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February 2023

February 6

Over 2,800 dead as 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocks Turkey, Syria

February 6, 2023

A powerful earthquake struck Turkey and Syria in the early morning hours of Feb. 6, killing hundreds and leaving thousands more wounded.

Arms trade is a 'plague,' Pope Francis says on flight back from Africa

February 6, 2023

At the end of six days in African countries bloodied by war and conflict, Pope Francis said that "the biggest plague" afflicting the world today is the weapons trade.

Pope Francis saddened by 'huge loss of life' after earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

February 6, 2023

Pope Francis expressed his "spiritual closeness" and "solidarity" with those affected by a pair of powerful earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria Feb. 6.

February 7

Whistleblower claims 38-week-old unborn baby aborted in Montreal

February 7, 2023

Quebec pro-lifers are reacting with prayer and political pressure following a whistleblower’s report of a 38-week-old unborn baby being aborted last week at Montreal’s Sacré-Cœur Hospital.

Brazilian church provides aid to the Yanomami, call for justice upon "genocide"

February 7, 2023

The severe health care and hunger crisis affecting the Yanomami indigenous people in Roraima state prompted the Brazilian church to coordinate help and to work side by side with government agencies and indigenous organizations to provide food and medical attention to the sick.

February 8

Bishops put Reconciliation commitments in writing

February 8, 2023

Canada's Catholics are not done with reconciliation. Four pastoral letters from Canada’s bishops released today urge Indigenous and non-Indigenous Catholics to seek ways to journey together, build relationships, know and understand their history and end the two solitudes in the country and in the Church of Indigenous and settler societies.

‘A crisis within multiple crises’

February 8, 2023

Catholic and other humanitarian agencies are calling the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Feb. 6 and a second tremor hitting southern Turkey and northern Syria “tragic” and are appealing for aid.

Schools grapple with strategies for teen violence

February 8, 2023

From stabbing and killing a homeless man to swarming TTC bus drivers to random BB gun attacks, some of the most disturbing incidents of violence in Toronto over the last two months involve teens.

February 9

Date Night sets couples on a vocational journey

February 9, 2023

The team of the Newman Centre Catholic Chaplaincy at the University of Toronto was struck by inspiration while planning activities for the 2022-23 academic year. They realized a lot of the program’s alumni have met, fallen in love and even married at the centre.

Have no truck with loss of freedom

February 9, 2023

Jesus said: “There is nothing covered up that will not be uncovered, nothing secret that will not become known” (Luke 12:2-3).

Answer to marriage isn’t blowing in the wind

February 9, 2023

Anne and Dane MacCarthy’s 61-year marriage rooted their commitment to Catholic tradition.

Restorative Justice helps heal the wounded

February 9, 2023

After many years of clergy sexual abuse survivors only finding support for their healing outside of the Church community, Good Samaritans within the Church are approaching victims to help them bandage their wounds.

Marriage with kids opens us to adulthood

February 9, 2023

Fertility is dwindling the world over and there is, at long last, a discussion of this, very often as the problem that it is. Now we have another survey to help us understand the ins and outs of Canadian women’s fertility desires. Thankfully, it’s a good news story.

Verbatim: Testimony of Dr. Heidi Janz to Parliament’s Special Joint Committee on MAiD

February 9, 2023

Testimony of Dr. Heidi Janz, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Manitoba and a disability rights advocate, to Parliament’s Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, on Nov 22, 2022.

Editorial: Rise to the challenge

February 9, 2023

The recent swarm of public stranger assaults or killings in Toronto and other Canadian cities is distressing enough. Arising from it, though, is a reaction from the intelligentsia that portends, unless persuasively curbed, an even more ominous civic outcome.

MAiD organ donations glorify the unthinkable

February 9, 2023

An increasing number of people undergoing medically assisted suicide are asking to donate their organs after death. And, of four countries that offer so-called medical assistance in dying (MAiD), Canada leads the way in organ donations from people receiving MAiD.

February 10

Journey Home hospice blessed

February 10, 2023

If the Journey Home Hospice is already a blessing on the lives of Toronto’s homeless, it’s only fitting that the hospice itself should be blessed.

God's Word on Sunday: Did I add to light or darkness today?

February 10, 2023

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Feb. 12 (Year A) Sirach 15:15-20; Psalm 119; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37 Evading responsibility for human actions is as old as humanity itself. It began in the Garden of Eden, with Adam and Eve pointing fingers at each other, and has continued down to our own time. We like to think of ourselves as helpless victims of forces greater than us and therefore not to blame for our negative actions. It used to be sufficient to blame the devil for everything but now we are more sophisticated.

Film relives Mary’s journey with the Cross

February 10, 2023

While attending Mass at St. Vital Catholic Church in Winnipeg in 2020, Bisong Taiwo’s cinematic eye was entranced by the lighting of the Stations of the Cross sculptures hanging on the walls.

Pastoral letters set bishops’ reconciliation agenda

February 10, 2023

Four letters and 26 promises from Canada’s bishops to Indigenous Canadians set an agenda for reconciliation that bishops like Calgary’s Bishop Bill McGrattan intend to act on before February turns into March.