It's been a unique start to post-secondary education for many students taking the next step on their educational path in this year of COVID-19.

In a wonderful essay written in 1919, “Das Unheimliche,” Sigmund Freud proposed a theory of the uncanny to explain the sense of unease and even terror that can arise when something presents itself to us as strangely familiar, but not quite.

You could be forgiven for cursing COVID-19 because it is robbing Toronto Catholics of yet another opportunity to gather and celebrate. But John Ecker doesn’t think that the pandemic forcing the annual Cardinal’s Dinner online Nov. 5 is so bad.

Paul Solarski admitted there were times this past summer when he wondered if physical education would even be offered in 2020-21 at Ontario schools due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

OTTAWA -- The COVID-19 pandemic may have forced the Catholic Church in Canada to significantly change the way it operates, but the far ranging impact of the global health crisis has reinforced and strengthened the Church’s commitment to its mission, said Archbishop Richard Gagnon.

Canadians are collectively holding their breath as they brace for the so-called “second wave” of COVID-19. As infection numbers inch up, speculation is rife as to whether we’re entering this next phase and how we’re going to deal with another round of the virus.

MONTREAL -- The Quebec government took religious leaders by surprise by announcing Sept. 20 that the maximum number of people allowed to participate in an event in a place of worship would be lowered from 250 to 50 in all regions of the province, starting Sept. 21.

With schools returning to semi-normal following the pandemic lockdown, traditional homeschooling families say they too are happy to resume teaching their children under some sense of normalcy.

The news that parishes have taken a financial punch to the gut during the pandemic is not surprising. What can’t happen is allowing them to wallow in financial uncertainty, threatening the services that have defined Catholic values and, in so many ways, our lives. 

Near the end of June, I pulled into our parish parking lot full of gumption at the resumption of Masses after four months of COVID-forced church closures.

Ontario’s high school and elementary students will be back in school in September, with significant provincial investment in measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. 

The days of living-room Mass, celebrated while still in pyjamas, are no longer the only option as churches have slowly re-opened for public services. 

Learning about God’s profound love in seminars and small groups, experiencing Christ during eucharistic adoration and dancing to worship tunes are among the joys traditionally experienced at an Ignite Camp.

Although the coronavirus upended Jacqueline Maurais’ hopes of travelling to Germany this summer to see the world’s most famous Passion Play, like many faithful Canadians, her plans have not been cancelled but postponed.

It’s a step-by-step, multi-pronged back-to-school safety plan, written by practitioners in a Toronto children’s hospital internationally renowned for its expertise and innovation.