Arts
Show can go on for Turkey’s ‘Rockin’ Imam’
ISTANBUL - Turkey’s religious authorities have given the go-ahead for the country’s controversial “Rockin’ Imam” to keep on rocking.
Doing no justice to Edith Stein
Embracing Edith Stein: Wisdom for Women from St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, by Anne Costa (Servant Books, Softcover, 110 pages, $13.99).
Edith Stein was many things — a Jewish woman from Eastern Europe, a philosopher, an academic, a teacher, a writer, a feminist, a convert to Catholicism, a Carmelite nun, a victim of the Holocaust at Auschwitz, a saint (she was canonized by John Paul II in 1987) and a martyr. Stein was far from a simple person, so it must be said that setting out to write a short compilation (101 pages) of Stein’s thoughts on women and womanhood is a mighty challenge indeed.
A painful search for love, life after death and a loving divine presence
If bitterness, pain and the F-word are exactly what you do not want to read, then don’t read this book. But if you have ever questioned God or redemption, ever felt unsure of exactly what you believe, then you might take the challenge of riding with Maggie Prentice. She’s the bitter, beyond middle-aged, alcoholic, anti-heroine narrator in The Walking Tanteek. She’s also a compelling, not easily likable character who escapes anguish in all the wrong places.
Famed organist Christie to perform in Toronto
TORONTO - Prolific organist James David Christie is coming to Toronto to perform what appears to be a tour-de-force concert.
Rolheiser explores challenges of mid-life
Success, writes Fr. Ron Rolheiser in his new book Sacred Fire, has little to teach us in the second half of life. Where we learn as we mature is through our disappointments, boredom, resentment and frustration.
Archbishop offers a unique 12 steps to recovery
The man behind this book is perhaps just as important as the book’s content. Retired Archbishop Sylvain Lavoie is a northern Canadian bishop and a missionary Oblate priest. He has spent most of his life and ministry working among Canada’s aboriginal people. He has extensive experience and an incredible reputation with those who have struggled with addictions, generational trauma and abuse. He is in demand as a retreat leader, spiritual director and pastoral presence.
Antonio Banderas may be cast as Pope Francis in biopic
ROME - Spanish heartthrob Antonio Banderas may be cast in the role of Pope Francis in the first feature film to be made on the life of the Argentine pontiff.
Film examines Cardinal's Lustiger's conflict between his roots, Catholicism
In the era in which Catholics saw their first Polish pope, the Church in France saw its first Jewish cardinal.
A son’s journey opens father’s eyes
Todd Burpo never expected his four-year-old son to test his faith. But that’s exactly what happened to the Nebraska pastor.
Talking Green Spirit
When Canada’s Catholic bishops last year spoke out yet again on the environment they were hoping they wouldn’t have the last word on the subject. Now a Catholic video production company along with several parishes and religious orders are hoping to get Catholic students and parishioners talking with the launch of Green Spirit TV.
French Mass survives CBC cuts
CBC budget cuts in April that will cost more than 600 employees their jobs left the weekly Mass in French relatively unscathed.
Intrigue among the incense
TORONTO - A smoky stage and the distinct scent of incense set the scene for the Vatican in 1978. It’s a place where “everything is confidential and nothing is secret,” according to the sharp-witted play The Last Confession.
World is making progress in ending war
Cynicism is tempting because it’s easy. Hope is hard work. At 85 peace activist, retired ambassador to the United Nations, former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister and Senator Douglas Roche refuses to take the easy way.