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January 2023

January 1

On New Year's, Pope Francis calls for taking the risk of changing the world

January 1, 2023

The best way to usher in a truly "new" year is to stop waiting for things to get better on their own, and instead recognize what is essential and reach out now to help others, Pope Francis said.

January 2

Pope Benedict's body solemnly, lovingly carried to St. Peter's Basilica

January 2, 2023

The consecrated women who cared for Pope Benedict XVI in his retirement gently stroked his hands before his body was carried on a red-covered stretcher to a van for its last journey to St. Peter's Basilica.

Tens of thousands pay last respects to Pope Benedict in St. Peter's Basilica

January 2, 2023

Tens of thousands of people streamed through St. Peter’s Basilica to pay their last respects to the late Pope Benedict XVI.

January 3

Funeral Mass for Pope Benedict XVI will be based on a papal funeral

January 3, 2023

The Jan. 5 funeral Mass for Pope Benedict XVI will be a papal funeral with a few changes to fit with the fact that he was not the reigning pope and has not left behind a "sede vacante."

January 4

Papal biographer: Benedict 'will be canonized some day'

January 4, 2023

For Peter Seewald, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was someone "who is what he says and what he preaches." This not only mesmerized Seewald but made him fully come back to the Catholic Church. International bestsellers co-written with Pope Benedict XVI and a thick biography followed.

Pope Francis remembers predecessor as a 'great teacher of catechesis'

January 4, 2023

Pope Benedict XVI was a "great teacher of catechesis" whose "sharp and gentle thinking" led others to encounter Jesus, Pope Francis said.

Future doctor of the church? Scholars say German professor-pope stands the test of time

January 4, 2023

Beginning well before he was elected pope in 2005, Pope Benedict XVI made substantial contributions to theology and Catholic thought through his prolific writing, academic lectures and long-form interviews, say scholars who study his work. In the wake of his Dec. 31 death, Benedict has been heralded as one of the most important theologians of the 20th century, one whose scholarship will stand the test of time.

Mexican mission a blessing for Canadian

January 4, 2023

Mike MacDonald feels “like the most blessed Canadian in the world.” Formerly an educator in the Calgary Catholic School District, MacDonald has lived most of the past three decades in southern Mexico.

Pope Benedict lived the faith he taught, says Archbishop Gänswein

January 4, 2023

The person closest to Pope Benedict XVI for the past two and a half years said the most important thing about him was that "the faith he learned, taught and proclaimed was the faith he lived."

January 5

Scroll in Benedict's casket briefly summarizes his life and ministry

January 5, 2023

Pope Benedict XVI was a renowned theologian, a "recognized authority," who left "a rich legacy of studies and research on the fundamental truths of the faith," said the official summary of his life and papacy.

At funeral, Pope Francis remembers Benedict's 'wisdom, tenderness, devotion'

January 5, 2023

Pope Benedict XVI "spread and testified to" the Gospel his entire life, Pope Francis told tens of thousands of people gathered Jan. 5 for his predecessor's funeral Mass.

Benedict had strong connection with youth

January 5, 2023

Fr. Joshua Roldan, the director of the Office of Catholic Youth at the Archdiocese of Toronto, turned 20 years old in 2005, the year the late Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI.

January 6

Ukraine support continues into 2023

January 6, 2023

As the Russian reign of terror continued unabated, with missiles shattering the normally peaceful holiday season, Canadian non-profits and Catholic eparchies have stepped up their support to beleaguered Ukrainians.

Zelensky’s gift of freedom for Ukraine

January 6, 2023

Most Canadians marked Christmas on Dec. 25, as did some Ukrainians. Others, like me, whether over there or here, still celebrate traditionally according to the Julian calendar, on Jan. 7. This year I will do so by candlelight, in solidarity with the many Ukrainians whose loved ones were murdered, whose cities are shattered, who do not have the taken-for-granted comforts of electricity, water and heating in the dead of winter, their very lives threatened daily by the recurring plague of Russian missile salvoes.

Only God knows what Benedict sacrificed

January 6, 2023

The passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on Dec. 31, 2022 marks a sad close to a tumultuous year, and the end to his life-long commitment to the Catholic Church.

Benedict’s legacy: hope in eternal love

January 6, 2023

Few, if any, people in the 20th century thought as deeply about the nature of hope and eternal life as Pope Benedict XVI. Before being named Archbishop of Munich in 1978, Joseph Ratzinger published a theological tome on death, immortality, resurrection, the last judgment and the human destinies of Heaven, purgatory and hell. As Pope Benedict, he wrote an encyclical Spe Salvi (On Christian Hope) based on the belief that Christians know their lives are not empty, that they have an eternal destiny.

Advent of an epiphany on biodiversity

January 6, 2023

During the season of Advent, we celebrated the arrival of that new life which changed the world forever. But Christians don’t just wait impatiently, hovering like children anxious to tear open gifts on Christmas morn. An adult faith moves us to prepare the way of the Lord by deeper reflection, leading towards changing ourselves and our practices. Living through Advent, we open ourselves to the incarnational activity of God’s grace in the world today. Nowhere is this change more necessary than in humanity’s treatment of God’s Creation, meaning all of nature and our relationships with other humans within it.

Christianity divided is wounded peace

January 6, 2023

A local parish held a small procession, which included standing on the corners of a busy downtown intersection holding signs for an hour. These were not rabble-rousing parishioners; quiet and unobtrusive, they were the most diffident, retiring sign-holders who ever pressed themselves against walls. Many passers-by called encouraging words or honked supportively if driving. Many others shouted derisively, called names or yelled recriminations, one even throwing a soda can at one of the sign-holders — who, as she later reported, simply stood still praying for the can-thrower.

Editorial: Holiness, humanity

January 6, 2023

Among the resonances that will expand across time from Benedict XVI’s intellect, character, holiness and humanity is the harmonious clarity he sustained between certainty and charity.

Readers Speak Out: January 8, 2023

January 6, 2023

Losing Lewis I found myself muttering “too bad” when Charles Lewis noted he is retiring from The Catholic Register.