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December 20, 2020
In a year that has been anything but normal, the Christmas spirit is still alive and well at Ontario Catholic schools.
Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Dec. 27 (Year B) Genesis 15:1-6; 17:3b-5; 15-16; 21:1-7; Psalm 105; Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19; Luke 2:22-40 After we leave this Earth, will we be remembered? And if we will be remembered, what form will that memory take?
JERUSALEM -- Walk down St. Peter Street from the Old City’s New Gate, past some shuttered shops and the closed Knight’s Palace hotel, continue down through the winding stone-paved alleyway of the Christian Quarter and soon you will hit “Santa Lane.”
A spruce tree donated by a retired Catholic teacher is helping to make Christmas in Kenora in northern Ontario a little merrier.
CLEVELAND -- A once-every-two-decade conjunction involving the solar system’s two gas giants will give earthbound observers a look at a so-called “Christmas Star” on the winter solstice.
December 21, 2020
The following is the Christmas message from Archbishop Richard Gagnon, president of Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and Archbishop of Winnipeg:
VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican's doctrinal office said that when alternative vaccines are not available, it is morally acceptable to receive COVID-19 vaccines developed or tested using cell lines originating from aborted fetuses.
December 22, 2020
VATICAN CITY -- Two top Vatican officials -- Cardinal Konrad Krajewski and Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello -- have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, Italian media reported, and a Vatican source confirmed.
OTTAWA -- Canada’s Catholic bishops say it is “not too late to reconsider” and stop the expansion of medically-assisted suicide in Canada.
As we move into the winter months, we notice the drastic reduction in the number of daylight hours. Each of us is almost guaranteed to have heard that common refrain: “It gets dark so early now!”
Like most charities across Canada, the Arctic Rose Foundation finds itself operating in a landscape that is, and will remain, uncertain for some time.
December 23, 2020
There’s no question the strain of the pandemic is hitting every area of Canadians’ lives as the year draws to a close.
There is always something a little magical that happens as the calendar turns to Jan. 1. It’s like a giant eraser appears and wipes our slate clean, throwing off the dust of all that marred the previous 12 months. It’s a new year, a fresh start, a new dawn, another shot, a blank sheet.
No evidence Re: Mass is essential to our Catholic life (Dec. 9): Charles Lewis rightly says that the “Mass is essential” to Catholics but that the Ontario government doesn’t understand this. The government recently demonstrated this when it tried to stop COVID spread by forcing Toronto churches to close. No evidence was offered to justify the action. Ironically, just a few weeks prior Premier Doug Ford said that churches had done a “great job” of preventing infection.
This unforgettable year, this annus horribilis, is mercifully drawing to the end, but the virus that has so consumed our lives is not.
DUBLIN -- The last governor of Hong Kong criticized the Vatican’s agreement with China on the appointment of bishops and said Pope Francis has been “exceptionally badly advised” in concluding the pact.
A spiritual director once surprised me by asking: “What does your little voice have to say?”
December 24, 2020
This is about a single newspaper photograph. The Canadian Press took it on Dec. 10 on the day the House of Commons passed Bill C-7, which expands euthanasia to include more victims.
December 25, 2020
The birth of Christ is a gift from God that brings people hope and courage in troubled times, Pope Francis said Christmas Eve.
VATICAN CITY -- On a Christmas like no other, Pope Francis prayed for people who could not be with their families because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he urged everyone to recognize and help those who are suffering even more.