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October 23, 2021
When the Elliott Allen Institute gathers theologians from across North America for wide ranging discussions of the theological response to climate change on Nov. 12, it won’t be just nibbling at the fashionable edges of theology, says Hilda Koster, the Toronto institute’s new director.
Since the Aug. 14 earthquake in Haiti killed 2,200, injured 12,250, destroyed or damaged 130,000 houses and left 650,000 hungry, homeless and needing aid, so much has happened in the world it’s safe to say the world’s attention has been anywhere but Haiti.
Dr. Christine Schintgen credits divine providence for the introduction of the new two-year online Catechetical Certificate program for mature students at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College.
She was only 16, a child by all accounts, and she had been sent to the big city from her home in northern Canada for treatment at a mental health clinic.
October 24, 2021
A restoration project that came in at close to $2 million has not only allowed St. Mary’s Church in Campbellford, Ont., to return to its former glory, it has also fostered greater strength among the parish community.
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Oct. 31 (Year B) Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Psalm 18; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 12:28-34 The majority of the most beautiful and profound teachings in our world are brief, concise, and simple — but seldom easy.
Higher education for Catholic women has been a fight, and it was the sisters on the front lines.
If someone were to ask you who Mary Magdalene was, what would you tell the person?
October 26, 2021
VATICAN CITY -- A Vatican conference will gather both Christian and non-Christian historians and experts to delve deep into the history of the church in the first centuries of Christianity.
October 27, 2021
Pope Francis has accepted an invitation by Canada’s bishops to visit Canada “on a pilgrimage of healing and reconciliation.”
The federal government’s policy of requiring applicants for summer jobs grants to attest support for abortion rights was “reasonable,” a federal court judge has ruled.
What is Halloween? What is the meaning of this mysterious holiday dedicated to goblins, gremlins and ghouls?
Catholic young adults gathered one last time, virtually, Oct. 25 to bid farewell to the Faith Connections program operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto.
Are you “hopelessly devoted”? No, not to your crush, your boyfriend/girlfriend or spouse, but to the Most High God?
October 28, 2021
Regional efforts to raise $30 million on behalf of Indigenous healing and reconciliation projects appear to be on hold while the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops hammers out a national framework for regional and diocesan campaigns.
As restaurants, theatres and stadiums open up again, and as daily COVID case counts dwindle across most of the country, the Canadian Grief Alliance estimates that as many as 4.5 million of us are grieving one or more of nearly half-a-million deaths we have experienced in the last 20 months, nearly 29,000 of them directly from COVID.
The word “synod” is not in the average person’s everyday vocabulary, so when we’re confronted by the notion of a “synod on synodality” it’s no surprise many either run to a dictionary or simply roll their eyes. Maybe both.
Helpful solution The Archdiocese of Toronto recently announced that, as of Oct. 8, it requires “all employees,” including priests, lay ministers and parish volunteers, at “the workplace, be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide regular proof of … negative COVID-19 test results.” Essentially it has mandated vaccination but also offered an alternative.
VATICAN CITY -- With the COVID-19 pandemic still underway and with restrictions on gatherings still in place in some countries, the Vatican has again extended the period of time when people can earn a plenary indulgence for visiting a cemetery and praying for the souls of the faithful in purgatory.
The first responsibility of a journalist is to get the facts right. In that regard, I failed in my column “Lack of transparency shatters credibility” in the Oct. 17 Catholic Register. In that article, I took Canada’s bishops to task for failing to meet their responsibility to live up to agreements to provide healing and reconciliation to the survivors of residential schools.