TORONTO - The federal government is seeking to pair displaced Syrian refugees fleeing the civil war in their homeland with their families already in Canada or with groups ready to sponsor them.

OTTAWA - The Canadian government should join the European Union in labelling the persecution of Christians by Islamic State jihadists a genocide, said Aid to the Church in Need.

BEIRUT - The newly ordained bishop for the Syriac Catholic Church in Canada pledged to make his first priority the suffering and spiritual needs of beleaguered Syriacs seeking refuge in Canada.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has decided that six dioceses in Canada, previously considered mission territories under the jurisdiction of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, will transition to normal status.

On their 37th day in Canada, the Peters family from Liberia found themselves surrounded by Goans, carrying gifts of bread and wine up to an Irish-Canadian cardinal.

Jan. 12 marks the sixth anniversary of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. The anniversary always takes me back to time spent in Haiti two years after the earthquake. It was a life- changing experience.

OTTAWA - Catholic oversees aid agencies welcomed news that the federal government has extended the deadline for the Syria Emergency Relief Fund to Feb. 29.

A $21-million shortfall in Catholic fundraising has added another challenge to the task of reconciliation between Canadian churches and Native communities.

AMMAN, Jordan - As a cautious world rang in the New Year with concerns over terrorism and security, Catholics in Canada were continuing to welcome Syrian refugees to their newly adopted homeland.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis erected a new Syro-Malankara eparchy for the United States and Canada. The pope also named Bishop Thomas Eusebios Naickamparambil, who served as the apostolic exarch for Syro-Malankaran Catholics in the United States, as its first bishop.

TORONTO - Despite this summer surpassing its $105-million goal, Toronto Catholics are still encouraged to donate to the archdiocese’s ambitious Family of Faith fundraising campaign.

In 43 recommendations aimed at provincial and federal legislators, the Provincial-Territorial Expert Advisory Group on Physician-Assisted Dying has recommended the widest possible access to assisted suicide and very narrow exceptions for Catholic health professionals and Catholic hospitals, nursing homes and hospices.

Among the first planeload of Syrian refugees to land at Toronto Pearson International Airport around 9 p.m. Dec. 10, at least one family has made it to Canada thanks to Catholic refugee sponsorship.

TORONTO - Canada’s largest shelter for homeless youth has been recognized for having one of the best workplace cultures in the country.

The federal government has rewritten its timeline to bring 25,000 refugees to Canada this year and acknowledges that to resettle them here by the end of February is an enormous challenge.