Canada joined an exclusive international club last month, but there is no reason to brag.

As Canada’s bishops gathered on computer screens this past week, bypassing the “norm” of their usual annual plenary, the old saying “what a difference a year makes” was probably uttered more than once.

The Pope’s first official trip outside Rome in more than seven months couldn’t come at a better, or more critical, time.

The word “jubilee” suggests a joyous celebration, but that is hardly the context for the theme Pope Francis has put on this year’s Season of Creation.

Fifty-five years ago, Pope Paul VI penned these words on the eve of the official end of Vatican II:

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. 

In the darkest days of “The Troubles,” when Northern Ireland was torn by sectarian violence and bitter political divisions, John Hume dared to see a future built on peace.

The reports were scattered at first, isolated news stories throughout the year of a statue toppled here, another spray-painted with graffiti there. This summer they have come more frequently — senseless acts of anti-Church vandalism that have grown bolder and more destructive.

Over the years, we have heard the pleas of popes and Vatican officials to halt the worldwide production of weapons. In virtually every case, the urgency of the plea has been punctuated by the preface: “Now, more than ever ….”

There is a world of issues to worry about these days, playing havoc with our physical and spiritual well-being. So it’s good every once in a while to stop and, as the cliché goes, smell the roses.