Book News

This short book is boiled down from an interesting and at times incendiary interview of Cardinal Raymond Burke by French author Guillaume d’Alançon. Interesting in that it offers insight into the thoughts of a distinguished and highly influential Churchman. Incendiary in that it often seems d’Alançon is seeking to juxtapose the thought of Burke with that of Pope Francis in a way that may (and possibly seeks to) inflame divisions within the Church.

Move over Hercule Poirot and Adam Dalglish. John Delano has supplanted both as the most endearing sleuth of modern fiction.

In a short volume consisting not of formal theology but rather of informal musings on faith in our Canadian society, Gerry Turcotte offers us an eminently readable collection of brief essays.

MAMARONECK, N.Y. – Fifteen years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks decimated the twin towers in lower Manhattan, the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center rises out of the ground, a palpable symbol of triumph and optimism. The tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere is the soaring, storied, centerpiece of a 16-acre complex that includes eight other major structures.

A well-known line from the Peace Prayer of St. Francis wisely tells us “it is in giving that we receive.” This mantra encapsulates the incredible life of spiritual giant Jean Vanier, now 87, chronicled in Michael Higgins’ biography Jean Vanier: Logician of the Heart.

Dear Mr. Eisen, I have been asked to write a review of your book, By Chance Alone. I took this on with trepidation. After all, what can I say?

It is hard to walk into a grocery store, drugstore, gas station or anywhere else without coming across a display of adult colouring books. The trend started a couple of years ago with Johanna Basford’s uber-popular volumes of pretty flowers and frolicking sea life.

Dissatisfaction with homilies is the most common complaint Catholics have about their priests, even leading many to skip Mass, according to Canadian and American surveys. Clerics themselves pinpoint uninspiring sermons as a general flaw among their colleagues. The main weaknesses they cite are poor delivery, superficial content and a disconnect from the lives of people in the pews. 

If Paul Martin Sr. had won the 1948 Liberal leadership convention instead of Louis St. Laurent, the Martins, not the Trudeaus, may well have been the first father and son to lead the country.

AURORA, ONT. – When a gang of pretty high school girls spot 87-year-old Max Eisen they all shout “Max!” and shuffle over for a hug and a chat with the man who showed them the inside of Auschwitz last summer.