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June 2017

June 20

Senator warns transgender law will be challenged

June 20, 2017

OTTAWA – Senator Don Plett expects the new transgender law will soon be challenged for violating religious freedom or freedom of expression.

Doctor who promoted Quebec’s euthanasia law having second thoughts

June 20, 2017

OTTAWA – Euthanasia opponents find it a “great irony” the physician who championed Quebec’s euthanasia law now has second thoughts.

June 21

Conference takes healthy approach to aging

June 21, 2017

WINDSOR, Ont. – Throw out a lot of your preconceptions when it comes to the aging process and coping with death and dying, a conference on healthy aging and spirituality was told.

Demand grows to clear refugee sponsorship backlog

June 21, 2017

Canada welcomed World Refugee Day on June 20 with at least 45,000 already-sponsored refugees scattered across the globe, stuck waiting as long as four years while their ready-and-willing sponsors in Canada marvel at the willingness of government bureaucracy to squander their dedication, faith and good will.

In lieu of visit, Pope makes major donation to South Sudan charities

June 21, 2017

VATICAN CITY – With a trip to South Sudan postponed indefinitely, Pope Francis is sending close to a half-million dollars to help two church-run hospitals, a teacher training center and farming projects for families as a way to show the people there his solidarity and support.

USCCB officials urge Homeland Security to defer deportation of Chaldeans

June 21, 2017

WASHINGTON – The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the chairmen of the bishops' migration and international policy committees urged Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly to defer deportation of Chaldean Christians and others arrested June 11.

Faith: Special bond unites fraternity of priests

June 21, 2017

The priests of the Diocese of Hamilton gathered recently for the Mass of Christian Burial for one of our priests, Fr. Philip Sherlock.

Faith: We all have a role in discipleship

June 21, 2017

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 2 (Year A) 2 Kings 4:8-12a, 14-16; Psalm 89; Romans 6:3-4, 8-11; Matthew 10:37-42 The Bible is a book of familiar themes that find their way into many different stories.

Pope tells NFL legends he backs a ‘different’ kind of football

June 21, 2017

VATICAN CITY – It may not have been his kind of "football," and he may not have much use for his new helmet, but Pope Francis welcomed a group of NFL veterans and told them their sport has "virtues."

Faith: Churches in the West can overcome ‘noon-day fatigue’

June 21, 2017

There’s a popular notion which suggests that it can be helpful to compare every century of Christianity’s existence to one year of life. That would make Christianity 21 years old, a young 21, grown-up enough to exhibit a basic maturity but still far from a finished product. How insightful is this notion?

Melkite Catholic Church elects new patriarch, a native of Syria

June 21, 2017

BEIRUT – Bishop Joseph Absi was elected the new Melkite patriarch of Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem and All the East during the Melkite Catholic Synod at Ain-Traz, Lebanon.

Mali's Catholic Church demands tougher regional stance against Islamists

June 21, 2017

OXFORD, England – Mali's Catholic church has urged a common front against Islamist violence after al-Qaida-linked terrorists attacked a tourist resort just days before the creation of the country's first cardinal.

June 22

Comment: Ukrainian Cardinals Husar and Slipyj are heroes to Church community

June 22, 2017

The death on May 31 of Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, patriarch emeritus of Kyiv, former head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), resonated in Canada where, outside of Ukraine, the largest Ukrainian Catholic community is found.

Editorial: Pope Francis' search for cardinals reaches far

June 22, 2017

It’s common for popes to search far and wide for their cardinals, but none has searched farther and wider than Pope Francis.

Parish supports growing population of seniors in community with seminars

June 22, 2017

A parish’s first job is to serve its community, said Fr. Michael Machacek of Nativity of Our Lord Parish in Etobicoke, Ont.

Advocates worry new agreement will hurt private sponsorship refugee program

June 22, 2017

Private refugee sponsors need to guard the success of their program and protect their donors’ money, says Archdiocese of Toronto refugee advocate Martin Mark.

Pope Francis: Clergy in Middle East must be the 'last among the least'

June 22, 2017

VATICAN CITY – Christians in war-torn areas of the Middle East must never be far from priests and bishops in their country so they can feel God's closeness in the midst of suffering, Pope Francis said.

Euthanasia mindset looms over disabled baby's legal fight, ethicist warns

June 22, 2017

LONDON, England – Legal efforts to bar the parents of a British baby born with a disabling medical condition from seeking treatment overseas are based on deep ethical errors, a Catholic expert in medical ethics has warned.

Scorsese says a boyhood of church and movies continues to inspire him

June 22, 2017

QUEBEC CITY – Faith and films have been lifelong obsessions for director Martin Scorsese, obsessions that he said have given him moments of peace amid turmoil, but also challenges and frustrations that, in hindsight, he will accept as lessons in humility.

U.S. military archbishop asks prayers for those who perished in ship collision

June 22, 2017

WASHINGTON – The head of the U.S. military archdiocese June 20 expressed sorrow for the lives lost in "the tragic ship collision" involving the USS Fitzgerald off the coast of Japan.