It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. I was standing in his dining room, watching him make his family laugh. He was kind to his parents and he was helpful to his sister. Most important, he was the same person to them as he was to me. And I thought to myself, “I’m going to marry him someday.” 

Cawthra Park Secondary School is currently preparing for a production of Legally Blonde The Musical where I play one of the lead characters, Vivienne Kensington. That means from Monday to Thursday after school and all-day every Sunday, we’ve been in rehearsals. 

I love my Church, but I admit I have at times found it difficult dealing with its sins against the Indigenous community.

You know an app must be right when Pope Francis gives it his official blessing. 

There is a misconception that teenagers will always jump at an opportunity to do wrong. This is based on the stereotype that teens are up to no good. 

I have left the Church many times, but now I can say with certainty that I will remain with the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church for the rest of my life.

I grew up far away from my current home in Vancouver. My parents, Mauro and Gertrude Dsouza, made their home in Bangalore, India, and my childhood was filled with storybooks, swimming pools, piano classes and ballet lessons. Not to forget about school! 

“Hi, my name is Gabriela Pariseau and I am an American pro-life Catholic.”

Scrolling through my Facebook the past two months as the terrible scandals in the Catholic Church unraveled, my news feed was filled with commentary both disturbing and sad.

In my short lifetime, I have already seen three popes preside as the head of our Church.