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February 2016

February 18

If you let it, the book you need will find you

February 18, 2016

They say that the book you most need to read finds you when you most need to read it. I’ve had that experience many times, most recently with Heather King’s book Shirt of Flame, A Year with St. Therese of Lisieux.

God is always faithful, merciful, compassionate

February 18, 2016

Third Sunday of Lent (Year C) Feb. 28 (Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15; Psalm 103; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12; Luke 13:1-9) God often appears in the midst of the ordinary and mundane. Moses was only doing what he had done for so long — minding the flocks of his father-in-law. The bush that burned without being consumed was a flash of the transcendent and extraordinary.

‘No more death, no more exploitation,’ Pope says at U.S.-Mexico border

February 18, 2016

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - Speaking from the symbolic platform of the U.S.-Mexico border, Pope Francis pleaded for the plight of immigrants while warning those refusing to offer safe shelter and passage that their actions and inhospitable attitudes were bringing about dishonor and self-destruction as their hearts hardened and they "lost their sensitivity to pain."

Last rites may be denied to Catholics seeking death, says archbishop

February 18, 2016

OTTAWA - It would be inappropriate for a person intent on assisted suicide to request the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, said Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast.

Vatican invites head of al-Azhar to meet with pope to restart dialogue

February 18, 2016

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican's interreligious council invited the head of a leading Muslim institution to meet with Pope Francis as part of an effort to restart dialogue.

Synods should get more input from lay faithful, church experts say

February 18, 2016

VATICAN CITY - An assembly of bishops at the Vatican should have more input from the lay faithful, said church experts attending a seminar hosted by the head of the Synod of Bishops.

In Zika outbreak, contraceptives may be 'lesser evil,' Pope says

February 18, 2016

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM MEXICO - With physicians across Central and South American urging women to postpone pregnancy because of the Zika virus that causes birth defects, Pope Francis said using contraceptives could be a "lesser evil."

Slow day at Sun Bowl turns into party, then settles down for Mass viewing

February 18, 2016

EL PASO, Texas - By the time the action started at the Sun Bowl Stadium Feb. 17 for the simulcast of Pope Francis' Mass from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, scarcely a few hundred people had arrived.

Building walls to keep immigrants out is not Christian, Pope says

February 18, 2016

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM MEXICO - As the plane carrying him back to Rome from Mexico was flying over Texas, Pope Francis insisted building walls to keep immigrants out of one's country is un-Christian.

Head of Ukrainian Catholic Church skeptical of papal-Orthodox declaration

February 18, 2016

WASHINGTON - The joint declaration signed Feb. 12 in Cuba between Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has met with a tepid reaction from Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, major archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

February 19

Dr. Goldbloom was ‘unifying force’ for Christians, Jews

February 19, 2016

MONTREAL - Dr. Victor Goldbloom's dedication to Christian-Jewish dialogue earned him an audience with Pope John Paul II, a knighthood from Pope Benedict XVI and friendships with several Canadian cardinals.

Youth have the power to influence global change, students told

February 19, 2016

TORONTO - Thanks to the Internet today’s youth have the power to influence systemic change on an international scale, Toronto students heard from an award-winning Filipino journalist.

What does ‘Amen’ mean?

February 19, 2016

Like any other Sunday I sat in those wooden benches, eagerly waiting for the priest to take his place at the pulpit and give his homily. Impatiently drumming my fingers against the wooden edge, I looked around the church.

Young filmmaker shares viability of living with MS

February 19, 2016

Mary Gyulay was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a year and a half ago, at the age of 22. At the time of her crisis, she turned to God.

Understanding the past to build for the future

February 19, 2016

TORONTO - Clayton Shirt speaks bluntly when it comes to past treatment of First Nations people by the Catholic Church and Canada.

Campaign revived to designate Quebec wartime cemetery a historic site

February 19, 2016

MONTREAL - A century ago, more than a thousand innocent men and boys were arrested during the First World War and shipped to an internment camp at Spirit Lake in the Abitibi region of Quebec, 600 km northwest of Montreal.

Victor Goldbloom, Canadian pioneer for Jewish-Catholic dialogue, dies

February 19, 2016

MONTREAL - Dr. Victor Goldbloom, the first Jewish minister in a Quebec government and pioneer of Jewish-Christian dialogue in Canada, died Feb. 14 after a heart attack. He was 92.

Canada to restore refugee health care funding

February 19, 2016

OTTAWA - The federal government announced Feb. 18 it will be restoring health care for all refugees seeking a new life in Canada.

Cardinal Pell calls for inquiry into press leaks accusing him of abuse

February 19, 2016

VATICAN CITY - Australian Cardinal George Pell called for an inquiry into the leaking of accusations that he is under police investigation for the alleged abuse of minors.

February 20

Race

February 20, 2016

NEW YORK - Run, don't walk, to the nearest multiplex and see "Race" (Focus), a supremely entertaining biopic about Olympic track and field legend Jesse Owens (Stephan James).