Browse › 2017 › March

March 2017

March 28

Congo's bishops give up on peace mediation amid rising violence

March 28, 2017

KINSHASA, Congo – Catholic bishops in Congo have abandoned attempts to arrange a government-opposition power-sharing agreement, amid rising violence.

Religious coalition backs doctors’ conscience rights battle at Queen’s Park

March 28, 2017

A coalition of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders has sent an open letter to all 107 Ontario MPPs urging them to work together and “find a pathway that respects the rights of medical professionals, facilities and patients.”

Pope urges western Canadian bishops to be close to their people

March 28, 2017

VATICAN CITY – "That's your bishop!" a woman shouted to Seamus McKelvey of Winnipeg, Manitoba, as he leaned in for an impromptu picture with three prelates posing for a professional portrait with St. Peter's Basilica in the background.

March 29

CNEWA celebrates 12 years in Canada

March 29, 2017

OTTAWA – As the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) marks its 90th anniversary this year, CNEWA Canada celebrates 12 years.

Catholic advocates critical of Trump's order to review Clean Power Plan

March 29, 2017

WASHINGTON – Catholic environmental advocates decried President Donald Trump's executive order that would begin a review of his predecessor's Clean Power Plan, which set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants.

New federal budget puts Canada on track for palliative care framework

March 29, 2017

OTTAWA – With $6 billion earmarked for home and palliative care in the 2017 federal budget, Canada is on track towards making quality end-of-life care more accessible.

Pope Francis prays for Iraq as number of civilian deaths rise

March 29, 2017

VATICAN CITY – With the battle for major ISIS strongholds heating up in Iraq, Pope Francis has voiced his closeness to the country, praying for the safety of people on the ground, particularly civilians caught in the crosshairs of the fighting.

Omar Khadr's case a valuable education for Edmonton's King's University

March 29, 2017

REGINA – Few people are as polarizing in Canadian society today as is Omar Khadr, the Canadian child soldier who spent most of his teen years and early 20s imprisoned in the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison reserved for the Islamic terrorists the United States deems the greatest threat to the nation.

Priest murdered in Mexico's western state of Nayarit

March 29, 2017

JESUS MARIA, Mexico – Fr. Felipe Altamirano Carrillo, an indigenous priest who served in the Mexico's western state of Nayarit, was murdered Sunday while returning from saying Mass in one of the towns in which he served.

U.N.’s top official visits world’s largest Syrian refugee camp, pleads for peace

March 29, 2017

ZAATARI, Jordan – As the U.N. secretary-general visited the world's biggest camp for Syrian refugees this week, he made an impassioned plea: Stop Syria's devastating war.

March 30

Comment: Whatever happened to celebrating feast days?

March 30, 2017

Lent gives us two solemn feasts, St. Joseph and the Annunciation of the Lord. Both fell in the last weeks of March, and it is likely that a majority of Canadian parishes did not celebrate both of them; a great many likely celebrated neither.

Editorial: It’s time to make quality palliative care more accessible

March 30, 2017

The pledge was buried deep within the federal budget and delivered almost as an afterthought. Still, it is encouraging to see the Liberals keeping a 2015 election promise on palliative care.

ShareLife funds help sisters aid struggling refugee families

March 30, 2017

At St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish, religious sisters are serving as surrogate mothers to disadvantaged youth in one of Toronto’s poorest west-end neighbourhoods.

Pope's homily: ‘God weeps when we go astray from His love’

March 30, 2017

Beware of following fantasies and false idols, for only God loves us and waits for us like a father. That was Pope Francis’ message at Mass on Thursday morning in the Casa Santa Marta.

Facing sharp decline in priest numbers, an Irish diocese preps for change

March 30, 2017

LONGFORD, Ireland – In one Irish diocese, the number of active priests may halve in fewer than 15 years. As a result, Bishop Francis Duffy of Ardagh and Clonmacnois has aimed to prepare his flock to take on more active roles.

Los Angeles Archbishop: English wasn't America's first language

March 30, 2017

WASHINGTON – In recent months, national debates over immigration and deportation have reached a fever pitch in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's election.

Activists who secretly filmed Planned Parenthood reject felony charges as ‘bogus’

March 30, 2017

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The undercover activists whose work appeared to implicate Planned Parenthood officials in the illegal sale of unborn baby body parts now face 15 felony charges in California, but one insists the allegations are phony.

Syrians who remain need help to rebuild their country

March 30, 2017

OTTAWA – While much of the world’s attention is on Syrian refugees, there is also a great need to help rebuild the lives of those who chose to remain in the war-ravaged country, says a Syrian refugee who manages centres funded by the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.

Vatican official hopes Trump can be persuaded to change policies

March 30, 2017

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican hopes that U.S. bishops and others will continue to raise their voices in defense of the obligation to fight climate change and, in time, can persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to change his position, a top Vatican official said.

Bishop concerned U.S. won't meet carbon emission goals after Trump order

March 30, 2017

WASHINGTON– President Donald Trump's executive order calling for a review of the Clean Power Plan jeopardizes environmental protections and moves the country away from a national carbon standard to help meet domestic and international goals to ease greenhouse gas emissions, said the chairman of a U.S. bishops' committee.