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September 2021

September 22

Resiliency tested in third pandemic school year

September 22, 2021

As students returned to school this month, they were confronted by the challenges of yet another scholastic year marred by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vatican in 67,000 pieces

September 22, 2021

We all know Rome wasn’t built in a day, but LEGO architect Rocco Buttliere had three months.

Charles Lewis: The distressing truth about euthanasia

September 22, 2021

I now know of two people who ended their lives through euthanasia. They died in August and September.

September 23

Jesuit connection to University of Sudbury comes to an end

September 23, 2021

The University of Sudbury, which has ties to the Jesuits that go back 108 years, has officially become a non-denominational and Francophone in its quest to secure its future as an independent post-secondary institution.

Editorial: Colour us Orange

September 23, 2021

The first official National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is Sept. 30, “an opportunity for each public servant to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools,” the government says.

Readers Speak Out: September 23, 2021

September 23, 2021

Act of love Re: Best, worst of times for abortion debate (Peter Stockland, Sept. 12): Mr. Stockland’s observations are, as usual, insightful, thoughtful and poignant. I am however perplexed by his concluding paragraph. While I acknowledge that the Church discerns that vaccination is “a matter of individual conscience,” also note that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith dismisses the objections some individual Christians have regarding the morality of using some of the COVID-19 vaccines. More recently, Pope Francis has stated: “Being vaccinated with vaccines authorized by the competent authorities is an act of love. And contributing to ensure the majority of people are vaccinated is an act of love.”

Robert Kinghorn: Old ways die hard on these streets

September 23, 2021

It has been a month that has reminded me of how relentlessly unforgiving the street is to its people. Like a scorned lover, it will try to grasp them from the arms of freedom to ensnare them in their old ways.

September 24

Orange Shirt Day a bridge to reconciliation

September 24, 2021

OTTAWA -- A day set aside to remember how Canada’s Indigenous communities suffered under this country’s residential school system will take on added meaning this year when the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Sept. 30 becomes a federal statutory holiday for the first time.

The Season of Creation ... a time for action

September 24, 2021

The Season of Creation, which began Sept. 1 and lasts through the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi Oct. 4, has always been a time for prayer, reflection and thanksgiving, a time to open our eyes and see the beauty of God’s creation. But this year our prayers are meant to spur action — concerted, global, political action.

Harry McAvoy: Graveside visit a time of joy amid the tears

September 24, 2021

On a recent afternoon, the Bride and I met with my sister, Carol Anne, and our youngest daughter, Hope, at Holy Cross Cemetery, just north of Toronto. We had gathered to remember the second anniversary of the death of my mother, Anne McAvoy.

Moncton archdiocese won’t require proof of vaccination

September 24, 2021

The Archbishop of Moncton has backtracked on his vaccination policy, eliminating the need to for parishioners to provided proof of vaccination for Masses, baptisms and prayer groups.

Bishops apologize for residential schools and raise possibility of Pope visit to Canada

September 24, 2021

OTTAWA -- Canada’s Catholic bishops have “unequivocally” apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in the residential school system and have raised the possibility of a visit by the Pope to Canada as part of the “healing journey” between Canada’s Indigenous peoples and the Church.

September 25

ShareLife helps Rosalie Hall through pandemic waves

September 25, 2021

Reducing service to any significant degree is not an option for Rosalie Hall despite the pandemic threat it has been under with the rest of the world for the past year and a half.

Peter Stockland: Vaccine edict sets dangerous example

September 25, 2021

Is it just me or does anyone else feel deeply uneasy about a minister of the Crown effectively usurping the role of a minister of the Church?

September 26

Discovering the Creator in the backyard

September 26, 2021

During a recent Daily TV Mass, the homilist mentioned Ignatius Loyola, the saint who used to speak of finding God in all things. Hearing that got me thinking about my garden. As far as I’m concerned, nowhere is the work of His hands more evident than in the birds, blooms and bugs that make the garden a place of delight.

Mitchell founded CYO basketball

September 26, 2021

It’s been an emotional time for J.R. Gallarza, an athlete, basketball skills trainer and camp co-ordinator in Brantford, Ont.

God's Word on Sunday: Looking for the life message in Genesis

September 26, 2021

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Oct. 3 (Year B) Genesis 2:7ab, 15, 18-24; Psalm 128; Hebrews 2:9-11; Mark 10:2-16 When the ancients wanted to teach about life, they told stories. These stories were well-seasoned with symbols and layers of meaning. And they were not at all bothered by inconsistencies, repetitions and apparent contradictions.

September 28

South Sudan church leaders work for peace, but soldiers won't listen

September 28, 2021

YAMBIO, South Sudan -- Pope Francis may have kissed the feet of South Sudan's warring political leaders in a dramatic 2019 appeal for peace, but armed conflict continues to cause death and displacement in the world's newest country, pushing Catholic leaders here to plead for the conflict's victims.

September 29

CCCB remorse sets stage for papal apology

September 29, 2021

Graydon Nicholas accepts the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ apology for more than a century of wrongs by Canadian Catholics in residential schools and hopes it will lead to a papal apology on Canadian soil.

Speaking Out: There’s no room for sexual violence

September 29, 2021

The week of Sept. 6 was the first time many Canadian undergraduates were back on campus for in-person classes for the better part of two years — and for some like me, it was our first week ever on campus.