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October 3, 2016
TORONTO – Today, millions of pilgrims from around the world travel to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal each year to venerate the statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. And in a way, the statue has made its own pilgrimage around the world to meet with the faithful.
VANCOUVER – Fifteen couples are set to be married in one big, happy ceremony in what will likely be the biggest wedding in the history of the Archdiocese of Vancouver.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Even in a rural Mexican community that has grown accustomed to the news of brutal killings, the abduction and murder of a popular Catholic priest has triggered profound shock and outrage.
October 4, 2016
VATICAN CITY – Amid the devastation wrought by an earthquake in central Italy, Pope Francis quietly prayed and offered words of consolation to survivors and those assisting in relief efforts.
CORNWALL, Ontario – Canada's bishops are finalizing new policies to better protect minors against sex abuse.
WASHINGTON – Wind-whipped rains from Hurricane Matthew shattered Haiti's southwest peninsula, downing trees, ripping open makeshift wooden homes and causing widespread flooding Oct. 4 as aid workers waited for the storm to subside before mobilizing.
TORONTO – The Canadian arm of the Jesuits is selling all its investments in oil, gas and coal.
October 5, 2016
TORONTO – A tinkling bell and a jolly umbrella carried up and down the aisles declared St. Michael’s Cathedral the 25th minor basilica in Canada — one more happy moment added onto one of the most significant liturgies in Toronto’s Catholic history.
WINDSOR, ONT. – A Windsor priest was sentenced to 10 months in jail and ordered to repay $75,000 to his former parish after a judge ruled the pastor preyed on victims who "were vulnerable given their faith and trust in their priest.”
OTTAWA – Canada’s Catholic bishops are unlikely to issue national pastoral guidelines on how to accompany Catholics considering euthanasia, the bishops’ conference president said.
OTTAWA – The archbishop of Vancouver has written to a local health authority to oppose a threat to make compliance with assisted suicide requests mandatory at all its health institutions, including Catholic hospitals and palliative care centres.
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine bishops' conference president has lamented "the slow erosion of Filipino values" as the Southeast Asian archipelago presses on with its war on drugs that has killed thousands.
WASHINGTON – Canada’s Catholic aid agency has already sent $50,000 to help the people of Haiti cope with the worst storm to hit the Caribbean nation in a decade. But the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace is still counting on Catholics to give.
The great Canadian author William Kinsella died Sept. 16 at the age of 81. He wrote terrific stories and was brilliant at merging baseball and fiction. His novel Shoeless Joe was turned into the hit movie Field of Dreams. He left behind a great literary legacy and a gaping hole in the hearts of baseball fans with a literary bent.
WASHINGTON – In opening remarks during the U.S. vice presidential candidates' debate Oct. 4, each candidate alluded to faith but they didn't return to how their beliefs influenced their political views until the last 10 minutes of the night.
I believe the heart of our faith is forgiveness. Even when receiving the Eucharist we are reminded that on the cross, in His great agony, Jesus forgave.
ROME – Pope Francis and Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury together charged 19 pairs of Catholic and Anglican bishops to return to their home countries and work together to promote joint prayer, joint proclamation of the Gospel and, especially, joint works of charity and justice.
October 6, 2016
OTTAWA – Canada’s premier centre for university-level studies of Ukrainian Catholic theology, tradition and liturgy is moving from Ottawa to Toronto’s University of St. Michael’s College.
TORONTO – To shed light on some of the darkest moments in the history of Catholic education, students from St. Joseph’s College School unveiled their Residential Schools Memorial Wall at the annual Nuit Blanche all-night art festival.
WASHINGTON – Haitian first responders and nongovernmental aid workers were assessing the damage from Hurricane Matthew even as they scrambled to deliver food, water and shelter materials to communities isolated by washed-out bridges and blocked roads.