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February 25, 2016
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump convincingly won the Nevada caucuses but is still struggling in what might be called “the Pope Francis primary.”
What is the real root of human loneliness? A flaw within our make-up? Inadequacy and sin? Or does Augustine’s famous line, “You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you,” say it all?
Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year C) March 6 (Joshua 5:9a, 10-12; Psalm 34; 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32) Liberation is a long and painful process. Being set free from a negative situation is merely the first step in a continuing journey.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Jesus gave us the Beatitudes to remind us that we are called to show compassion to our brothers and sisters in Christ. The eight Beatitudes, from the Gospel of Matthew, provide an opportunity to reflect on how we live out these values in our daily lives.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Malaria and cold nights add to the suffering of the increasing number of Mozambicans arriving at a makeshift camp in Malawi to escape violence at home, said a church worker in Malawi.
Governments are usually criticized for political flipflops, but the federal Liberals deserve at least faint praise for hitting the pause button on a daft plan to deny party members a free vote on upcoming assisted suicide legislation.
TAMPA, Fla. - Fourteen bishops from Canada, the United States and Latin America explored ways to invite the faithful into what Pope Francis has called "an encounter with Jesus Christ" during three days of prayer and discussion.
VATICAN CITY - Those who hope Pope Francis will give divorced and civilly remarried Catholics a blanket welcome back to Communion and those who fear he will open the doors to such a possibility are both likely to be disappointed by his decision.
OTTAWA - The special Parliamentary committee on physician-assisted dying recommended Feb. 25 euthanasia for the mentally ill and opened the way for euthanasia of consenting minors.
February 26, 2016
As I ran down a dirt road in the village of Nandarola, Nicaragua, I could hear the bus approaching behind me, its air horn tauntingly blowing. With four-year-old Miguel on my shoulders, the two of us were racing the bus back to his small house. It was the last day of my visit to this remote community. It was a poignant moment, waving goodbye to the mothers and children — Miguel included — as we left, and one of many fulfilling and joyful experiences I had in Nicaragua.
It all started with a selfie. While at the Steubenville Toronto youth conference last July, a few of the youth from St. Francis Xavier parish asked the host, Chris Stefanick, to take a selfie with them.
ROME - Police in Spain have arrested a fugitive businessman accused of swindling pensioners from the U.S. and elsewhere out of millions of euros with the backing of a Catholic priest who worked at the Vatican before retiring to the Canary Islands.
OTTAWA - Should the federal government accept the recommendations of its special committee on assisted death, it will threaten the existence of Canada’s faith-based health care institutions, says the Coalition for HealthCARE.
ROME - After months of public debate and protests, the Italian Senate passed a controversial bill that grants legal recognition to non-married heterosexual and homosexual couples.
VATICAN CITY - By reflecting on the Passion of Christ, the author of the Way of the Cross meditations for Pope Francis' Good Friday service said he will focus on the suffering unfolding in the world today and how "the martyrs of the 21st century are undoubtedly the apostles of today."
TORONTO - A new Canadian pro-life group has been born after being developed for the better part of a year.
There’s no easy way out of Ontario’s sex trafficking crisis and no shortage of opinions about first steps.
February 27, 2016
VAUGHAN, ONT. - A parish so new it doesn’t even have a church was asked to raise a modest $30,000 in the Family of Faith campaign. Instead it raked in more than $1 million.
OTTAWA - As peace continues to elude wartorn Syria, Canadian Catholics are being asked to remain in solidarity with those ravaged by the conflict.
TORONTO - Violence is often understood as the use of force or power against another person, but Fr. Robert Holmes also sees the mistreatment of Canada’s natural resources as a form of violence.