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February 2016

February 20

Risen

February 20, 2016

NEW YORK - In days of yore, Hollywood knew how to make Christian themes pay off at the box office.

A hardened soldier’s story of redemption

February 20, 2016

A fictionalized film account of the days following Christ’s death and resurrection, Risen tries to stay true to Scripture as it tells the story of a Roman soldier tasked with solving Christianity’s most fundamental mystery.

Assisted suicide and salvation

February 20, 2016

With doctor-assisted suicide now legal in Quebec and available across Canada to anyone granted permission from a Superior Court judge, bishops and pastors will face new pastoral dilemmas.

February 21

Holy Family’s resting place comes as a funeral home

February 21, 2016

Growing up in Glace Bay, N.S., Trevor Tracey watched funerals pass by the windows of his elementary school and dreamed that one day he would be the man leading the procession.

The female voice needs to be heard: Durocher

February 21, 2016

Archbishop Paul-André Durocher loves women. He wants to hear their voices, take their advice and see them active in the Church.

The moral question can’t be ignored in battling Islamic State

February 21, 2016

There’s more than political interest, strategic advantage, and military considerations in the decision to end Canadian bombing runs over Syria and Iraq in favour of more military trainers on the ground and additional spending on aid and development.

Being human: Pope Francis delights many, frustrates some

February 21, 2016

VATICAN CITY - The Pope is human. Pope Francis demonstrated that in Mexico, as he does wherever he goes, and most people find it attractive most of the time.

February 22

Pope calls for jubilee moratorium on death penalty

February 22, 2016

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis called for a moratorium on executions during the Year of Mercy and said the fifth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," applies not only to the innocent but to the guilty as well.

Philippine nuns, priests say role in revolution affected their faith

February 22, 2016

MANILA, Philippines - Religious and clergy in the Philippines say their experiences in the People Power Revolution 30 years ago have had a lasting impact on their faith and vocations.

Don't neglect, mistreat those who come to you, Pope tells Roman Curia

February 22, 2016

VATICAN CITY - Let no one feel ignored or mistreated when they encounter a member of the Roman Curia or staff working at the Vatican, Pope Francis said.

It is genocide

February 22, 2016

Speaking on Ash Wednesday Cardinal Thomas Collins said the start of Lent was not a day that Christians in Syria could line up for the blessing of ashes. Instead, the ashes in their lives are what remains of the churches and homes they fled at gunpoint.

A question thousands of years in the asking

February 22, 2016

Standing recently inside one of the oldest tombs in the world, with about 200,000 tonnes of stone above and around me, strange thoughts manifested in the darkness. The thoughts were not of fear but of perplexity about today’s materialistic, even hedonistic, culture.

February 23

Bishop Bradley decries shootings in Kalamazoo, Michigan, prays for victims

February 23, 2016

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Expressing shock and sadness, Bishop Paul J. Bradley of Kalamazoo offered prayers for the six people who were killed and two others who were injured by a gunman in the western Michigan city.

Pope: Being Christian is doing God's will, not just talking the talk

February 23, 2016

VATICAN CITY - For a Christian, talk is cheap; the faith requires concretely doing God's will and serving the least as well as those around you, Pope Francis said at his morning Mass.

Head of Ukrainian Catholic Church consoled by Pope's words

February 23, 2016

ROME - The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church said he was consoled by Pope Francis' words of understanding and tenderness after he expressed the disappointment of Ukrainians with a joint declaration signed by the Pope and the Russian Orthodox patriarch.

Conscience can’t trump patients’ rights

February 23, 2016

OTTAWA - The conscience rights of doctors and health care workers should not be allowed to interfere with a patient’s “right” to a medically assisted death, claimed a university professor from the faculties of law and medicine at Dalhousie University.

February 24

Plan to close Guantanamo leaves unanswered questions for advocates

February 24, 2016

WASHINGTON - As U.S. President Barack Obama offered a long-awaited plan to close the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, organizations advocating for the closure welcomed the news and called for an end of the policy of holding remaining detainees without charges.

Ontario sorry for attempt to ‘crush’ French culture

February 24, 2016

TORONTO - The Anglo-Protestant attempt to crush French Catholic culture in Ontario got rare acknowledgement from Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne Feb. 22 as she stood in the legislature to apologize for Regulation 17.

Quebec sexual abuse victims settle class action for $30 million

February 24, 2016

MONTREAL - About 150 former pupils and boarders of the former Montreal Institute for the Deaf who were sexually abused between 1940 and 1982 will share $30 million after their class action was settled.

Liberals backtrack on whipped vote for assisted dying

February 24, 2016

OTTAWA - In the face of political and public criticism, a Liberal directive that would have forced its MPs to vote the party line on an upcoming assisted-dying bill has been put on hold.