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December 8, 2015
On Tuesday, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Francis solemnly inaugurated the Jubilee Year of Mercy with the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. “This Extraordinary Holy Year is itself a gift of grace,” the Pope said in his homily To pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each of them.” The full text of Pope Francis’ prepared homily for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and the Inauguration of the Jubilee of Mercy can be found below:
PARIS - A senior Vatican official urged a roomful of world leaders "to take action" and work in a spirit of solidarity to come up with an accord to combat global warming before it is too late.
VATICAN CITY - Concluding the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the opening of the Holy Door, Pope Francis prayed that through Mary, Christians may recognize the victory of divine mercy over sin.
PARIS - Thandiwe Chidararume, who farms sweet potato, nuts and corn in Zimbabwe, traveled nearly 5,000 miles to be in Paris for the U.N. climate change conference. She wanted to tell negotiators there of the problems she and thousands of other Zimbabwean farmers face due to adverse weather conditions.
December 9, 2015
TARTUS, Syria - Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, visiting Syria, urged Christians to hold onto their faith.
VATICAN CITY - The Catholic Church needs the extraordinary Holy Year to become an effective witness of God's divine mercy, Pope Francis said.
VATICAN CITY - The Holy See and Vatican City State have continued to strengthen their institutional, legal and operational frameworks for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, an international monitoring organization said.
TORONTO - St. Michael’s Cathedral will soon be filled with Christmas worshippers but in the early days of Advent the empty church is in the care of artists and craftsmen whose skilled hands are restoring the cathedral to it former splendour.
DULUTH, Minn. - The Diocese of Duluth said Dec. 7 it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because efforts to reach a settlement "that would assist all abuse victims and protect the Church's mission" have been unsuccessful.
OTTAWA - In addition to bringing 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada and contributing to COP21 climate change talks in Paris, the new Liberal government of Justin Trudeau is forging ahead on an ambitious agenda regarding First Nations
PARIS - One-hundred-fifty events to combat climate change, at the rate of roughly 30 per day, were taking place the week of Dec 7-11 in various parts of the French capital, against the backdrop of the U.N. climate change conference in the Paris suburb of Le Bourget.
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral was dark as men and women of different faiths walked down the center aisle of the mission-revival-style church.
December 10, 2015
It seems unimaginable that America’s incomprehensible deadlock over gun control could become any stranger. Yet somehow the quasi-ritualized mass slaughter of citizens by other citizens with high-powered weapons has produced the unfathomable effect of making prayer a victim.
Finally, a victory for common sense. Justice Michel Pinsonnault of Quebec Superior Court sounded a rare voice of reason when he ruled that Quebec’s so-called “medical aid in dying” legislation is no more than a euphemism for euthanasia. As they say, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck . . .
VATICAN CITY - Catholics are called to witness to their faith in Jesus before all people, including Jews, but the Catholic Church "neither conducts nor supports" any institutional missionary initiative directed toward Jews, says a new document from a Vatican commission.
Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year C) Dec. 20 (Micah 5:2-5a; Psalm 80; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45) In biblical times Bethlehem was probably not a very impressive “city” — it was more like a small town. There was nothing visible that would hint at future greatness. Its glory was that it was the birthplace of its most illustrious son — David, the king of Israel. The city of David, as it came to be known, had great things in store for it.
In one of his books on contemplative prayer, Thomas Keating shares with us a line that he occasionally uses in spiritual direction. People come to him, sharing how they used to have a warm and solid sense of God in their lives but now complain that all that warmth and confidence have disappeared and they’re left struggling with belief and struggling to pray as they used to. They feel a deep sense of loss and invariably this is their question: “What’s wrong with me?” Keating’s answer: “God is wrong with you!”
TORONTO - The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will culminate next month with a final liturgy uniting Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians at the Chaldean Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in the northwest corner of Toronto.
MONTREAL - Euthanasia is now technically legal in Quebec following a Dec. 9 decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal. But whether that remains permanent is still a matter before the courts.
Among the first planeload of Syrian refugees to land at Toronto Pearson International Airport around 9 p.m. Dec. 10, at least one family has made it to Canada thanks to Catholic refugee sponsorship.