Tread carefully

After the attack on Parliament by a lone gunman the instinctive temptation is to respond aggressively. First, to respond politically by supporting new laws that empower police and security officers at the expense of some civil liberties. Second, to respond socially by waffling on Canadian principles that uphold tolerance and respect for all citizens of all backgrounds. 

Ask God for help with worldly worries

Sometimes, sleep doesn’t come easy. Dreams are pushed aside by worry and fretting. Counting sheep gives way to counting out real-life scenarios and possibilities late into the night. 

Prayer integral in our schools, but there’s more that can be done

Part of the mandate of Catholic schools is to ensure that students develop an appreciation and understanding of the role of prayer. 

Risky business

Pope Francis sought a “sincere and open” discussion among Church leaders attending the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family. Well, he got it. And then some.

Never too late to listen to Pope Benedict XVI

One of the world’s wisest voices was not heard during the synod fortnight in Rome. His time to speak publicly is definitively past, but it behooves the Church to listen now to what he said then. 

Front line euthanasia ethics

At this month’s Supreme Court hearing on assisted suicide, much time was spent arguing whether Canadians have a right to be killed. Few moments were spent considering those who would have to do the killing. 

The money debate: root of evil or springboard to happiness?

In a recent column, I mentioned the old biblical warning that money is the root of all evil and that sure set off a lively debate with my wife. 

Model Canadians

The year-long celebration of the 350th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Quebec reached into the Vatican on Oct. 12 with a papal Mass to honour Canada’s two newest saints. 

Will the Church finally surrender to the sexual revolution?

The world has waited almost 50 years for the day, but is it on the horizon? 

A voice for justice impossible to silence

OTTAWA - When I was a teen, Bob Carty asked me if I could drive his standard-transmission blue Corolla. “It’s a long way to Mexico,” he said, “and we’ll have to drive hard to get there as fast as the others going down by bus.” 

The end of Western civilization is upon us

How vividly I can still hear them — as though it were recently — the raucous cries resounding across university campuses in the 1960s and early ’70s: “Hey ho, hey ho, Western civ has got to go.”