In the midst of the thoughtful days of Advent and with the glory of Christmas just ahead, Christians may not yet be looking toward their new year in the Church and in the world. But when January arrives many of us will consider “New Year’s resolutions” involving losing a little weight, getting to the gym more often, doing projects around the house and perhaps considering volunteer work.

COP27 valuable

I appreciate The Catholic Register reporting on my impressions of COP27. The Register’s Nov. 27 editorial, “COP27’s Failure,” made me want to expand. 

Rev. Andrew Bennett offers timely wisdom that, as Paschal people, we can find hope even in the distressing report by think tank Cardus on Canada’s shocking loss of religious faith.

For much of the past 50 years the received wisdom has been that religious observance and belief is relentlessly declining in Canada. The secularization theory is that as a society progresses by becoming more educated and affluent, the ties to traditional religious belief inevitably decline. 

With the ending of another year, we celebrate Jesus’ birth, the beginning of a life that leads to life for us all. As we ring in 2023, we need the new life of Christ to combat the culture of death.

In the early 1970s there was a movie called Soylent Green. It starred Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson. It was the first film I saw that was a dystopian vision of the future. It took place in a New York City in which the population has exploded to the point of anarchy. In response, the state came up with a voluntary suicide program to lessen the crowding.

“I cannot believe I ever complained about being tired in the company of friends with young kids. Please forgive me!!” So tweeted new mother and journalist Bari Weiss, complete with double exclamation marks.

Caring reality

Gerard Walsh of Saugeen Shores, Ont., states in a Nov. 27 letter to the editor of The Catholic Register there is a need to adjust for reality regarding falling church attendance. He claims there has been no adjustment at the parish level. 

When even the Toronto Star emits an editorial ululation against medically administered homicide, we know we’re at the event horizon of a national moral black hole. Forget slippery slopes. We’re in the gravitational pull of somewhere the light no longer shines.

It has been more than four months since the end of Pope Francis’ visit to Canada to meet with Indigenous people and apologize for the Catholic Church’s involvement and acts of terror in the Indian residential school system. It’s long enough for the next steps in the journey of reconciliation to have been at least discussed. Yet, there has been next to nothing.