Year in Review

A December 2023 National Institute on Aging (NIA) report drew significant attention to social isolation by indicating that “as many as 41 per cent of Canadians aged 50 years and older are at risk” of this phenomenon.

The countdown has begun for the reopening of NotreDame Cathedral throughout the weekend of Dec. 7-8. As the last pieces of scaffolding are being removed on the outside, Culture Minister Rachida Dati has proposed introducing an entrance fee to visit NotreDame, which has caused a stir.

Some two dozen works of the late Pope Benedict XVI's pre-papal writings will be made available in English, many for the first time, in a new translation project led by the academic division of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

New research to be published next month shows progress has been made in normalizing mental illness and mental health challenges among Canadian Christian congregations. 

In just under two years since taking on the inaugural role of Manager of Community Wellness (MCW), Emily VanBerkum-Farahat continues to be profoundly impacted by the strides the University of St. Michael’s College is making for students’ mental health.

Marshall McLuhan, Jean Chrétien, Moira McQueen, and very soon, Anita Imperioli.

Assumption University, a Roman Catholic higher-education institute federated with the University of Windsor, recently announced that Imperioli, the founder of the non-profit organization In Honour of the Ones We Love, is the 2024-25 recipient of its Christian Culture Series Gold Medal.

Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College is celebrating a successful 25 years this year with staff and students alike fondly looking back on an institution that has grown steadily as it strives to educate the whole person. 

From the beginning of these columns, I have steered clear of publicly battling in the ecclesial or political realms, and I have been careful in my ministry to focus on being a friend to those who through misfortune or bad judgment have found themselves on the streets of the city. But I cannot stay silent any longer. 

The following is the text of Pope Francis’ “e-letter” released on Oct. 7 to mark the anniversary of Hamas’ murderous attack on Israel and the ensuing spiral of violence.

One question I regularly ask the young adults I minister to as a deacon at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Shrine is Ottawa is: “What are you reading?” Many do not read a great deal beyond obligatory work for their courses in university, and almost all of it is non-fiction. Thankfully, many read devotional works and the Holy Scriptures, which is certainly laudable, but I press them: “When was the last time you read a novel or a collection of poetry?” Most reply “I cannot remember,” or, “I don’t like fiction or poetry.”