Pietro Parolin

At 30, Brenda Akaraza still laughs as easily as any teenager. She’s still as earnest as any university freshman.

Pentecost Sunday (Year C) June 5 (Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23)

If a hundred believers were asked to explain the nature, role and workings of the Holy Spirit, there would probably be 100 or more answers. Backed into a corner, many have little understanding of the Spirit and its actions. The Holy Spirit has been invoked to bolster authority and to challenge it; to support the status quo and to overturn it; to head in new theological and spiritual directions and to retreat behind the fortified walls of tradition.

On June 5, Pentecost Sunday, Bishop Douglas Crosby will celebrate the 100th anniversary Mass for Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish overlooking Hamilton, Ont., from Hamilton Mountain.       

If "beauty will save the world," as Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky said, then "perhaps beauty can also save the unborn," said Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz.

When is a vote an act of love? This is an important question for Ontario Catholics voting on June 2, called by Christ to “love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12) .

Listening is often referred to as an art. Reams of books have been dedicated to defining “how” to listen, and even define “types” — deep listening, full listening, critical listening, therapeutic listening etc.

Non-contentious

On May 18, the publisher of The Catholic Register, Peter Stockland, was going to moderate a debate, organized by the Archdiocese of Toronto, intended to help Catholic voters with their choice in the Ontario provincial election. To prepare considered answers, candidates would have received the questions in advance.

The World Health Organization released in March data showing an astounding 25-per-cent global increase in mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression correlated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law one of the nation's most restrictive abortion bills May 25, saying he has kept his promise to voters to "sign every piece of pro-life legislation that came across my desk."

Younis Gil is a small man who struggles with English. Years of stress, uncertainty and hard labour have left an imprint. But he squares his shoulders, straightens his back, meets your gaze and smiles. With his wife Saleema Bibi and surrounded by three of his adult children plus a son-in-law, he is a proud pater familias embracing a life that a few months ago was hard to imagine.