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August 1, 2023
A Christian think tank is spinning a hopeful narrative for MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) legislation expansion in Canada.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed into law a bill moving the official observance of Christmas Day to Dec. 25 from Jan. 7, when Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church mark the holiday.
In October 1996 I found myself in a seminar group with Sinéad O’Connor. My name then was O’Neill and the alphabet had lumped us together long before any other identity group had a chance to.
August 2, 2023
Joyful, singing crowds were walking through Lisbon long after the opening Mass of World Youth Day 2023 was over Aug. 1. The atmosphere surprised even those that lived in the Portuguese capital throughout their lives.
Arriving at the edge of the European continent for World Youth Day, Pope Francis urged Portuguese officials to return to their maritime roots by setting sail toward new horizons of hope and helping build a Europe "capable of recovering its youthful heart."
August 3, 2023
A deconsecrated Catholic Church in Digby County, N.S., facing the grim prospect of demolition for months has been afforded a new lease on life.
Fifteen World Youth Day pilgrims from Ukraine, most of whom had lost a father or other close relative in the war, had a private meeting with Pope Francis Aug. 3.
Transfiguration of the Lord (Year A) Aug. 6 (Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; Psalm 97; 2 Peter 1:16-19; Matthew 17:1-9) Violent and frightening times always give birth to new theologies, and the time of the Maccabean War in the second century B.C. was no exception. The people of Judea were being persecuted by the Seleucid Greeks of Syria, who sought to obliterate the Jewish religion, customs and traditions. Many were dying for their faith while others were more than happy to serve their new overlords.
August 8, 2023
After a five-day trip to Portugal, which recently came to terms with its own clerical sex abuse crisis, Pope Francis said the Catholic Church must abandon its practice of covering up abuse and instead be "very open" about how it is confronting the crime.
When the Ulma family is beatified Sept. 10 as martyrs who gave their lives to protect Jews during the Holocaust, it may be the first time the Catholic Church has beatified an entire, specific family together, as well as the first beatification of an unborn child.
Catholics in Slovenia are rallying emergency aid and turning to prayer as record floods have ravaged that nation, killing at least six and leaving hundreds homeless.
August 9, 2023
Ottawa Archbishop Marcel Gervais, who shepherded the bilingual diocese covering Canada’s capital from 1989 to 2007, died Aug. 6, Ottawa-Cornwall Archbishop Emeritus Terrence Prendergast announced in an Instagram post.
As he lay in a Calgary hospital bed in late July, retired Bishop Fred Henry summoned the energy to publicly break the silence around what he considers the prevailing “lie” about missing Indian residential school children.
August 10, 2023
Message of thanks from Pope Francis to the volunteers of World Youth Day XXXVII during his Apostolic Journey to Portugal.
As controversy and deep division continued in an Indian archdiocese over the direction the priest faces during the celebration of the liturgy, the Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis named Slovak Archbishop Cyril Vasil of Košice as his pontifical delegate to help resolve the dispute.
The contemporary political and cultural mood demands recall of what would normally be a blinding statement of the obvious in a liberal democracy: expression is not automatically endorsement.
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Aug. 13 (1 Kings 19:9, 11-13; Psalm 85; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:21-33) Elijah expected a grand show. The word of the Lord directed him to stand on the mountain because God was going to pass by. At first, it seemed that he would not be disappointed. There was a wind so strong that it split rocks. But God was not in the wind. This was followed by a strong earthquake — but no God. Finally, there was a consuming fire, but God was not even in the fire.
The appointment of a Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) provider as Interim Clinical Director of Palliative Care at a Catholic hospital in Ontario has provoked renewed concern about the future of Catholic health care in Canada.
“The joys of parenthood: apparently the best kept secret.”
A few years ago — let’s say 20 — I watched as the police handled a disturbance. An elderly gentleman was standing in the middle of the sidewalk talking animatedly to an invisible friend. It seemed to be a delightful conversation, and the man actually excused himself to his imaginary friend when the authorities intervened.