Forget emotional appeal, let’s have rational debate
A YouTube video issued by the family of the late Dr. Donald Low, in which the doctor argued passionately for a law that would allow assisted suicide in Canada for the terminally ill, has re-ignited the public debate about euthanasia and assisted suicide.
Pope Francis is courageously facing real issues head on
Pope Francis has been in the news following a three-part interview in which he commented on moral issues that have always generated much heat — homosexual relationships, abortion and contraception.
Meet the new faith, same as the old faith
I found myself unwittingly joining in a fun new Catholic game last week. Ever since Pope Francis’ interview with La Civilta Cattolica was published in Jesuit journals around the world, there has been both within and without the Church great huzzahs that under the new Holy Father everything will be, well, new, new, new! So here and there more knowledgeable Catholics than one would find at, say The New York Times, or for that matter, at some of those same Jesuit publications, have highlighted this or that revolutionary quotation from the interview, only to reveal that it in fact was said five years ago by Pope Benedict XVI.
Creation finds fullness in Christ
Francis of Assisi is one of the saints in the Catholic calendar honoured by different religions around the world. And with the election of our new Pope, people everywhere are hearing the name Francis now more than ever.
My life has been blessed by friendships with religious
A heavenly joy filled my heart during a Mass last month at Toronto’s Holy Angels Church. My family had arranged our schedules to be there as Fr. Peter Gioppato, the pastor, celebrated 50 years in religious life.
Respect creation
In their darkest warning yet, world scientists have predicted an inevitable increase in storms, droughts, heat waves, floods and, ultimately, deaths due to global warming which they boldly now confirm is caused by humans.
Charity and evangelization
Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, is flying high at the moment, chairman of the “elite eight” cardinals going to Rome next week to advise the Holy Father on necessary reforms. He was invited to address the plenary meeting of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops this week.
Bringing the Church back to its core
Reading through Pope Francis’ fascinating 12,000-word interview in the Jesuit journal America Magazine, many thoughts and sentences leapt out, especially this one.
- By Robert Brehl
Enough already
A day after at least 85 Christians were murdered at a Peshawar church, thousands of protesters spilled into Pakistan’s streets to demand justice and protection. Their cries for help followed a particularly bloody weekend for Christians who, in addition to enduring persecution in places like Syria, Iraq and Egypt, were among those targeted by Muslim terrorists in a mall massacre in Kenya that caused dozens of deaths.
Finding, and living, the faith in bustling Mombasa
The Kenyan city of Mombasa is an ancient metropolis that bears the marks of its long history as a melting pot of civilizations, religions, cultures, races and nationalities. It is the gateway to East Africa and the coastal city of choice for many tourists from Asia, Europe and North America.
How do you deal with a house divided against itself?
It’s something you never want to hear. You’ve believed and clung to something your entire life, something you stake your very existence on. Then someone suggests it’s all bunk, irrelevant, meaningless.