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March 23, 2016
Belgian Muslim and Catholic organizations are condemning the terrorist bombings in Brussels.
VATICAN CITY - At the request of Pope Francis, material in the Vatican Secret archives relating to Argentina's "Dirty War" is expected to be opened in the coming months, the Vatican spokesman said.
OTTAWA - As Canada enters a new round of large budget deficits and rising federal debt, Catholic social teaching provides no straightforward answers on the wisdom of deficit economics.
OTTAWA - The Liberal government kicked off Holy Week on March 21 by giving the boot to the Office of Religious Freedom.
TORONTO - We have the technology to extend life beyond its natural limits, so why not apply our technological resources to end a life when natural death eludes us? Why not take full responsibility for the control humans already exercise over life?
The Archdiocese of Toronto is asking Ottawa for the chance to sponsor another 4,000 refugees over the coming year, said Martin Mark, director of the refugee office.
March 24, 2016
I took the Pulse Pledge during Lent and found myself reflecting on how something so small could actually make a difference.
In recent years, there has been public debate about the need for dress code reforms, particularly for female workers in the restaurant industry. Workers and restaurant patrons have complained that it is unfair for female servers and staff to be forced to wear short skirts and high heels as part of the establishment’s dress code standards. This issue hinges on discrimination towards female workers, as their male counterparts often don’t have the same dress code requirements.
HAMILTON, Ont. - The practice of Christian Baptism at Easter, preceded by several weeks of instruction, prayer and other rites, dates as far back as the fourth century. In early times, candidates for the Catholic Church, known as catechumens, recited a creed on Holy Saturday to signify the completion of their studies and then, at dawn on Easter morning, were immersed in a font and baptized.
On the morning of Holy Thursday, Pope Francis celebrated the Mass of Chrism at St Peter’s Basilica. During the Holy Mass, the Holy Father blessed the sacred oils (Chrism, the oil of catechumens, and the oil of the sick), which will be used during the Easter Vigil, and in liturgical celebrations throughout the year.
Pope Francis celebrated the Missa in coena Domini on Holy Thursday evening, at the CARA Welcome and Hospitality Centre operated by the Auxilium cooperative. Located a short distance outside the Rome city limits, in Castelnuovo di Porto, the Centre provides temporary lodging and services to nearly 900 asylum seekers from 25 different countries.
OXFORD, England - The Brussels archbishop thanked Christians for gestures of support in the wake of bomb attacks in his city and urged Belgians not to react by stoking anti-foreigner feeling.
Homeless Jesus has found another home, this time in the Vatican.
Last Holy Thursday I was asked to join other volunteers to have a foot washed by our parish priest during Mass as part of the symbolic re-enactment of the great lesson of serving others that Jesus shared with His disciples.
To read the comments in various newspapers and on web sites, the Church has no place in national policy debates, including the current deliberation on assisted suicide. Of course that’s nonsense at any time of year but it seems particularly absurd at Easter.
VATICAN CITY - As the death toll from the Brussels terror attacks rose on March 24, Pope Francis began three days of solemn observances leading to Easter Sunday by denouncing those who help fuel terrorism the way some once backed Judas against Jesus.
March 25, 2016
Editor’s note: the following is the Easter message released by Bishop Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. As Syrian refugees begin to settle into their new reality of life in Canada, stories of their journeys to this new land all have similar themes. Feeling under siege and faced with an uncertain future in the midst of war, many people were compelled to flee their land, their homes, their work, their education and all that seemed familiar in order to find new life.
There’s nothing quite like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to give one a sense of the origins of Christianity.
VATICAN CITY - When he told Pope Francis that writing the meditations for the papal Way of the Cross service was tough, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti of Perugia-Citta della Pieve said the Pope told him, “Remember, you aren’t doing it for me, but for the Church.”
GREEN BAY, Wis. - Praying the Stations of the Cross is a popular Lenten activity for Catholics, but for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, it can be a difficult, sometimes impossible challenge to follow along with the story of Jesus’ Passion.