June 12, 2021
One of the greatest gifts a human being can give is the gift of acknowledgement: a nod, a smile, saying the person’s name out loud.
On the ceiling above what used to be the front counter of the Blackbird Coffee House in Coleman, Alta., is a striking fresco depicting Jesus clothed in red, kneeling in the Garden of Gethsemane. His right arm reaches delicately towards an angel.
June 11, 2021
The Catholic Register earned recognition in 14 categories at the Catholic Press Association Awards on June 10, including two first-place awards for our columnists and six writing awards for Associate Editor Michael Swan.
The discovery of 215 bodies of children in unmarked graves on the site of the former Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia understandably triggered a national response of outrage and mourning. Less understandable is why this particular discovery has unleashed an outpouring of grief and accountability by community leaders and politicians when the evidence of these atrocities is so well known, and when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report highlighted this issue for special mention.
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi called upon the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) and the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) to devise new names for Bishop Grandin High School and Langevin School respectively.
A meeting between Pope Francis and a delegation of Canadian Indigenous people at the Vatican is being planned and expected before the end of the year.
In morning headlines and evening newscasts the 215 unmarked graves on the Tk’emlups te Sewepemc First Nation are a scandal and a tragedy. While Catholics certainly know this to be true, the Church must also confront its theological failures, several theologians told The Catholic Register.
June 10, 2021
Canada’s Catholic bishops have called for condemnation by the faithful of acts of violence and extremism against all faith traditions.
Residents of my Edmonton neighbourhood are setting up front yard signs of solidarity to honour the 215 former students at the Kamloops Residential School whose remains were found outside the school. As well, demonstrations were held in some centres regarding the detection of these unmarked graves. This discovery has moved people in a way that earlier revelations about the schools did not.
Indigenous elder and lay minister Rosella Kinoshameg reflects on the Gospel of Matthew’s parable of the treasure discovered hidden in a field as she looks to find healing and meaning in the wake of the latest trauma to hit Indigenous communities in Canada.