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May 2021

May 16

Lindsay Shepherd carries on fight for free speech

May 16, 2021

John Carpay, the president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) in Calgary, holds the conviction “that truth has the opportunity to emerge through debate, but if you censor debate, you silence truth.”

Parish helps Chinese adapt in new land

May 16, 2021

If you call Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) Chinese Catholic Church in Calgary these days, it’s likely pastor Fr. Joseph Nguyen will be the one picking up the phone.

May 17

Pope Francis names Jesuit educator bishop of Hong Kong

May 17, 2021

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has named Jesuit Father Stephen Chow Sau-yan, a native of Hong Kong and provincial of the Jesuits' Chinese province, to be the new bishop of Hong Kong.

Pope Francis appeals for peace in Holy Land, says death of children 'unacceptable'

May 17, 2021

VATICAN CITY -- The injury and death of so many innocent people, especially children, caused by escalating violence between Israel and the Gaza Strip is "terrible and unacceptable," putting the area at risk of sinking into "a spiral of death and destruction," Pope Francis said.

Germany's ecumenical assembly ends, but one bishop questions its benefits

May 17, 2021

FRANKFURT, Germany (CNS) -- Germany's Third Ecumenical Convention concluded in Frankfurt May 16 with an open-air church service on the bank of the River Main. With the city's skyline of office towers providing the backdrop, some 400 people attended the service, including German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

May 19

Nationwide pro-life message lives in virtual rallies

May 19, 2021

VANCOUVER -- For the second year in a row, pro-lifers were prevented from gathering by the thousands on Government Street and the lawn in front of the legislature buildings in Victoria, B.C., due to various pandemic and travel-related restrictions.

Speaking Out: Always be true to your beliefs

May 19, 2021

Based on its description, everything about the 1957 film 12 Angry Men seems synonymous with the word “boring.”

Online evangelization bears fruit for NET Ministries

May 19, 2021

National Evangelization Teams (NET) missionaries are not barnstorming across the country to make face-to-face presentations as in years past.

Charles Lewis: There comes a time when the clock won’t be our master

May 19, 2021

I read somewhere years ago that one of the great sources of human anxiety is time. Time is too slow or too fast or there is not enough of it. We live on schedules and deadlines that seem to push us harder than we would like or is even healthy.

Couples celebrate 11,752 years of marriage virtually

May 19, 2021

VANCOUVER -- This year’s Marriage Anniversary Mass in the Archdiocese of Vancouver smashed records as 356 couples celebrated milestone anniversaries together but remotely in a virtual live event.

Flooding prompts plea for prayers, donations

May 19, 2021

SASKATOON -- The spring break-up on the Mackenzie and Liard rivers has caused historic and devastating levels of flooding in the Northwest Territories, including several communities in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith.

Perseverance is necessary for prayer, Pope Francis says

May 19, 2021

VATICAN CITY -- Those who overcome distractions or obstacles when praying learn the value of perseverance in times of trial, Pope Francis said.

High Court orders jailed Indian Jesuit to hospital for evaluation

May 19, 2021

MUMBAI, India -- The High Court in Mumbai ordered prison authorities to take an ailing 84-year-old Jesuit to the hospital, as it heard his appeal to receive bail on medical grounds, Indian media reported.

May 20

Ontario Catholic colleges feel effect of tuition freeze

May 20, 2021

An Ontario-wide tuition freeze is bad news for the Catholic colleges and universities allied with the province’s large public universities, says the chair of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities of Canada.

Editorial: Stewards of creation

May 20, 2021

As the story goes, St. Walstan, the patron saint of farmers and farm animals, was foretold of his death in a vision three days before it happened on May 30, 1016. Being a humble, pious man known for his charity, the English farmhand went to confession, then gave final instructions for his burial.

Readers Speak Out: May 23, 2021

May 20, 2021

Land rights Re: As Israeli-Palestinian violence escalates, Christian leaders voice concern (May 16):

Spanish bishops denounce exploitation of migrants amid crisis

May 20, 2021

ROME -- The Spanish bishops' conference expressed concern that migrants were being used to exert political pressure after a sudden influx of migrants in the Spanish territories of Ceuta and Melilla increased tensions between Spain and Morocco.

Catholic bishops find way to resupply Quebec churches with altar wine

May 20, 2021

QUEBEC CITY -- Three wines from France, three from Spain and one from Italy, all already available within the province of Quebec, can now be used for liturgical purposes, the Assembly of Quebec Catholic Bishops confirmed May 18.

Leah Perrault: Holding tension with the God who waits

May 20, 2021

Holding, as an attribute of God, sort of fell out of the sky for me this month. I was looking out the window with wonder at just how many stars we can see without leaving the city in this new-to-us, small(er) city we now call home. As I juggle all the new things, I wondered why I hadn’t thought of it before. The Creator of the Universe is holding time and space in an eternal trajectory.

May 21

Those without OHIP can get vaccinated, no questions asked, at FCJ Refugee Centre

May 21, 2021

At the FCJ Refugee Centre, 300 people a day are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 — people who otherwise can’t get a jab.