OTTAWA -- The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the “heartbreaking” neglect that many elderly Canadians and other vulnerable people have been facing in modern Canadian society, but that exposure can also be an opportunity for Catholics and other Canadians to reassess our “values and lifestyle” in a meaningful way, say Canada’s Catholic bishops.

BURFORD, ONT. -- With many of Scotlynn Group Inc.’s migrant farm workers either still in or just out of quarantine, few were able to attend a memorial Mass on June 28 for Juan Lopez Chaparro at Blessed Sacrament Church in Burford, Ont.

During the pandemic lockdown, a bishop spoke to his flock about fears and panic. He emphasized that times were bad, faith was going to be lost, God would leave us and all that remained was to hold tight to our traditions and hope for the best.

The Catholic Youth Organization in Hamilton has been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, so much so that it’s at the point of wondering if it will be able to carry on beyond this summer.

Deep into ESPN’s irresistible documentary The Last Dance, rumination turns to the specific qualities that catalyzed Michael Jordan’s leadership of six NBA championship teams between 1991 and 1998.

Just a five-minute walk away from the Ambassador Bridge, Assumption University in Windsor, Ont., has become a vital community bridge on its own, according to newly installed principal John Cappucci.

With churches across Ontario getting the go-ahead to open their doors, and most set to resume Sunday Masses June 21, it should alleviate some of the financial burden for dioceses still awaiting government relief through the Canada Wage Subsidy program.

Another day, another clean slate for Nova Scotia in its coronavirus struggle. No additional deaths attributed to COVID-19, no new cases.

“So good to see you.”

And with those words, Cardinal Thomas Collins launched into the first Mass at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica June 17 where he had a live congregation since the COVID-19 pandemic closed churches in the Toronto archdiocese and nationwide in mid-March.

As Canadian churches continue to re-open, it would be wise to heed advice Pope Francis offered to Catholics everywhere.

With so much going on around the world, I am feeling pretty overwhelmed.

It won’t be a normal Sunday by any stretch of the imagination, but for priests across Ontario over the weekend of June 20-21 there will be a beautiful sight in front of them: a live congregation.

Couples struggling in their marriage have been hit with a double whammy by the COVID-19 lockdown, according to a counsellor with Catholic Family Services Toronto.

Honest is hard. There is nothing like a season of physical distancing to remind me of that truth.

Despite the go-ahead to begin celebrating Mass on June 12, Ontario dioceses continue to take a cautious approach to re-opening churches.