Pietro Parolin

Randy Boyagoda takes a bold dive into some of society’s most contentious issues in his latest novel, Dante’s Indiana.

For nearly 100 years, popes have set aside time for an annual retreat and meditation on spiritual exercises. It’s more than a custom — it’s become an essential part of papal life.

Emmanuel Akindele is working on an app to monitor mental-health concerns among youth in the hope it will keep children safe online now and into the future.   

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 26 (Year B) Numbers 11:25-29; Psalm 19; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

Leading the Israelites through the wilderness was too great a burden to rest solely on the shoulders of one man.

If you think a retreat is just a day or two in the countryside spent praying and reading Scripture, the Star of the North Retreat House in St. Albert, Alta., wants you to think again. Beginning with an introductory session the Oct. 3 weekend, Star of the North wants to take a diverse range of people through a three-year process divided into nine modules called Aurora Living.

To understand what it means to be Catholic in North America, one must also understand the story of the Indigenous peoples of the land. That is the message behind the new documentary Enduring Faith: The Story of Native American Catholics, produced by the Knights of Columbus.

Saturdays and weekday nights have taken on a special dimension in Angie Carboni’s life in recent months.

Church governance is not about command and control. It’s about who we are and who we aspire to be as a Christian community, as the body of Christ. Since 2013, Pope Francis has been teaching this lesson in all that he does and says. Lately he’s been saying synodality just about every time he opens his mouth.

Enriching Gospel

Re: Church’s job remains sharing the good news (Fr. Raymond de Souza, Aug. 27):

Fr. Souza says that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was, and is, good news for the Indigenous peoples of Canada. I agree. With all the negative criticism the Church has received in the aftermath of the residential schools debacle that’s easy to forget. While the Church should apologize for sins committed against Indigenous peoples, it cannot apologize for proclaiming the Gospel.

Saving the planet is a pretty tall order, so it’s understandable that we can feel a little overwhelmed by the task. After all, what’s one person going to accomplish?