Browse › 2020 › October

October 2020

October 4

Sisters take to social media to spread Christ’s message

October 4, 2020

Pointing people to Christ through mediums like Instagram and Facebook is a calling fit for a millennial nun and Sr. Amanda Marie Detry is a perfect fit.

October 5

Pope: Authority is act of serving, not exploiting, others

October 5, 2020

VATICAN CITY - Those in positions of authority, especially in the Catholic Church, would do well to remember that their responsibility is to serve those in their care and not exploit them for their own selfish interests, Pope Francis said.

Cardinal Farrell to lead commission determining confidential contracts

October 5, 2020

VATICAN CITY - Continuing his efforts to ensure financial transparency and accountability, Pope Francis named Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life to lead a commission that determines which economic activities remain confidential.

October 6

Assisted-suicide bill re-introduced

October 6, 2020

OTTAWA - A bill to make it easier for Canadians to legally kill themselves with a doctor’s aid goes far beyond what a court decision prompting the legislation calls for, say euthanasia opponents.

Wife loses her battle to stop husband’s death

October 6, 2020

OTTAWA - A Nova Scotia man got what he wanted — a medically assisted death — just one day after his estranged wife lost her bid to block him from using Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAiD) system.

October 7

Churches grapple with second wave

October 7, 2020

Constant vigilance will be the unofficial motto for Catholic Church leadership in Quebec and Ontario for the foreseeable future as epidemiologists have declared the second wave of COVID-19 is underway in Canada’s two most populous provinces.

Eventual coronavirus vaccine should belong to everyone, Pope says

October 7, 2020

VATICAN CITY - An eventual vaccine for COVID-19 would belong to the world and should not be hoarded greedily by countries hosting the lab or labs that develop it, Pope Francis said.

Child-care policy can’t be one-size-fits-all

October 7, 2020

OTTAWA - The federal government’s commitment “to make a significant, long-term, sustained investment to create a Canada-wide early learning and child-care system” sounds good on the surface to a national religion-based think tank, but only if it doesn’t create a onesize- fits-all government-mandated system.

October 8

Fratelli Tutti: A vision of unity and dignity for all

October 8, 2020

In an encyclical that might be characterized as ripped from the headlines, Pope Francis speaks some hard truths to Canadians, to Catholics and to the world.

Pope praises women's consultation group at Council for Culture

October 8, 2020

VATICAN CITY - Four years after the Pontifical Council for Culture instituted a Permanent Women's Consultation Group to bring women's experiences and voices to the council's deliberations, Pope Francis noted that they represent a "novelty" at the Holy See.

October 9

Urban farm reaps bountiful harvest

October 9, 2020

CALGARY - Year two of the Land of Dreams’ 30-acre urban farm in southeast Calgary has brought twice the bounty of the first.

Street mission fast goes on despite pandemic

October 9, 2020

Vancouver - If this had been a typical year, dozens of young adults from St. Mary’s Parish in Vancouver would have attended Mass on a Friday evening, stayed for adoration, slept overnight at the church, then driven to Mission, B.C., for a talk, prayers and reflection at Westminster Abbey before returning to the parish for Mass and a shared meal.

Speaking Out: Can an atheist be virtuous?

October 9, 2020

Does virtue require faith? If not, can an atheist be a virtuous person? For many Christians, it does not occur to us to ask this question, because some assume that the answer is an immediate “no.”

Mary Marrocco: Superstition has no place in life of faith

October 9, 2020

A contemporary government official, in a high-profile speech, once enthused about the benefits and powers of science.

Marian shrine draws faithful following

October 9, 2020

Every Saturday a group of people gather at the Marian Shrine of Gratitude in northwest Toronto to pray the rosary.

Editorial: The world of ‘us’

October 9, 2020

It has been 794 years since St. Francis of Assisi left this Earth, but you can find his fingerprints all over the Pope’s latest encyclical, Fratelli Tutti .

In case related to abuse at minor seminary, two priests face trial at Vatican

October 9, 2020

VATICAN CITY - Two priests connected to a minor seminary located at the Vatican will appear before a Vatican criminal court Oct. 14 on charges related to the alleged sexual abuse of students at the seminary.

October 10

Catholic voters given tools for discernment

October 10, 2020

Saskatoon - A Catholic Action campaign examining issues and party platforms from a Catholic social teaching perspective is underway for the Saskatchewan election to be held Oct. 26.

Sr. Helena Burns: You can’t have it all … and that’s OK

October 10, 2020

Ladies, you’re being lied to. You can’t have it all. (And while we’re at it, all what?) No one can or does “have it all.”

Church malaise runs deeper than virus

October 10, 2020

Thank you to Winnipeg’s Archbishop Richard Gagnon, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, for daring to state that that a malaise is affecting the Church in this country because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sometimes, even the obvious does not become real until it is named, and Archbishop Gagnon has done that in comments published in last week’s Catholic Register.