Several years ago, a friend who had immigrated from the former Soviet Union told me, “Canada is the greatest place on Earth. It is a paradise.” While I felt flattered on behalf of my country to hear those words, I also wondered what in our country made him so effusive.

ROME – Promoting and protecting religious freedom is a shared priority of the United States and the Vatican, said Callista Gingrich, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.

GENEVA – At the end of a day dedicated to celebrating 70 years of an ecumenical fellowship forged by the World Council of Churches, Pope Francis turned to the region's Catholics, reminding them of what lies at the heart of the faith.

Anyone looking for hope from the June 15 Supreme Court of Canada decision on Trinity Western University can find it shining in the pages of the judgment itself.

NAMUGONGO, Uganda – John Ole, 67, has a smile on his face, knowing he just completed a 300-mile trek on foot with hundreds of Catholic pilgrims to Namugongo from Uganda's northeast district of Arua to celebrate Uganda martyrs day.

Fire Sermon by Jamie Quatro (Anansi International, 256 pages, softcover, $17.96 on Amazon.ca)

WASHINGTON – In front of a small crowd of cabinet members and religious leaders at the White House Rose Garden May 3, President Donald Trump announced, and then signed, an executive order giving faith-based groups a stronger voice in the federal government.

The other night I was watching TVO’s The Agenda and an erudite, award-winning author was talking about two taboos: politics and religion. It was fascinating television on several levels as she linked the two in Trump’s America.

The Catholic Church in Iceland is speaking out against a popular proposed law that could land Jewish and Muslim parents in prison for up to six years for circumcising their infant boys.

VATICAN – The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of a dignified life for all men and women regardless of color or creed continues to live on in the teachings of one his most influential admirers, Pope Francis, a Vatican representative said.

VATICAN – Religious and nonreligious people today must learn to engage in fair and objective dialogue so that they may unite the world and make it better as a whole, a young atheist said.

VATICAN – Dialogue and respectful understanding are the prerequisites for social harmony and world peace, Hong Kong Cardinal John Tong Hon told a symposium on Christianity and China.

Monica Marcelli-Chu had to go halfway around the world to figure out her life path, and it led her right back home.

JERUSALEM – Christian leaders in the Holy Land reopened the Church of the Holy Sepulcher Feb. 28 after the Israeli government set up a negotiating team to resolve a municipal dispute over property taxes.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – The Danish parliament has repealed an anti-blasphemy law at a time when such laws are still used around the world.