'Ask the people, Stephen'
In late June of last year, without the benefit of social scientific evidence, adequate democratic deliberation and the normal process of judicial appeals, and with inordinate pressure put on members of Parliament by party leaders, the House of Commons passed Bill C-38.
Motherhood takes plenty of on-the-job learning
My uncle was writing a catechism and he had asked me to discuss the role of wife and mother. It was a difficult writing assignment.
This special gift keeps giving
As Christmas approaches and wish lists get finalized, one thing is certain: no one in our family will receive a bigger gift than the one Sean, the youngest member, received several years ago.
- By Lisa Petsche
Lister Sinclair was unwilling to be held slave to simple fact
The death of Lister Sinclair on Oct. 16 marks not only the passing of a national figure of consequence but provides the occasion for some serious reflection on the role of the public intellectual in our national discourse.
Making sense of U.S. midterm elections
The immediate result in politics isn't always the most important. Sometimes the election of a particular candidate, or the shift of a percentage of the vote one way or the other on the political spectrum is nowhere as vital as what the underlying trend indicates about the future. The midterm elections in the United States may well be an example where the clear result becomes murkier the more analysis applied and the more time unfolds.
Pastoral Letter: Democracy rests on love of God and neighbour
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Valueless values
I ask myself at times why I react so negatively to a word often used these days, the word "value." The reason for my negative reaction seems to lie in the fact that the talk of values strikes me as very neutral. The word admits that for someone else my value may be quite valueless. The term communicates, in fact, our acceptance that what we take as valuable may be quite meaningless in somebody else's eyes. In other words, I react negatively to the word simply because it contains a possibility of relativism and meaninglessness.
What's the future for African orphans?
The controversy over Madonna's adoption of a one-year-old Malawian orphan, David, raises important questions about adoptions of African orphans to Europe and North America. Our concern here is not the morality or legality of the adoption of baby David, even though these have some implications for his future happiness, fundamental rights, stability and cultural integration. Our concern is whether adoption of African orphans to Western countries offers any meaningful answer to the challenges that the high number of African orphans pose to African societies.
Murder is not compassionate
Is Canada facing legalization of euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide by stealth? Recent court decisions and strategies used by euthanasia lobbyists suggest this is happening even though the law as it is written still bans both types of killing.
New Beginnings helps you move on
TORONTO - John Dubeau still remembers the pain he felt when he and his wife divorced more than 30 years ago.
The kids and their canine cousin
My sister, Cecile, and her husband, Philip, who live in Florida, recently spent two weeks visiting in our area.
- By Lisa Petsche
Who’s afraid of Halloween
When I was growing up I can remember being so excited about going out and trick-or-treating. Images of costumes that didn’t quite fit, reduced vision and streets full of parents accompanying their children to neighbours’ houses resound in my memory.