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The COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity for Toronto Catholics to “go deeper” into their spiritual lives, Cardinal Thomas Collins told thousands who gathered before television and computer screens for the most unusual Cardinal’s Dinner in over four decades.

Mike Hyland will always remember the day when his 22-year-old son came to him with tears in his eyes and between sobs told his father he was gay. That memory surfaced again when headlines around the world trumpeted Pope Francis declaring gay people have a right to live in a family and should have legal protections.

It’s been 42 years since I emigrated from Saskatchewan to Alberta, but I still have a place in my heart for the old country. Although I don’t have any stake in what happens there and can’t name the mayor of either Regina or Saskatoon, I did check in to see the Saskatchewan election results on Oct. 26.

Serious decline

I read with some concern your article of Oct. 24, “Regis, St. Mike’s alliance in works.” When, during my tenure as President of the University of St. Michael’s College (2015-18), I found that similar discussions had been launched, I argued against the initiative. Our faculty of theology was losing money and students and was, in my view, struggling academically. To the extent that it had an identity, it was largely indistinguishable from the sad, secular drift of the Toronto School of Theology.

There were more than 30,000 people gathered around the National War Memorial in Ottawa for Remembrance Day ceremonies last year. This Nov. 11 — with COVID-19 restrictions — there will be no more than 100.

With the treaty banning nuclear weapons about to become international law, Global Affairs Canada has softened its opposition. But it’s still on the wrong side of history, according to Project Ploughshares executive director Cesar Jaramillo.

Across the U.S., prominent, colourful and verbose lawn signs have been popping up. They all begin with “We Believe…” with slight variations in the body of the text. The text is basically a compendium of recent slogans on various hot-button issues. One of my Sisters commented to me as we drove by: “It’s like a secular Creed.” (Simply google “we believe lawn signs” for a sample.)

OTTAWA -- Religious and human rights groups have applauded a parliamentary committee’s condemnation of the Chinese government for its “genocide” on religious minorities.

Let’s hop in a time machine back to 1999. It was a year that, among others, saw Tony Hawk skateboarding his way to the top of the cultural scene.

The immortal poem “In Flanders Fields,” written by Lt. Col. John McCrae, has brought countless reflections on the past to vividly remember and connect with brave soldiers who fought virtuously for freedom in the major conflicts of the past century.