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September 2016

September 9

York students learn charity through volunteer work

September 9, 2016

Echoes of Mother Teresa’s charity are reverberating in the Greater Toronto Area.

Data needed to help deal with trafficking in Africa, says Caritas rep

September 9, 2016

ABUJA, Nigeria – A lack of reliable data on human trafficking in Africa hinders aid reaching people who desperately need it, said the continental coordinator for Caritas Internationalis.

Trust in God requires a dose of fear

September 9, 2016

Unless you are already a full saint or a mystic, you will always live in some fear of death and the afterlife. That’s simply part of being human. But we can, and must, move beyond our fear of God.

Ontario's St. Vincent de Paul Society chooses its first female president

September 9, 2016

Ten years ago Linda Dollard thought she might get involved in the St. Vincent de Paul Society when she retired. Then she would have the time.

Today’s actions have eternal consequences

September 9, 2016

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Sept. 18 (Amos 8:4-7; Psalm 113; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13) Exploitation, injustice and corruption are as familiar as the sunrise and sunset. There are many similarities between eighth century B.C. Israel — the time of the prophet Amos — and our own world. Amos pulled no punches in his public utterances against the establishment. Looming over them was the threat of the violent and rapacious Assyrian Empire. Amos sought to call Israel back to the path of justice and righteousness — in other words, the way of God — before it was too late. Interestingly, he did not touch on what we might call “religious” practices, such as ritual, liturgy and sacrifice. Instead, he described familiar patterns of human behaviour: dishonest business dealings, as well as brutal and greedy tactics that crushed people and enslaved the poor.

Churchgoing Catholics least likely to hold negative views on Muslims

September 9, 2016

OTTAWA – Catholics in Quebec are more likely to hold a negative view of Muslims than Catholics across the rest of the nation, according to a new book by Reginald Bibby and Angus Reid.

Evangelizing not a rote task

September 9, 2016

Pope Francis said Mass in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta on Friday morning. In remarks to the faithful following the readings of the day, the Holy Father focused on the nature of the work of Evangelization: it is an art and a discipline – never a vaunt and never a task to be done by rote – and the work of evangelization is never, never, “a walk in the park.”

Movie Review: ’Sully’

September 9, 2016

NEW YORK – Putting Tom Hanks in the cockpit as everybody's favorite aviator, U.S. Airways Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, and bringing Clint Eastwood on board to direct him certainly sounds like a formula for high-flying success. And so it proves with "Sully" (Warner Bros.), Eastwood's satisfying adaptation of Sullenberger's memoir (co-written with Jeffrey Zaslow) "Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters."

Jordan's king: Muslims must help Christians address Mideast challenges

September 9, 2016

AMMAN, Jordan – Jordan's King Abdullah II told a visiting delegation from the Middle East Council of Churches that his country has become a model for coexistence, fraternity and moderation in the Middle East.

September 10

Marian retreat aimed at the ‘little souls’

September 10, 2016

OTTAWA – An Ottawa couple has created a retreat for children based on stories of Marian apparitions to encourage “little souls” to consecrate themselves to Jesus through Mary.

Veteran religion reporter looks for the Bible in public life

September 10, 2016

CHICAGO – Kenneth A. Briggs has been on the “Godbeat” for years, as a religion reporter for Newsday, as religion editor at The New York Times and now as a contributor to the National Catholic Reporter.

A retreat where women can connect

September 10, 2016

For eight years, Sandy Laneville faithfully joined a group of friends to attend a Baptist women’s retreat held annually in Muskoka. It was so inspiring and rejuvenating she decided to organize a retreat of her own, but enhance hers with the sacramental riches of the Catholic faith.

The battle over gun regulation returns to the U.S. election season

September 10, 2016

WASHINGTON – On the campaign trail, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump recently referenced the increasing violence in Chicago, which reached an infamous milestone this summer: the most violent August the city has seen in 20 years.

A nation at war, Ukraine turns to the Lord

September 10, 2016

With 10,000 dead in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region, Russian tanks and missile systems massing on the eastern border, two million internally displaced Ukrainians, Crimea already under Russian rule and the Ukrainian Black Sea fleet sunk or stolen, Fr. Peter Galadza is putting his trust in the politics of the beatitudes.

September 11

‘Small, still voice’ of art at the 9/11 museum

September 11, 2016

NEW YORK – A generation ago, a curator at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem noticed a man saying Kaddish, the prayer of mourning, in front of a seder plate.

Retreats lead women who had abortions find healing

September 11, 2016

VANCOUVER – The team at Rachel’s Vineyard sees forgiveness and healing transform hurting people every year.

Author finds One World Trade Center a witness to America's spirit

September 11, 2016

MAMARONECK, N.Y. – Fifteen years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks decimated the twin towers in lower Manhattan, the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center rises out of the ground, a palpable symbol of triumph and optimism. The tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere is the soaring, storied, centerpiece of a 16-acre complex that includes eight other major structures.

15 years after 9/11, are congregations prepared for disasters?

September 11, 2016

In late August, as the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks loomed, religious leaders tuned into a webinar to prepare themselves for a possible future disaster.

Remembering 9/11, a rabbi and imam nurture interfaith friendships

September 11, 2016

NEW YORK – Like many Americans, New York University chaplains Imam Khalid Latif and Rabbi Yehuda Sarna remember exactly where they were on Sept. 11, 2001. Both men say that day and its aftermath were pivotal in defining what they now see as their lives’ mission: to promote a vision for interfaith engagement based on personal relationships.

September 12

The devil seeks to divide the Church at the root of unity

September 12, 2016

Divisions destroy the Church, and the devil seeks to attack the root of unity: the celebration of the Eucharist. That was the message of Pope Francis on Monday morning at the daily Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, on the feast of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary.