 2015

BEIRUT - Armenian Catholic Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, the head of the Armenian Catholic Church since 1999, died of a heart attack June 25 in Lebanon. He was 75.

July 3

A year that opened my eyes in faith

July 3, 2015

A year can pass quickly. As I enter the final months of my one-year term as a Youth Speak News correspondent for The Catholic Register, I am astounded to think that’s it’s been almost a year since I sent off my application to be a part of the 2014-15 YSN team. The journey has seen me grow in faith, writing ability and awareness of both the local and global nature of the Catholic community.

Social networking app helps connect people through prayer

July 3, 2015

With more than 195 countries using the Instapray app, the world is more connected through prayer than ever before. Every year, more and more people join, making it easier for everyone to share their prayers through a status on social media and enabling people to pray, share and comment on others’ prayer. It is a global community available to all, and it’s free.

Pope leaves Sunday for Latin America ‘homecoming’ trip

July 3, 2015

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis will depart July 5 on a much-anticipated trip to Latin America, seen as a homecoming for the Argentine pontiff and likely to draw attention to key challenges in the region.

July 5

St. Louis priest files federal lawsuit after being cleared of child sex abuse charges

July 5, 2015

ST. LOUIS — A Roman Catholic priest whose charges of sexual abuse of a boy were dropped this month has filed a federal lawsuit claiming he was unfairly targeted by police, the city and advocates for sexual abuse victims.