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July 2016

July 20

Church seeks an open door for immigration

July 20, 2016

As Canada launches another overhaul of immigration policy, the Church has an interest in maintaining open doors, whether it’s to refugees, regular immigrants or temporary foreign workers.

July 21

ShareLife to fund seniors’ outreach

July 21, 2016

TORONTO – A seniors outreach pilot project is set to begin in select suburban Toronto parishes this year, funded in part through donations to the annual ShareLife campaign.

Centuries-old Church architecture awe inspiring

July 21, 2016

I’ve had an action-packed few days. If you’ve followed through my photo diary albums, you’ll see that I’ve been in seven cities in three days. A lot of the days are spent being shepherded through historical sites, like cathedrals, monasteries and towns that have been around for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Confessions of a first-time pilgrim

July 21, 2016

I have begun my very first major pilgrimage. On July 20, I’ll board a flight to Warsaw, Poland, where for the following 12 days I’ll join thousands of others partaking in cultural and religious events at World Youth Day, created more than 30 years ago by St. John Paul II. This year’s event is being held in his homeland, Krakow, where he was archbishop.

D&P hopes deal brings real peace to Colombia

July 21, 2016

As peace slowly comes to Colombia after 58 years of shooting, Canada’s Catholic aid agency is talking with its partners in the South American country about how to adapt to a changing situation.

America is reaping what it has sown

July 21, 2016

Earlier this month, we were driving to Minnesota to visit relatives on the night a black man was shot dead by police in a St. Paul suburb after being stopped for a broken tail light. That was a day after another black man was killed by police in Baton Rouge.

The Pope gets it

July 21, 2016

Next to the Pope, the Vatican’s most quoted person is probably the papal spokesman. In an often thankless job, the spokesman makes official announcements, corrects misinformation, fields reporters’ queries and, generally, is the public face of a Church that is frequently misunderstood.

Church joins U.K. project to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees

July 21, 2016

MANCHESTER, England – The Catholic Church in England and Wales has joined a government project to resettle an estimated 20,000 refugees from the Syrian war.

U.S. cardinal says ‘Christian nations’ in West must counter Islamic influx

July 21, 2016

Amid heightened tensions over Islamic State-fueled terror attacks and anti-Muslim rhetoric, a prominent American cardinal says Islam “wants to govern the world” and Americans must decide if they are going to reassert “the Christian origin of our own nation” in order to avoid that fate.

Turkey’s Catholics watchful during crackdown after failed coup

July 21, 2016

OXFORD, England – Bishop Ruben Tierrablanca Gonzalez, apostolic vicar of Istanbul, said Catholics were following closely the government crackdown that followed an attempted coup.

July 22

Baton Rouge Catholic community works to promote peace after shootings

July 22, 2016

BATON ROUGE, La. –As tragic events have unfolded in the Baton Rouge area, the Catholic community has been at the forefront of helping to spread the message of peace.

Catholic priest to coordinate interreligious centre at Olympic Village

July 22, 2016

SAO PAULO – About two weeks before the opening ceremony for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Father Leandro Lenin Tavares was putting the final touches on what he hopes will be a very successful spiritual mission: coordinating the interreligious centre for athletes at the Olympic Village.

Russian Orthodox Church calls boycotted Crete council ‘an important event’

July 22, 2016

The Russian Orthodox Church, whose boycott of a major summit of Orthodox Christian leaders in Crete last month threatened to slow down efforts to promote greater unity, has declared the meeting “an important event in the history of the conciliar process.”

Wurzburg church leaders warn against generalizing after ax attack

July 22, 2016

OXFORD, England – German church representatives urged people not to turn against Muslim refugees and asylum-seekers, after police killed an Afghan refugee who had attacked people on a train.

Newman Centre welcomes Fr. Peter Turrone as director

July 22, 2016

TORONTO – In a way, it’s like Fr. Peter Turrone is coming home. As a student at the University of Toronto, Turrone saw the Newman Centre Catholic Chaplaincy as a second home, a spiritual oasis. Now, as he takes up his new position as Newman’s executive director and pastor, he is excited for the opportunity to serve the community that gave him so much.

Shootings of law enforcement officers shock victims' friends

July 22, 2016

BATON ROUGE, La. – Jerri Marino's greatest fear was realized July 17.

ISIS slaughter turns singer’s focus to refugees

July 22, 2016

It was February 2015 and American singer-songwriter Audrey Assad was working with fellow Catholic artist Matt Maher on his new album. She was sitting in Maher’s backyard when she came across the shocking video online. Twenty-one Egyptian Coptic Christian men were about to be beheaded by the Islamic State on a Libyan beach.

July 23

Scientists bring saints back to life using latest imaging technology

July 23, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian scientists are using 3-D printing technology to reconstruct the faces of Roman Catholic saints and other holy people, producing life-size busts of what they actually looked like hundreds of years after they died.

Franciscan who might be Canada's next saint remains unknown to many

July 23, 2016

QUEBEC CITY – Canada owes him the return of the Franciscans, the founding of the country's largest Marian sanctuary, and the development of strong and lasting ties between the French Canadians and the Holy Land. Yet, 100 years after his death and though he might become Canada's next saint, Blessed Frederic Janssoone still remains largely unknown to many people in Quebec.

Family of Faith funds youth ministry

July 23, 2016

TORONTO – The Archdiocese of Toronto’s ultra-successful Family of Faith campaign is allowing parishes across the archdiocese to invest in their future.