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January 2020

January 18

A world on edge: Middle East tensions rising

January 18, 2020

In the wake of rising tensions in the Middle East which have seen the assassination of Iran’s top general and the downing of a civilian airliner, Canada can expect an escalation of refugee applications, say representative of aid agencies familiar with the region.

Faith, humour go to work on tumour

January 18, 2020

WASHINGTON -- Jeannie Gaffigan didn’t initially set out to write a book about having her brain tumour removed.

Fr. Raymond de Souza: We musn’t lose sight of who created nature

January 18, 2020

KANYAKUMARI, TAMIL NADU, INDIA -- A new year is upon us, which comes first a new day. At Kanyakumari each new day is marked with festivity.

Sex, marriage, love ... and St. Augustine

January 18, 2020

If you think St. Augustine instilled the Church with phobias about sex, you probably don’t understand St. Augustine, PhD student Meghan Bowen told an audience of theology students Jan. 9 at Regis College in Toronto.

January 19

God's Word on Sunday: God’s light can shine in darkest times

January 19, 2020

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jan. 26 (Year A) Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17-18; Matthew 4:12:23 Light and darkness are two of the most powerful and frequently used symbols in the Scriptures.

More than statistics: Ontario government prepares new poverty reduction plan

January 19, 2020

The Ontario government is inviting public input as it drafts a new five-year poverty reduction strategy.

Making churches dementia-friendly

January 19, 2020

OTTAWA -- An Ottawa man is on a mission to make Canadian places of worship more welcoming to the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who suffer from dementia.

Scholar sharing his ‘gift’ in Edmonton

January 19, 2020

EDMONTON -- Fr. Ian Boyd is a man of many titles — a pioneering scholar, a world traveller and a compassionate spiritual director.

Brother’s heavenly baking is TV’s best

January 19, 2020

WASHINGTON -- The oven timer dings, alerting Capuchin Franciscan Br. Andrew Corriente the chocolate layer cake he is baking needs to be checked.

Rise in organ donations raises ethical issues

January 19, 2020

OTTAWA -- Increasing numbers of people killed by euthanasia are supplying a “boon” for organ transplant surgeries in Canada, according to an Ottawa newspaper. But politicians and ethicists say the practice is “rather horrifying” and raises questions of “coercion.”

Hospice faces deadline on assisted suicide

January 19, 2020

VANCOUVER -- A heated debate about whether a 10-bed hospice in Delta, B.C., should offer assisted suicide may come to a climax in February.

January 20

Pope Francis hopes Berlin summit will lead to peace in Libya

January 20, 2020

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis said he hoped that an international summit in Berlin would be the first step toward peace in war-torn Libya.

Germany's synodal assembly a step to rebuilding church's credibility

January 20, 2020

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Catholic leaders in Germany have compiled responses from lay Catholics in areas related to who holds power in the church, sexual morals, the role of priests and the place of women in church offices in preparation for an upcoming synodal assembly to debate church reforms.

Catholic groups condemn reconstruction failure 10 years after Haiti's killer quake

January 20, 2020

Catholic organizations and their allies in Haitian civil society are condemning their own government and the international community on the 10th anniversary of the 2010 earthquake that left the country in ruins.

Pope Francis decries 'barbaric resurgence' of anti-Semitism

January 20, 2020

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis condemned the "barbaric resurgence" of anti-Semitism and criticized the selfish indifference that is creating the conditions for division, populism and hatred.

January 21

Legionaries to investigate abuse uncovered by report

January 21, 2020

VATICAN CITY -- The Legionaries of Christ vowed to cooperate with an investigation after a report stated that the congregation failed to address sexual abuse and cover-ups at one of its prestigious schools in Mexico.

200,000 Canadians respond (so far) to Ottawa’s assisted suicide survey

January 21, 2020

OTTAWA -- As Canadians are being urged to express their views before the government revises the law governing assisted suicide, about 200,000 people have made their feelings known via a federal government online survey, according to the Department of Justice.

Bishops welcome Trump's proposed guidelines on public prayer

January 21, 2020

WASHINGTON -- The chairmen of the U.S. bishops' religious liberty and Catholic education committees Jan. 20 praised the Trump administration for issuing guidance on prayer in public schools.

January 22

U.S. bishop asked Pope Francis about McCarrick report

January 22, 2020

VATICAN CITY -- Bishop Joseph E. Strickland of Tyler, Texas, said he asked Pope Francis about the Vatican investigation into Theodore E. McCarrick and the release of a promised report on how the former cardinal managed to rise through the church ranks.

Hospitality is an important ecumenical virtue, Pope Francis says

January 22, 2020

VATICAN CITY -- Showing hospitality makes a person a better human being and a better Christian and is an important part of promoting Christian unity, Pope Francis said.