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February 2017

February 24

Opinion: Chair of St. Peter strong as ever

February 24, 2017

VATICAN CITY – The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Feb. 22, is my favourite day to visit St. Peter’s Basilica.

Archdiocese of Toronto calls youth to authentic love

February 24, 2017

Matt Fradd is challenging hundreds of youth in the Archdiocese of Toronto to seek authentic love.

Toronto Catholic board's anti-bullying app set for launch

February 24, 2017

Toronto’s Catholic school board is giving victims and witnesses the option of anonymity when reporting incidents thanks to a new smartphone application.

Iraqi Christians erect large cross in area liberated from ISIS

February 24, 2017

MOSUL, Iraq – After years of darkness, hope has returned to Telekuf-Tesqopa. Located 26 kilometres from Mosul, the village is rebuilding after being liberated from ISIS.

Temptation can help us on path to God

February 24, 2017

First Sunday of Lent, March 5 (Year A) Genesis 2:7-9, 16-18, 25; 3:1-7; Psalm 51; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11 The story of the Garden of Eden and the Fall is deeply embedded in the consciousness of the West. Even those who are not at all religious are familiar with it and it has found its way into art, literature and music.

Promote life by protecting, sharing clean water, Pope says

February 24, 2017

VATICAN CITY – Access to clean drinking water is a basic human right and a key component in protecting human life, Pope Francis said.

South Sudan bishops condemn atrocities, appeal for help to prevent famine

February 24, 2017

MANCHESTER, England – South Sudan's Catholic bishops asked for the world's help to prevent mass starvation that threatens the lives of more than 5 million people.

Trump draws praise for withdrawing transgender bathroom regulation

February 24, 2017

WASHINGTON – On Wednesday night, the Trump administration withdrew an Obama-era guidance that had directed schools to allow students to use the bathroom or locker room of the gender they currently identify with, not the facilities of their birth or biological sex.

Campion College marks centennial with commitment to future

February 24, 2017

REGINA – For a century, Campion College has stayed faithful to its mission to educate Catholics in Saskatchewan’s capital city, first as a Catholic high school, and since 1968 as the Catholic college federated with the University of Regina.

Vatican astronomers applaud discovery of Earth-sized planets

February 24, 2017

VATICAN CITY – The quest to find life on other planets got a boost when astronomers confirmed the existence of at least seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a red dwarf star just 40 light years away.

Syrian priest: After liberation of Aleppo, living conditions still dire

February 24, 2017

ALEPPO, Syria – Nearly three months after the Syrian Army liberated the city of Aleppo from ISIS control, the local population is facing harsh living conditions in a city left in ruins after nearly six years of fighting.

Trump's new immigration rules will hurt the vulnerable, U.S. bishops warn

February 24, 2017

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration’s new border and immigration enforcement rules needlessly endanger the vulnerable, militarize the border and will cause many other problems, the U.S. bishops warned this week.

Australian archbishops to ask for clarity on confessions after sex abuse commission

February 24, 2017

SYDNEY – Australia's five archbishops said they would consider asking the Vatican for clarification on concerns raised in a government inquiry into sexual abuse of children in the church.

February 25

Canadian bishops' Lent guides should challenge us

February 25, 2017

No parish or individual Catholic should have to walk into Lent blind.

It's families helping families as Catholics, others aid Syrian refugees

February 25, 2017

OMAHA, Neb. – It's families helping families. That's the bottom line as parishes and Catholic ministries step up to help refugee families – most recently, several from war-torn Syria – adjust to a new life in the United States.

St. Peter's Seminary is going back to the future

February 25, 2017

St. Peter’s Seminary is returning to its original vision, said Fr. Peter Keller, formation director and head of the seminary’s ongoing renovations project.

Christians get social media, other online tools to observe Lent

February 25, 2017

For centuries during Lent, Christians have sought to grow closer to God through praying, fasting and giving to the poor.

Argentine attorney representing workers stays friends with Pope Francis

February 25, 2017

MODESTO, Calif. – Grass-roots organizing that seeks to overcome what Pope Francis has called "the economy of exclusion" is vital to the work of the Catholic Church, said an Argentine attorney who has stayed friends with the pontiff for a decade.

Catholic universities work together to help send students abroad

February 25, 2017

“We don’t grow intellectually until we’re exposed to different points of view, different cultures, or people we simply don’t agree with,” said Basilian Fr. Terry Kersch, president of St. Joseph’s College at the University of Alberta.

Some Catholics attack immigration policies, others urge new approach

February 25, 2017

WASHINGTON – Donald Trump campaigned by saying he would aggressively go after the country's 11 million unauthorized immigrants, promising deportation forces and a border wall with Mexico paid for by the United States' neighbor to the south.