Pope Francis caused a buzz in the Catholic world on Sept. 9 when he announced a relaxation of the Vatican’s stranglehold on liturgical texts in favour of sharing responsibility with local bishops.

The mere thought of North Korea’s homicidal dictator possessing a nuclear bomb is terrifying. But as long as world powers cling to their nuclear arsenals, the spread of these weapons is inevitable.

As Montreal Auxiliary Bishop Alain Faubert quite rightly puts it, there is nothing complicated about how we should respond to a summer influx of asylum seekers at Quebec’s southern border.

It was interesting to monitor the shock expressed around the world to recent news that Iceland has almost eradicated the birth of Down syndrome babies by prenatal tests and abortion.

Pope Francis seldom misses an opportunity to explain the meaning of mercy. A Toronto cop recently demonstrated what it looks like.

Regardless of where you stand on the nasty public spat involving the president of the University of St. Michael’s College and some school faculty, it seems fundamentally obvious that a Catholic institution of higher education should promote a visible and distinctly Catholic identity.

Let’s face it, we live in a world of complainers.

The $10.5-million takeaway from the sordid affair of Omar Khadr is that all of society loses when its leaders fail to stand in vigorous defence of God-given human dignity and fundamental human rights.

When Canada became a nation 150 years ago there was little debate about the prominent place of faith in society. Canada was to be built on Christian values. The founders rejected names such as Kingdom of Canada and Republic of Canada in favour of Dominion of Canada, a tribute to Psalm 72:8: “He shall have dominion from sea to sea.”

It’s common for popes to search far and wide for their cardinals, but none has searched farther and wider than Pope Francis.