Browse › 2018 › February

February 2018

February 22

British judge allows toddler's life support switched off, against parents' wishes

February 22, 2018

LIVERPOOL, England – A British court ruled Tuesday that physicians can stop providing life support, against his parents' wishes, to Alfie Evans, a 21-month old boy who has an unknown neurological degenerative condition.

No youth should feel excluded from pre-synod, cardinal says

February 22, 2018

VATICAN CITY - As the Catholic Church prepares to welcome youths from around the world to a preparatory meeting for the Synod of Bishops on youth, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri said the Church is using every means of communication available to listen to young people from all walks of life.

Christian leader, English bishop add to outcry over attacks in Syria

February 22, 2018

AMMAN, Jordan – A Syrian Christian political leader has joined the growing ranks of international condemnation over violent attacks in Syria's northwestern area of Afrin and the Damascus enclave of Eastern Ghouta.

February 23

Speaking Out: Lessons from Hiroshima

February 23, 2018

I was reading Dennis Bocks’ The Ash Garden for English class last semester. The book follows the story of three main characters affected by the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima during the Second World War.

Refugee, migrant children should not be detained like criminals, U.N. speakers say

February 23, 2018

UNITED NATIONS – Migration is not a crime and vulnerable migrant and refugee children should not be detained as if they were criminals, speakers said at a U.N. program Feb. 21.

With growing student activism on gun violence, will lawmakers act?

February 23, 2018

WASHINGTON – Determination and resolve, mixed with frustration and anger, are guiding a new round of resolute activism to reshape federal gun laws.

Prayer for peace in Congo, South Sudan a call to action, cardinal says

February 23, 2018

VATICAN – Pope Francis' call for a day of prayer and fasting for peace in war-torn countries like South Sudan and Congo is also a reminder for world leaders to protect their countrymen from violence and injustice, a Vatican official said.

About 45,000 privately sponsored refugees backlogged

February 23, 2018

As they wait to learn about 2018 quotas, sponsoring agencies are set to welcome 18,000 refugees this year, including many who have waited for years to finally start a new life in Canada.

Glen Argan: Legislation alone will not cure racism

February 23, 2018

Last May, my wife, daughters and I stayed at a resort on a First Nations reserve on Vancouver Island to celebrate my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday. The last night we were there, my mother-in-law moved into town, and my wife and I slept in the yurt where she had stayed.

February 24

God's word on Sunday: Abraham's offering is a lesson in trust

February 24, 2018

Second Sunday of Lent, Feb. 25 (Year B) Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18; Psalm 116; Romans 8:31b-35, 37; Mark 9:2-10

February 26

Mideast Christian leaders shut Church of Holy Sepulchre to protest taxes

February 26, 2018

JERUSALEM – Protesting several recent actions they described as a "systematic campaign ... against the churches and the Christian community in the Holy Land," the heads of Christian churches announced Feb. 25 they were closing of the doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for an undisclosed period of time.

Life should be lived fully listening to Jesus, Pope Francis says

February 26, 2018

VATICAN – On Sunday Pope Francis said Jesus never leaves his followers alone, but always prepares them for the trials they will face, just as he during his transfiguration, which helped his disciples to understand and cope with his Passion and death.

Pope names Ottawa priest Apostolic Nuncio

February 26, 2018

OTTAWA – Msgr. Jose Bettencourt, an Ottawa priest who has served as Head of Protocol in the Vatican since 2012, has been named an Apostolic Nuncio and appointed as nuncio to Armenia.

Rome Colosseum cloaked in red to honour modern martyrs

February 26, 2018

ROME – Rome's Colosseum, long a symbol of the persecution of early Christians, was bathed in red light late Feb. 24 as a reminder of and a prayer for the thousands of Christians being persecuted for their faith today.

In marches around Philippines, Catholics protest threats to life

February 26, 2018

MANILA, Philippines – Catholics came out strongly against what they described as "threats to life" in rallies held in major cities across the Philippines Feb. 24.

B.C. hospices fight assisted suicide plan

February 26, 2018

SURREY, B.C. – Assisted suicide was legalized just over a year ago, but the debate is far from over.

Jesuit brings his case for nature, technology and loneliness to Campion

February 26, 2018

REGINA – In modern society, people talk plenty about nature and the environment, but when it comes down to reality, they don’t actually experience what God has created around us.

Vanessa Santilli-Raimondo: Silence is indeed golden

February 26, 2018

In today’s world, people are mostly foreign to stillness.

February 27

Court blocks Trump administration's effort to end DACA in March

February 27, 2018

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court has dealt a blow to the Trump administration's effort to end a program in March that protects young adults brought to the U.S. without legal permission as minors.

Four dead after Catholic Lay Committee protests in Congo

February 27, 2018

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo – Four Congolese protesters were shot dead Feb. 25, during demonstrations organized by Catholics protesting President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to step down from power.