There is a sense that protection is required when we step out into the unknown darkness of life, whether it be the darkness of suffering or of a lifestyle tinged with fear and regret. Traditionally the Church has called upon the angelic hosts for such protection. 

As we near the end of the election campaign, many comments on social media remind me of something Mark Twain wrote 112 years ago: “I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning religion and politics a man’s reasoning powers are not above the monkey’s.”

Pope Francis reminded the newest cardinals that the “readiness of a cardinal to shed his own blood (is) signified by the scarlet colour of your robes.” For one of them it was not a reminder but a memory.

The death of Alan Nichols took several months to make it into the mainstream news. And as of this writing, it is still a blank spot. His case should have been big news because of what it indicates for the future of this country and the safety of our most vulnerable.

“Overdrawn,” I thought, as I drove out of the city. “I feel like my whole life is overdrawn.” 

Jimmy Carter, the former U.S. president who turned 95 on Oct. 1, is one of the most decent, self-sacrificing human beings of the 20th (and 21st) century. 

Somehow in the tsunami of humanity flooding Montreal’s downtown streets for last Friday’s “climate march,” I spotted an elegantly dressed woman wearing a small white lapel button protesting Quebec’s Bill 21.

Church attendance is waning and religious non-affiliation is waxing. That’s hardly news. Observe the empty pews.

For many of us of a certain age, “Who Are You?” by the Who is a seminal song, made popular again as the theme music to the TV show CSI. 

It’s been called a “national health crisis” and a “public emergency.” It’s a major issue in next month’s federal election.