Last week, I put on my detective’s hat to help a friend from out of town. Her father had lost contact with a close friend of his who lived in St. Albert, a suburb of Edmonton. Could I help my friend’s dad find his friend?
Over the Christmas season, one story after another that I read or watched seemed to indicate Christianity is under siege around the world.
Lack of respect
Re: Van Hee launches a constitutional challenge of bubble zone law (Dec. 2):
Thank you for the good coverage of pro-life hero Fr. Tony Van Hee.
The undemocratic bubble-zone law, in effect forbidding helpful outreach to pregnant women seeking an abortion, really needs to be challenged. But I have one question about the headline in The Register, in reference to Fr. Tony Van Hee as simply “Van Hee.” This sounds cold and disrespectful.
I am aware it is standard practice in the media to refer to people in headlines by only their surnames, and not their titles. But might not this lack of respect also tie into society’s disrespect of human life, and even God Himself? Just musing.
Yvonne Dienesch,
Eganville, Ont.
After an extraordinary year of bickering and division in the U.S. Church, some 200 American bishops have listened to Pope Francis and taken a timeout. They gathered in early January for a six-day retreat near Chicago where they were encouraged to be silent and to pray.
If stereotypes are made to be deflated, Amanda Achtman is a young woman who carries a suitcase full of needles and hat pins.
Alberta’s Catholic school system is again under fire from the province’s education minister, David Eggen. The issue this time is the “Catholicity clause” in teachers’ contracts which require teachers to agree to live a Catholic lifestyle.
Blame the culture
I salute St. Michael’s College School for their deft handling of the sexual bullying scandal. The alacrity and transparency displayed should be used as a template by all Catholic institutions.
One way to view world history could be through a lens of justice. In courts, on battlefields, in parliaments and in many other settings where humans interact, justice has been a constant pursuit — but remains elusive in so many ways.
It’s easy to look around and be pessimistic. Public and household debt levels are alarmingly high in Canada. The Church is roiling from one abuse scandal to another. So many parts of the world seem in chaos with rampant corruption, wars and terrorism.
At St. Mary’s University here in Calgary, we open all our meetings with a reflection. Sometimes it is the university prayer, but often it is a meditation on a relevant issue, meant to support, comfort and uplift.
I often admonish my brother for labeling too many things he dislikes as “stupid.” That word should be reserved for that which goes beyond the merely foolish or inane to the really, really stupid.