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February 2018

February 15

Sr. Elizabeth Kass, advocate for deaf community, dies at age 84

February 15, 2018

EDMONTON – Sr. Elizabeth Kass is being remembered as a fearless woman who spent decades ministering to her fellow members of the deaf community, culminating in what she called the answer to her prayers — the ordination of Canada’s first deaf priest.

Islamic State has landed in lawless Somalia, bishop says

February 15, 2018

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) – As it loses its grip in the Middle East, the Islamic State is finding a foothold in Somalia, said a bishop who oversees the Catholic Church in the troubled country.

Vatican denies report Pope Benedict has degenerative disease

February 15, 2018

VATICAN – The Vatican denied that retired Pope Benedict XVI has a degenerative neurological disease or paralyzing condition after his brother, 94-year-old Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, told a magazine that Pope Benedict had a debilitating disease.

Pope updates resignation norms for bishops, prelates in Roman Curia

February 15, 2018

VATICAN – Updating the norms and regulations governing the resignation of bishops and of Roman Curia department heads who are not cardinals, Pope Francis said they will continue to hold office until he accepts their resignations.

Florida school shooting an act of 'horrifying evil,' says Miami archbishop

February 15, 2018

MIAMI – Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski urged community members to come together "to support one another in this time of grief" after a shooting rampage Feb. 14 at a Broward County high school left at least 17 people dead.

Mickey Conlon: Tragedy should not derail reconciliation

February 15, 2018

REGINA – The trial of a Saskatchewan farmer charged in the death of a 22-year-old Indigenous man has ended with an acquittal. But other than that, what have we learned from this?

Sex abuse is a great humiliation, 'shows our level of hypocrisy', Pope says to priests

February 15, 2018

VATICAN – In a conversation with Jesuits during his recent visit to Peru, Pope Francis said he regularly meets with victims of sexual abuse on Fridays, and that while the percentage of priests who abuse is relatively low, even one is too many.

February 16

For the sake of Oberammergau's Passion: Every ten years, Bavarian town becomes Calvary

February 16, 2018

There are probably thousands of Passion plays put on around the world during the Easter season, but you would be hard pressed to find a more unique version than the one held in a small town in Germany’s Bavarian Alps.

Editorial: Sex file bungled

February 16, 2018

Few dossiers that cross the Pope’s desk are more challenging than the thick, sad file on sexual abuse. It’s a file Pope Francis inherited from his two predecessors and one he pledged to handle with urgency, compassion and transparency.

'It's the Lord, working through the music,' Catholic fiddler Natalie MacMaster says

February 16, 2018

Whether or not St. Thomas Aquinas really said “he who sings prays twice,” it’s true.

Head of Catholic physicians' group warns of threats to conscientious objection

February 16, 2018

VATICAN – No physician should be forced to choose between violating his or her conscience and facing professional sanctions when defending human life, said the president of the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations.

Pope's homily: Feel hunger and cover it up with a smile this Lent

February 16, 2018

VATICAN – Loudly boasting or complaining about fasting during Lent and treating others unkindly is not what God wants, Pope Francis said.

Youth open closet doors to Winnipeg’s new migrants and refugees

February 16, 2018

For many Canadians, hand-me-down clothes from siblings or cousins were a natural part of growing up. However, not everyone is fortunate enough to have relatives to lean on.

Speaking out: The real dignity of dying

February 16, 2018

This past fall, my mother received a call from the care home in Yorkton, Sask., where her eldest sister was a resident. My mother was informed that her sister had taken a turn in health and there likely wasn’t much time left.

February 17

Time to be 'honest' in dialogue with Muslims, Chaldean archbishop says

February 17, 2018

WASHINGTON – If Christians in the Middle East are going to be "honest" with their Muslim dialogue partners, said Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda of Irbil, Iraq, Muslims will have to acknowledge that the persecution of Christians in the region did not start with the Islamic State's rise to power in 2014.

Fr. Scott Lewis: God never excludes or gives up on anyone

February 17, 2018

First Sunday of Lent, Feb. 18 (Year B) Genesis 9:8-15; Psalm 25; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15

Pope renews membership of child protection commission

February 17, 2018

VATICAN – Pope Francis has named nine new members to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, including abuse survivors or the parents of survivors, the Vatican said.

Doomsday clock ticking on nuclear threat

February 17, 2018

Is the world moving closer to nuclear war?

February 18

First Sunday of Lent: Now is the time for conversion, Pope says

February 18, 2018

VATICAN – Lent is a time to face our temptations and be converted by the Gospel, Pope Francis said in his Angelus address on the first Sunday of Lent.

February 19

Longueuil diocese takes on cathedral’s $300,000 debt

February 19, 2018

The future of an historic cathedral in Quebec has been secured by a transaction that saw the local bishop trade away a former convent and his diocese assume the cathedral’s $300,000 debt.