Pietro Parolin

Epiphany of the Lord, Jan. 2 (Year C) Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12

In many respects, darkness has indeed covered the Earth during the last year. It has not been a pleasant or uplifting existence for many.

The day of reckoning is upon us; how can we respond?

VATICAN CITY -- Before giving his Christmas blessing to the city of Rome and to the world, Pope Francis drew attention to the many places around the globe and within human hearts in need of Jesus, the prince of peace.

The celebration of Christmas serves as a reminder that God did not reveal his greatness in a grand spectacle, but rather in the "littleness" of a poor, vulnerable child born in a stable in Bethlehem, Pope Francis said.

King’s University College at Western University marked the sixth anniversary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)’s final report with a participatory reading of the 94 Calls to Action Dec. 15.

This New Year, perhaps more than most, stirs up awareness of time and its strange ways. Through the unsettling days of 2020 and 2021, some have found the time long and heavy, waiting for the lonely burdensome time to pass so they can regain their lives. For others, time has come to an end as effects of the coronavirus or other painful happenings claimed their lives. Still others have found time opening up for them, enabling them to do or explore new things. Some have spent more time in prayer.

Demand for comfort and joy is up all over, and despite COVID the Good Shepherd Centre in Hamilton is determined to deliver.

A national framework for a five-year, $30 million fundraising campaign in aid of healing and reconciliation with residential school survivors and their communities is coming in the new year, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops vice president William McGrattan has told The Catholic Register.

VATICAN CITY -- Thanking Cardinal Peter Turkson for his five years of service as prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Pope Francis has decided to name new leadership for the office, said a Vatican communique.

Another story

Re: Catholic media must do better on Indigenous file (Dec. 2):

Fr. Raymond de Souza argues convincingly that relying on mainstream media for accurate reporting “is a mistake.” Last May it described the discovery of Indigenous children’s remains at the Kamloops Residential School as a “mass grave.” The terminology was provocative and misleading, suggesting murders with bodies thrown into mass graves.