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December 7, 2019
VANCOUVER -- Whenever a group of people with different opinions gather at a table to discuss a controversial topic, sparks are bound to fly.
Prayer books, prayer groups, prayer meetings, prayer beads, prayer mats, common prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, a wing and a prayer.
December 8, 2019
The failure to end child poverty in Canada, promised 30 years ago when parliamentarians pledged to stop the scourge by 2000, has seen a generation of children grow up without the supports they need, says Leila Sarangi.
Third Sunday of Advent, Dec. 15 (Year A) Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10; Psalm 146; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11 What are the signs of God’s presence? What sort of “footprints and fingerprints” does God leave? One word could sum it up: life.
WINDSOR, Ont. -- With phase one of renovations complete church officials are now moving ahead with the next phase of repairs to 177-year-old Our Lady of Assumption Church — but they’ll need to dig into some deeper pockets to complete it.
December 9, 2019
VATICAN CITY -- Mary, conceived without sin, is a "masterpiece" who reflects "the beauty of God who is all love, grace and self-giving," Pope Francis said on the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis offered prayers for a summit in France that will seek to bring an end to the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine.
SALVADOR, Brazil -- Over the past few years, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have fled their economically stricken and politically volatile country. Many have crossed over the border into Brazil and Colombia seeking a better life.
December 10, 2019
VATICAN CITY -- Anyone who wants to experience the consolation and tenderness of God simply needs to go to confession, Pope Francis said at his morning Mass.
PEORIA, Ill. -- Supporters of the canonization cause for Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen have been invited to take part in a novena starting Dec. 12 to "petition God unceasingly to remove all obstacles" for the beatification of the media pioneer, author and evangelist.
December 11, 2019
OXFORD, England -- German Catholics insisted their national "synodal way" reform consultation will have an impact on the church worldwide, as final preparations were completed for the consultation's first plenary in January.
WASHINGTON -- Washington authorities apprehended a suspect in an incident involving an attack Dec. 10 against two security guards at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Marian shrine in the United States, at the height of its busiest season.
VATICAN CITY -- There always will be martyrs among Christians in the world, Pope Francis said.
NEW YORK -- John Bellocchio, 37, who claims former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick abused him when he was a teenager, announced at a Dec. 9 news conference the he is suing the Vatican and demanding "sweeping child protection changes."
Advent is such a busy time of the year that what the season is all about can sometimes get lost among all the out-of-the-ordinary things that have become part the countdown toward Christmas.
As the unmistakable lights and noises of Christmas began to fill the streets in early December, there was a sense of the inevitable — busy and stressful lives were about to shift into a gift-searching, crowd-pressing, agenda-filled circus.
The Two Popes is an entertaining movie that is well-acted, well-written and visually appealing, especially when considering most of the movie is about two old men in frocks verbally jousting over weighty issues. But, make no mistake, it is a drama with lots of humour sprinkled in, not a documentary.
December 12, 2019
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CNS) -- Sacred Heart Catholic School in Jersey City reopened Dec. 12, with a heavy police presence outside, two days after deadly gun battle took place at a kosher supermarket across the street from the school.
The call went up to have Archbishop Fulton Sheen declared a saint almost from the day he died 40 years ago. So current disappointment at a Vatican directive to touch the brakes on the popular American’s sainthood cause is no surprise, but the decision is appropriate.
No nukes Re: Pope Francis renews attack against nuclear weapons (Dec. 1): Pope Francis has rightly called for the elimination of nuclear weapons, saying that using “atomic energy for purposes of war is immoral” and “a crime.”