Pietro Parolin

As the weather turns chillier and Halloween decorations give way to garlands and twinkling lights, modern society alerts us that Christmastime has arrived. It employs many techniques to achieve this effect, but they can all be categorized under one broad word: marketing. 

There have been 57 reported attacks on Catholic churches across Canada so far in 2021, the highest number for any single year stretching back to 2010, according to a new database tracking such attacks.

It was a great year for the Year of St. Joseph, but not because it was a great year. It was a year spent in and out of COVID lockdowns, a year of natural disasters fuelled by climate change and a year for Canadians to confront the hard truths of their history in the form of forgotten graves for Indigenous children who died at residential schools.

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin of Adigrat called for an immediate end to aerial bombardment in Tigray, the Ethiopian region where a deadly conflict has unfolded since last November.

VATICAN CITY -- Concerned at the slow pace of adopting his reforms of the marriage annulment process, Pope Francis has established a Vatican commission to encourage and verify progress in the dioceses of Italy.

Almost two-thirds of Black students in the Hamilton, Ont., Catholic school board said they feel unsafe in their school, according to a new report.

Second Sunday of Advent, Dec. 5 (Year C) Baruch 5:1-9; Psalm 126; Philippians 1:3-6, 8-11; Luke 3:1-6

The beautiful and soaring imagery of many prophecies usually collides with cold, hard reality. The utopian promises rarely seem to materialize, for our spiritual journey takes place on the earthly plane with its own laws and customs.

There is a freedom in walking the streets, following my instincts and seeing where the Spirit will lead. On this particular evening I was unexpectedly led back 14 years to a cold evening on Jan. 11, 2007, but I was taken there by a circuitous route.

Back in Canada for the first time since receiving the red hat from Pope Francis in 2019, Cardinal Michael Czerny told the theology faculty and students at Toronto’s Regis College they must take up the neglected renewal of theology called for by the Second Vatican Council, St. Pope Paul VI and St. Pope John Paul II.

Last year Pope Francis delivered his traditional Christmas message from the Hall of Benediction of St. Peter’s Basilica, rather than from the usual window where popes more traditionally appear before tens of thousands of the faithful. Just as his place of delivery reflected the grim reality of COVID, so too did his message focus on the responsibilities we — and the wealthier nations especially — have towards those in need.