Pope Benedict XVI resigned the papacy in a state of nervous exhaustion. Cardinal Pell died during routine surgery after imprisonment for a crime he did not commit. Cardinal Zen is languishing in a prison in Communist China. Bishop Strickland was stripped of his governance of Tyler, Texas.

The Vatican’s surprise — some might say bombshell — declaration that “irregular” domestic partnerships can be blessed by Catholic clergy will be welcomed like a Christmas gift by advocates and beneficiaries.

A statement on the persecution of Christians from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace.

It’s Advent — that special time of year when sleighbells ring, chestnuts roast and Christians of different persuasions argue about when to begin celebrating Christmas. Many Catholics adhere to the idea that one ought not decorate or sing Christmas carols before the Christmas liturgical season begins on Dec. 24. There’s only one problem with this: it presumes we ever stopped.

I have been sitting in my living room in the dark evenings lit up by the Christmas tree. I am fumbling with a fiddle, coaxing my fingers to play the notes of folk tunes and Christmas carols. This fall, the world seems particularly weary, beauty weighted with a complicated mix of war and worries. And I sing quietly along in my head one of my favourite lines: “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.”

Learn to do good; seek justice.

Isaiah: 1: 17

I am not a social justice scholar. Nor am I an expert in the field of health care. I was invited recently, however, to be part of a forum on Catholic health care to define the concept of social justice, especially as it emerges within the Catholic intellectual tradition and Catholic social teaching. This tradition, not surprisingly, heavily informs the values and practices that we see manifested in the health care system.

Based on his letter criticizing The Catholic Register article about Fr. Tom Rosica, which was welcomed by so many, it is obvious Lou Iacobelli is not open to listening to views discussed at the Synod, that is views other than his own.

Through the spring and fall of 2023, The Catholic Register and our partners at The B.C. Catholic, Catholic Conscience and the Religion & Journalism Project taught on-line classes in Catholic journalism.

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. And everyone went to their own town to register.

Recently, I have been thinking about indifference, which seems to me to be the defining attitude of our times. At least, I thought of indifference as an attitude. Then I was asked to reflect on a statement by St. Teresa of Kolkata which included these words: “The greatest evil in the world is the lack of love, the terrible indifference towards one’s neighbour.”