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October 12, 2023
Just before the children in her kindergarten class went on vacation for the Jewish Sukkot Festival, Romina Shvalb, 42, a kindergarten teacher in the quiet Israeli kibbutz of Nir Oz near the Gaza border, had baked challah -- the braided sweet bread Jews traditionally eat on the Sabbath and holidays -- with the children.
Some weeks, violence raises its ugly head to remind us that it is always lurking, shrouded by the darkness of the night.
October 13, 2023
Over 500 Catholic young adults aged 19 to 39 will strive to enrich their faith at the annual Renew Toronto conference, which is being staged at the Canada Event Centre in Whitby, Ont., on Nov. 4.
After the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas terrorist, Israel is now at war with Hamas and the security not only of Israel but of Jews worldwide is at stake. Many journalists, politicians and faith leaders have struggled with what to say either staying silent or releasing nebulous statements failing to assign moral responsibility. To navigate all of this we need firm moral principles, a sense of history and some clear-headed realism.
October 14, 2023
Josephine “Jo” Dellapenta’s father Geremino hailed from Campobasso, the capital city of the Italian region of Molise. Her mother, Alfonsina Cordileone, lived her first 11 years in a town not far away.
Clergy, pastoral staff, lay leaders and congregants in the Diocese of Saskatoon will learn how the Church can support mental health and well-being during the annual one-day diocesan Fall Congress on Oct. 19.
October 16, 2023
The Catholic Church's highest ranking prelate in the Holy Land offered his "absolute availability" to be exchanged for Israeli children taken hostage by Hamas.
Patriarchs and heads of all the churches in Jerusalem have issued an urgent appeal to Israel and the international community to open a humanitarian corridor, to assist people caught in what many fear is an imminent humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip.
Some confidential documents from the assembly of the Synod of Bishops were accessible online to anyone who had the address before synod officials restored the need for a username and password, said Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication.
As the Synod on Synodality continues, the global gathering is providing an opportunity for Catholic leaders to share ideas and initiatives -- some of which dovetail with the aims of the National Eucharistic Revival underway in the United States.
October 17, 2023
Huddled in a stairwell at the Catholic parish and school in Gaza, Rosary Sister Nabila Saleh, another sister and Father Youssef Asaad filmed themselves speaking to Pope Francis on the phone and begging for his continued prayers.
Pope Francis said a trip to his native Argentina remains on his schedule and that he has been encouraged to travel through Oceania.
While Christian faithful across the globe prayed and fasted for peace in the Holy Land, a rocket struck the Christian hospital in Gaza City where hundreds of people were being treated, but also where hundreds were taking shelter. U.S. President Joe Biden is on his way to Israel to make a quick visit Oct. 18.
October 18, 2023
On the same day the Toronto Board of Rabbis pleaded with their co-religionists to show public solidarity, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, offered himself as one such sign.
The director of Valley Native Ministry in Saskatchewan’s Treaty 4 territory for the last 40 years, Sr. Bernadette Feist and her older sister, Sr. Theresa, both Ursuline nuns, are retiring.
Raniero Mancinelli has been an ecclesiastical tailor for more than 40 years. He owns a shop at Borgo Pio, one of the famous Roman streets leading straight to the Vatican gate of Porta Sant’Anna.
Amid the devastating violence in Israel and Gaza following Hamas’ deadly surprise attack on Oct. 7, with thousands of casualties on both sides, the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem has vowed to intensify its already considerable efforts in the Holy Land.
The sprawling line of cinephiles who attended the Anatomy of a Fall premiere screening at the Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) on Sept. 22 overheard numerous people exiting the Eau Claire Cinemas raving over a feature they viewed.
October 19, 2023
Nicaragua has expelled a dozen priests held as political prisoners as the increasingly tyrannical regime continues sending clergy into exile and cracking down on the Catholic Church.
Assumption University is continuing its tradition under Dr. John Cappucci of fostering Christian-Jewish ecumenical bonds.