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March 5, 2021
The approval of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for use in Canada has heightened the discussion over whether Catholics should receive the vaccine, though Church teaching remains clear that it is “morally acceptable.”
Toronto’s Cardinal Thomas Collins is sending a clear message to Queen’s Park: It’s time for a “fair and equitable approach to the return to worship.”
March 6, 2021
A spirit of veneration for Mary is at work during the 2021 Lenten and Easter seasons as the Marian Devotional Movement (MDM) launched a Canada54 National Rosary Novena and Marian Summit on Ash Wednesday.
NASIRIYAH, Iraq -- In a low-key meeting followed closely in Iraq and beyond, Pope Francis and Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the influential leader of Shiite Muslims in Iraq, spent 45 minutes speaking privately.
UR, Iraq -- Traveling to the birthplace of Abraham, Pope Francis urged believers to prove their faith in the one God and father of all by accepting one another as brothers and sisters.
Sometimes, morality is the enemy of justice. Leading a morally upright life should lead one to act with integrity and compassion. Society itself cannot be good unless a critical mass of its people is morally good. But when we try to make other people good and judge them harshly when they don’t live up to our standards, we become repressive.
For the second year in a row, Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ont., won’t be open to the public this summer.
March 7, 2021
A leaked memo providing legal advice to the Canadian government only proves that the government broke its promise to provide for effective, independent investigations when Canadian mining companies are accused of human rights violations abroad, according to Canada’s Catholic development and aid organization.
Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 14 (Year B) 2 Chronicles 36:14-17a, 19-23; Psalm 137; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-21 There is a pattern that is often repeated in the narratives of the Old Testament. The people of God fall into sin that is marked by idolatry, corruption and injustice. God sends prophets to warn them and turn their hearts back to the Lord. The warnings are usually ignored and then followed by disaster for the nation, usually at the hands of an oppressor.
QARAQOSH, Iraq -- Amid the rubble and bombed out remains of four churches destroyed by Islamic State militants, Pope Francis paid tribute to Iraqi Christians who endured persecution and even death.
BAGHDAD -- Pope Francis told Iraqi Christians that when they suffer discrimination, persecution or war, the Eight Beatitudes are addressed to them.
In many ways, gratitude is the basis of love.
March 8, 2021
IRBIL, Iraq -- Having witnessed or even experienced persecution for their faith, the Christians of Iraq must be careful not to harbor thoughts of revenge, Pope Francis told them.
ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM IRAQ -- The Catholic Church's commitment to dialogue with other churches and with other religions flows from the Gospel, but Pope Francis said he knows some Catholics disagree.
March 9, 2021
Young artists and activists of different faiths gathered recently to spread the messages of unity and interfaith dialogue.
MANILA, Philippines -- A Catholic bishop and a lay group have joined rights organizations to denounce and call for an investigation into the killing of nine activists by security forces in raids in four Philippine provinces March 7.
March 10, 2021
OTTAWA -- Social conservatives, whose support helped Erin O’Toole get elected Conservative Party leader, are looking to flex their muscle at the party’s policy convention March 18-20.
The landmark one-year anniversary dates for COVID-19 in Canada are Jan. 25 and March 8 — the former being the day we recorded our first official pandemic case, and the latter being the first death.
When Nicholas De Castro sat down to write what became an award-winning essay for the annual Friars’ Student Writing Contest, one image immediately came to mind: Mother Teresa.
Imagine a circle with lines radiating around it. As the lines move farther away from the circle’s centre, they move farther apart from each other. The Sisters of Grandchamp, a religious community that led daily reflections during this year’s Week of Christian Unity, shared this analogy to help Christians understand how unity rests in abiding in Christ.