The other day, I went to pay my respects to the widow and two children of a friend and neighbor whom I played pick-up hockey with for several years. He was only 55.

Just when one thinks the current president of the United States can’t do anything more brazen, he trumps that belief and goes one further.

Pope Francis had little or no choice but to accept the resignation of Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop in Washington, D.C.

Is it possible for a Catholic bishop to not know sex with children is a crime? 

Frustrated by the Church’s inability to defuse long-running clergy sex scandals, Pope Francis has summoned the worldwide presidents of Catholic bishops conferences to the Vatican in February to find better ways to protect children and eradicate predatory priests.

Amidst the sexual abuse scandals involving Catholic priests around the world — in particular the revolting crimes of 301 Pennsylvania priests over 70 years unearthed in an August grand jury report — a prominent U.S. bishop is calling for the laity to stay and fight, not abandon the Church.

Like too many baby boomers, I probably spend too much time on Facebook. The other day, a friend posted a short video from a Lutheran pastor in the United States with this simple note: “This makes a lot of sense.”

This column started about all the gun violence in Toronto this summer, but then it changed. For some reason, thoughts moved from hatred and death that guns bring to unconditional love and affection that family pets offer.

Thirty years ago I was in Nicaragua as Daniel Ortega’s first presidency was approaching its best-before date. Apart from a trip to the Holy Land, it was the most inspirational trip of my life because of the people I met, the hardships they endured at the hands of the Americans, and the hopes and dreams that filled their hearts.

June 17 will mark two years since Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) law received royal assent.