NEWS

TORONTO - With the appointment of a replacement, began last week to say his goodbyes to the flock he has led as archbishop for 16 years.

The cardinal said his last noon Mass at St. Michael's Cathedral as archbishop of Toronto Dec. 17, using the occasion to thank all those who had worked with him and for him. And on Dec. 19, he presided over a Christmas thanksgiving Mass with staff at the Catholic Pastoral Centre.

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican could approve the new English translation of the main Mass prayers as early as mid-2007 if the work of its advisory committee proceeds as planned, the committee said.

BEIJING, China - She sat at the hospital bed, her baby face brightening as visitors came to hold her hand, tell her stories and shower her with gifts of s'mores, pizza and, most of all, roses.

BEIJING, China - They came clutching their shopping bags, curious newcomers who pushed and shoved their way to get a closer view. As regular worshippers celebrated in silence, the visitors chatted and filed in and out of the overflowing cathedral throughout the service.

TORONTO - For most people in our society, Christmas is a joyful time spent with family. But for the homeless, it's not a celebration they can relate to.

TORONTO - Canada's twin goals of military success and humanitarian aid in Afghanistan are doomed to failure, the president of Caritas Internationalis told The Catholic Register as he visited the international aid network's Canadian partner.

What health means will be thoroughly examined by the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute at its 2007 conference in Halifax this coming May.

WINNIPEG - The first province to impose minimum labour standards for the clothes its government buys is Manitoba.

A year after they were snatched from the streets of Baghdad and repeatedly threatened with death over 118 days, the surviving three members of a kidnapped Christian Peacemaker Teams have forgiven their kidnappers and asked the Iraqi court to show leniency to the men about to stand trial for the crime.

HAMILTON, Ont. - For the past 14 years the Good Shepherd food bank in Hamilton transforms into a Christmas Store for the month of December.