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September 2023

September 21

Housing looms on electoral battleground

September 21, 2023

The tone was set during the first question period on Sept. 18 following the parliamentary summer break, with Leader of the Official Opposition Pierre Poilievre taking direct aim at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s handling of the Canadian housing market.

Pope Francis names two Chinese bishops to synod; Vatican publishes synod schedule

September 21, 2023

On the recommendation of the Catholic bishops of mainland China in consultation with the Chinese government, Pope Francis has named two bishops from the country's mainland as members of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

God's Word on Sunday: ‘The last will be first and the first will be last’

September 21, 2023

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Sept. 24 (Isaiah 55:6-9; Psalm 145; Philippians 1:20-24, 27; Matthew 20:1-16) Isaiah calls upon us to seek the Lord while He may be found, and to call upon Him while He is near. Is God going anywhere? Will there be a time when God is not present?

John Paul II’s splendour of moral truth

September 21, 2023

Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, The Splendour of Truth, made a major contribution to moving Catholic moral teaching away from a litany of “do nots” to a call for all to become people of self-giving love. Released 30 years ago, it was criticized for cracking down on wayward theological thinking. However, it was in largest part a response to Vatican II’s desire for moral theology to be rooted in the Gospel. What a novel idea!

Sex-gender can’t be put asunder

September 21, 2023

Gender is a nothingburger. I don’t mean that gender is irrelevant, but that “gender” doesn’t have a life of its own. It’s virtually synonymous with “sex.” Because of this fact, I shall from now on render gender as “sex-gender.” Hyphens are fantastic. They keep things together that go together — especially those in danger of separation: “What God has joined together, let no man tear asunder.”

Serious debate needed on gender transformation

September 21, 2023

Delegates at the recent Conservative Party’s National Convention voted to support a ban on treating gender dysphoria in children with pharmaceutical and surgical interventions.

Protests highlight a widening divide

September 21, 2023

There are several themes that emerge from watching the 1 Million Person March 4 Children in Ottawa on Sept. 20. Organized by Kamel El-Cheikh, an Ottawa-based Muslim father, this community was galvanized into action when a teacher in Edmonton criticized a Muslim student who had been absent for Pride activities in June. The audio recording went viral, largely because the teacher’s conclusion was that without agreement on issues of gender and sexuality, the student doesn’t belong in Canada. If that doesn’t galvanize protest, I don’t know what will. And it did.

Listen attentively when the Word speaks

September 21, 2023

I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me 1 Corinthians 14: 11 I have lived between languages my whole life and have always been intrigued by their glorious complexity. As a young student of English I grew up academically being told there was one correct grammar, an appropriate accent (which I apparently didn’t have in English or French) and that spelling was locked in stone and correct or incorrect.

September 22

Fraser Health ignored experts over MAiD

September 22, 2023

A new set of secret documents that the Fraser Health Authority tried but failed to keep from the public confirms that its board of directors overrode advice from its own experts in ordering that euthanasia be offered in all its facilities, including hospices and palliative-care wards.

Artsakh burns while Western leaders fiddle

September 22, 2023

In the pre-dawn hours of yet another tranquil Ottawa morning — Sept. 19 — my cell phone buzzed. With a sense of foreboding and apprehension I speed-read the message that popped up.

$20-million Jesuit centre nurtures religious roots

September 22, 2023

With the purchase of a new property in 2021 and ambitious plans for development, Canadian Jesuits are hoping to buck the trend of closures and contraction experienced by Quebec Catholic institutions over the past 50 years.

September 23

Miracles happen, says 40 Days for Life activist

September 23, 2023

Maeve Roche will stand vigil for the unborn on Main Street and Broadway Avenue in Hamilton, Ont., for the third straight year starting Sept. 27 and ending Nov. 5.

September 24

Humble gridiron star an inspiration to alma mater

September 24, 2023

Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 241 pounds, veteran Ottawa Redblacks defensive lineman Nigel Romick is well-established as one of the most formidable big men and special teams tacklers in the Canadian Football League (CFL).

September 25

Canada must continue to open doors for refugees

September 25, 2023

Special prayers were offered to Christians under recent attack in Africa and west Asia as the Archdiocese of Toronto commemorated the 109th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2023 Sept. 24.

September 26

Pope Francis says his new ecology document is titled 'Laudate Deum'

September 26, 2023

Pope Francis said the title of his new letter on the environment will be "Laudate Deum," (Praise God), a frequent refrain in several psalms, including Psalm 148, which tells the heavens and the angels and the sun and moon to praise the Lord.

Catholics must help combat ‘anti-faith’ forces, imam tells bishops as plenary opens

September 26, 2023

Canada’s Catholic bishops were urged by a Muslim Imam at their annual plenary assembly to speak out for “moral rights” — while also being counselled by a Cardinal to pursue reforms that make the Church “open to all.”

September 27

St. John’s abuse survivors in line for compensation

September 27, 2023

More than 150 survivors of abuse at the hands of the Christian Brothers of Ireland at the Mount Cashel orphanage in the 1940s through ’60s, and Archdiocese of St. John’s clergy over the years, have applied for a financial settlement from the archdiocese.

New Calgary ‘outreach’ school levels the playing field

September 27, 2023

The Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) has opened St. Gemma Outreach School for students in vital need of extra support.

'Synodality is a call from God for the church today,' says synod undersecretary

September 27, 2023

The approaching world Synod of Bishops on Synodality aims to be a lesson on the "exchange of gifts," said Sister Nathalie Becquart, undersecretary of the Vatican's Synod of Bishops office and one of the highest ranking women in the Vatican.

September 28

Saint Paul innovates while staying true to roots

September 28, 2023

As Ottawa’s Saint Paul University, celebrates its 175th anniversary this year, Chantal Beauvais, its first female Rector, simultaneously exemplifies its Catholic identity, historical values and its face of change.