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February 2024

February 1

Stories are a tool for evangelization

February 1, 2024

Spiritus York’s kick-off event of 2024 connected the dots between Narnia and Anime in modern-day evangelization.

Christian exodus from Iraq ‘alarming’

February 1, 2024

A multitude of problems — corruption, discrimination and unemployment at home, exacerbated by the fallout from the Gaza war — are driving an alarming number of Iraqi Christians from their homeland, seeking emigration as a last resort, say Church leaders and advocacy organizations.

Verbatim: CCCB's pastoral letter from the Commission for Justice and Peace

February 1, 2024

The CCCB’s pastoral letter from its Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace, released this week, calls on Canadian Catholics to serve Christian values by following seven commitments online.

Alberta to introduce parental rights’ bill

February 1, 2024

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will unveil her government’s parental rights bill today, which will see parents’ permission needed for a child to change their name or pronoun from what they were given at birth.

Editorial: The dignity in social media

February 1, 2024

In the week that we looked into the online mirror and saw pornographic deep fakes of Taylor Swift staring back, Canada’s Catholic bishops published a compelling pastoral letter on Christian engagement with social media.

Just unjust

February 1, 2024

Your description of Israeli actions in your Jan. 21 editorial “On the side of real justice” leaves a lot to be desired. What happened on Oct. 7 — and I certainly do not condone it — did not happen in a vacuum. Yet there is no sense of any understanding of what has been happening in Israel and Palestine for many years.

God is the bridge in all our relations

February 1, 2024

“Why can’t my spouse and I understand each other?” Even in the dearest of relationships, we might feel we can’t understand our husband, daughter, father or friend.

This skier is not for turning

February 1, 2024

The hard part was sitting down properly on the T-bar ski lift, or rather not sitting down. If you sat down, the whole vertical pipe would swoop forward violently and dump you on your back in the middle of the track for the skier behind you to pierce you with their long skis. The object of the T-bar was to brace your knees in a slight crouching position, hang on to the pipe with your hands, and let the seat drag you to the upper altitudes by the back of your thighs. Whoever designed this lift deserved a sadistic engineer of the year award.

A call to end the arms trade

February 1, 2024

Each night when I was growing up, my mother would do “prayers & lullabies” with us. One prayer was to recite a simple passage from Scripture. I am quoting my “prayer-memory” here and not the actual Scripture:

From Holocaust’s ashes

February 1, 2024

The International Court of Justice has delivered its interim judgment. Even a political body appointed by the United Nations General Assembly, whose members are mainly non-democratic states, couldn’t bring itself to order Israel to ceasefire, but we should not be grateful for that. They had no moral right to order Israel to cease its just war of self-defense in the first place.

February 2

Catholic colleges hope cap targets ‘bad actors’

February 2, 2024

Canada’s Catholic colleges and universities are taking a “wait and see” view of the federal government’s Jan. 22 pronouncement of a two-year intake cap on international student permits.

Course helps disabled students in job SEARCH

February 2, 2024

The University of Guelph, Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) and Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) are collaborating to provide students with disabilities the skills essential for competitive employment.

Evidence in Jimmy Lai trial may have been obtained through torture, U.N. rapporteur says

February 2, 2024

The United Nations is warning that evidence in the trial of prominent Hong Kong Catholic, philanthropist and media mogul Jimmy Lai may have been obtained by torturing a witness in China.

God's Word on Sunday: We must always spread message of hope

February 2, 2024

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) Feb. 4 (Job 7:1-4. 6-7; Psalm 147; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39) There are many who would empathize with Job’s bleak outlook on life. His days were filled with pain and struggle, and he could see no end to his situation. He questioned even the meaning or value of his life.

MAiD for mental illness pushed back at least two years

February 2, 2024

The federal government is planning to delay its planned expansion of assisted suicide for individuals sole living with mental illness until March 2027.

February 3

Century-old Carmelite daycare to shut down

February 3, 2024

It’s the end of an era in the Trinity-Bellwoods area of downtown Toronto, with the century-old child-care hub Carmelite Day Nursery announcing its plans to wind down operations by the end of July.

Durham Catholic board named among Canada’s best employers

February 3, 2024

The Durham Catholic District School Board has been recognized by Forbes as one of Canada’s best employers in 2024.

February 5

Northern Ireland has Catholic leading its government for the first time in history

February 5, 2024

Ireland's most-senior churchman hailed an agreement that sees a Catholic take the top political job in Northern Ireland for the first time in its history as an "opportunity for a fresh start and a new beginning."

February 6

Parental rights win with new Alberta policy

Quinton Amundson · February 6, 2024

Alberta’s proposed parental rights policy is another step in parents regaining control of their children’s education — in particular concerning a perceived overreach with gender ideology — from school bureaucrats, say its supporters.

From the Web Archive

As King Charles is diagnosed with cancer, Cardinal Nichols offers 'steadfast prayers'

February 6, 2024

Cardinal Vincent Nichols has offered "steadfast prayers" on behalf of Catholics after it was announced that Britain's King Charles III is undergoing treatment for cancer.